Buffalo Paper Staff Pulls All-Nighter on Crash

From Editor & Publisher:

'Buffalo News' Pulls All-Nighter on Plane Crash

By Joe Strupp

NEW YORK Deputy Managing Editor Stanley Evans of The Buffalo News had just had a nice dinner out with his wife and was heading for bed when the first call came to his house at 10:30 p.m. Thursday night.

Newsroom staffers reported a plane had crashed, but likely a small engine model, something they could handle. "Fifteen minutes later, I got another call, it was a plane with 50 people dead," he recalls. That sent him out the door.

Working with dozens of staffers, some on overnight Web duty and others pulled in for the crash work, the paper reworked much of its front page to get the story in to today's editions. With photographer Harry Scull living in the same community where the plane crashed, photos were quick.

Evans and others then spent the rest of the night digging up stories, posting photos and videos and updating regularly. "We had much of our staff up all night," says Editor Margaret Sullivan, who joined them early this morning. "We are going at it pretty hot and heavy."

Sullivan estimated 50 to 75 staffers are on some aspect of the story. "We are using everyone, including our feature staff," she said. "Our art critic is on standby to do profiles." CNN cited updates from the News online reports, starting two hours after the crash.

Along with having Scull near the scene for early photos, a News reporter was the first to confirm the death of Beverly Eckert, the widow of a 9/11 victim, Sean Rooney. She was traveling to Buffalo to help commemorate his 50th birthday.

"She was very well known here," Evans said, noting Eckert's sister talked to the News reporter at the airport.

No extra edition is planned, but the crash will be the subject of a special section in Saturday's paper -- likely 10 to 12 pages. Sullivan said the feature section space will be used. "We are just throwing it away," she said of much of the feature content. But she said daily favorites such as comics and TV listings will remain. "We will find a place for that stuff."

The News has also become a center of coverage for numerous other papers, such as The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., where the doomed flight originated. That paper's Web site is linking to the News coverage.

Other editors are commending The Buffalo News for sharing a large number of photos with other papers through Associated Press.

"I have got to give The Buffalo News a lot of credit," said Karen Magnuson, editor of The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, located about an hour away. "They are sharing their photos and giving a lot of them to AP - a lot of good exclusives."

The News is also one of several sites that posted the tense audio recording of the air traffic controller communications with the plane. It's Web site is www.buffalonews.com