Washington journalists are preparing for the worst case scenarios, boarding ships and moving away, in the mean time, they are making fun of Joe six pack who has gone to HD and bought duct tape...isn't that a bit two faced?
Washington Media Giants Plan Ahead for Attacks
NewsMax Staff
Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2003
It’s almost reminiscent of the old Cold War “duck and cover” days as the threat of a terrorist attack on the nation’s capital has the local media scrambling to make contingency plans for keeping the news flowing in a potential environment of toxic air and water.
According to Washingtonian magazine, leading the charge is the stately Washington Post, which is relocating its data center to Tysons Corners across the Potomac in Virginia.
The Post’s newsroom, once less than enthusiastic about emergency planning, is now veritably abuzz with contingency planning. “They’re really taking it seriously,” one staff member told the Washingtonian.
Although the Post has reportedly been working out worst-case scenarios for a number of months, the pace has picked up this past week, says the Washingtonian. For instance, the evacuation of data to Tysons was slated for June, but is now the subject of daily meetings chaired by managing editor Steve Coll and company chairman Don Graham.
“We have a pretty well-developed plan to keep publishing the newspaper,” Coll told the Washingtonian.
Among the worst case scenarios:
A chemical or biological attack in the newsroom.
The downtown headquarters building becomes uninhabitable but remains standing.
The downtown headquarters building is wholly destroyed.
In addition to stocking up on water and other survival supplies, “dispersal strategy” plans call for the foreign desk to reorganize in the Alexandria, Virginia bureau; with the national desk moving operations to Silver Spring, Maryland.
Meanwhile other media operations in Washington are also planning for the worst, according to the Washingtonian:
U.S. News will send reporters and editors to hotels in Frederick, Maryland.
The BBC will remove its staff to waiting boats on the Potomac River.
The New York Times bureau has equipped itself with a Geiger counter, dust masks, and other survival equipment. |
