‘We were going to report until the lights went out,’ says ENN leader of storm coverage

As Hurricane Florence bore down on the East Coast last week, threatening North Carolina with the potential for generational destruction, the leadership team of Elon New Network faced an arduous decision. 

​Stay and report the news, or leave campus – like so many of their classmates ­– for their own safety following Elon University’s recommendation to evacuate.

“We decided we were going to report until the lights went out,” said Emmanuel Morgan ’19, ENN executive director. “We were going to report until we couldn’t.”

In total, 17 ENN staff members elected to remain on campus throughout the storm, covering its impact on Elon, Burlington and Alamance County. The student contingent regularly updated the news organization’s website and social media platforms, while broadcasting live from ENN’s newsroom in McEwen Communications Building. The students’ robust storm coverage is available here.

“We saw a lot people decide to leave, so we knew it could be serious,” Morgan said. “We talked about if we were going to be in danger and we talked about the implications of staying. Ultimately, we decided to stay. First, because we knew it would be a challenge for us as journalists. Second, we knew it would be a great way for us to serve our community.”

The Student Press Law Center featured the staff’s decision to stay in a Sept. 13 release, titled “As Hurricane Florence crashes into the Carolinas, student journalists report through the storm.”

Much of ENN’s early coverage focused on storm preparation from the university and broader Alamance County community, including pieces ranging from the storm’s effect on international students to how pet owners were coping. As Florence drew closer, the students produced newscasts on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

ENN News Director Maya Eaglin ’19 and Alex Hager ’19, who Morgan tapped to be the storm coverage coordinator, helped take the leadership reins throughout much of the weekend. Morgan commended both upperclassmen for their willingness to produce content – at all hours of the day – as well as assist younger members of the staff.

​When it became evident that Florence’s path had shifted elsewhere, so did the students’ plans. Their coverage then began looking at how students were coping with the time away from class, and how the community was trying to support those in harm’s way.

Morgan singled out senior Rachel Ellis for her insightful report on how inmates from Alamance County Jail aided in the storm recovery, assisting at a shelter at Fairchild Community Center in Burlington.

An Elon alumna also lent a hand in ENN’s coverage. While conducting her own reporting, Kailey Tracy ’17, a multimedia journalist for WECT in Wilmington, handled a stand-up report for the student news organization.

“The uncertainty was the biggest challenge for us,” Morgan said. “Sometimes, as journalists, you know what is going to happen. You know how to cover an event. This storm was a different challenge. The forecast kept shifting. But despite it changing, we still had a job to do.”

“I can’t stress enough the pride Rich (Landesberg) and I felt at this point,” said Kelly Furnas, lecturer in the School of Communications and an ENN adviser. “It would have been so, so easy for students to call it quits and argue that a lack of rain was equivalent to a lack of news. But they didn’t. They doubled down on enterprise stories, and even took overnight shifts sleeping in the newsroom in case the weather changed. It was amazing dedication to making sure the story — whatever that might be — was covered.”

What also impressed Furnas was the students’ quick shift in focus on Sunday, continuing to update ENN’s website while also preparing for the organization’s Monday newscast and The Pendulum’s print edition on Wednesday, which focused on storm coverage – as one might expect.

​“Elon talks a lot about engaged learning, and certainly that was on display this week,” Furnas said. “But I think the students would argue that this was engaged service — because the emails and Facebook posts from students and parents lauding their work helped reaffirm how important their journalism was to the community. I’m glad to say the community also went out of its way to support our students, and to that end I must say thank you.”

Elon alumnus Joe Bruno ’14, an investigative reporter for WSOC-TV in Charlotte, was among those who took notice of the students’ efforts. Following ENN’s weekend coverage, he tweeted, “Y’all made me and so many other alums proud about how you stayed at Elon and covered Florence. Please know your hard work did not go unnoticed. Please show this tweet and tell all who stayed great job. Future is bright.”

Morgan thanked the many Elon administrators, faculty and staff, including Communications Dean Rochelle Ford and Associate Communications Dean Kenn Gaither, for their supportive words and free food during the storm. Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley, who frequently responded to the organization’s interview requests, even dropped off a tray of cookies.  

“We are so appreciative to the school, to the administrators and to everyone else on campus – as well as those who followed us online,” Morgan said. “Their support helped keep us going.”

In addition to Morgan, Eaglin, Hager and Ellis, other ENN staff members who stayed through the duration of ENN’s storm coverage included Maeve Ashbrook, Sam Casamento, Anton Delgado, Nina Fleck, Alex Roat, Christian Galvano, Katie Howell, Alex Mancuso, Grace Morris, Jack Norcross, Luke Stoddard, Ted Thomas, Cory Weller and Mackenzie Wilkes.

Five of the ENN staff members who remained throughout the storm are first-year students, not yet on campus for a full month.