I sat at a French Quarter bar watching floodwater creep in, when the familiar frenzied pinging of my phone started. The NOLA.com | Times-Picayune newsroom was shifting into high gear.
On Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, only two people were scheduled to work, but we all had phones. Our newsroom Slack filled with imagery of flooding across the city, Facebook Live links, transcribed interviews and key tweets. Those who could not get to scenes were logged in from home, editing copy, feeding a live blog, uploading video and building photo galleries. We shined in those all-hands-on-deck moments.
There would be months of great reporting that dug into what happened that day. There would be more big stories to come. For each of us, the early breaking moments were what lodged in our brains, the spark that reminded us that life-changing moments unfold fast and in many directions.
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune meant a lot of things to a lot of different people. To me it was where I learned the hustle, creativity and teamwork it takes to be a journalist in a digital world. We cared deeply about what we did and who we worked with. I believe the work reflected that. Now we hustle on to the next story, wherever that may be.
– Jennifer Larino