The Oklahoma City Bombing

Talking about the day of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, and the days that followed, still is not easy. Please be patient if I lose my composure at times.

That Thursday morning the newsroom was sparsely populated, as is always the case in the morning hours on a morning newspaper.

In the library, we were processing the day's newspaper for our electronic text and photo archives.

One of my staff members and I were standing in our coffee room, (waiting for bagels to heat, I believe) looking out the windows toward the downtown skyline.

We felt a shudder in the building, then heard a muffled noise. We looked at each other, then back out the window at a tower of smoke coming from the downtown area, about eight miles away.

We Immediately switched on the TV in the coffee room and tuned it to a local news channel. I sent an e-mail to the newsroom asking if anyone knew what the smoke was ... no one did at that point.

Within minutes, reports were pouring in from television, radio, e-mail, phones, etc., about the explosion.

First guess as to possible cause was a pipeline explosion; it was to be only a few minutes before we heard the horrible truth. It was a bomb. It was not accidental. It was intentional. An act of terrorism. Right there in the Heartland.

On both newsroom floors, stunned groups of people stood staring, unbelieving, as the televised images followed one after another - of bloody victims, volunteers, firemen ... and the building itself. The library staff immediately began pulling photo files, doing research on the building - what offices were located there, government agencies housed there - everything we could find in our in-house resources. Then we turned to calling in favors from different city offices for as many specifics as we could find. (This is where that networking, that unpaid research for city, state and/or federal workers pays off.)

We offered to take dictation from reporters who were calling in reports from wherever they could find a phone. We volunteered for proofreading and editing; for anything required.

We also compiled a list of phone numbers and made it available to the newsroom. A few days later, we set up an in-house information database and updated it regularly with information on deaths, injuries, just any and all news which came in.

For the first few days there were many people from other newspapers and news organizations in our newsroom and in our library ... photographers and reporters using the phones and photographic equipment to transmit stories and pictures around the world.

The telephone lines coming into the area from outside were all tied up for some time, but as soon as some trunks opened up, the calls began.

These were not calls from you, our news library friends. They were from individuals, mostly from other states and areas, wanting information, any information, on what was ACTUALLY happening. They were hearing contradictory reports on the damage, how bad is was, how it happened. We fielded these calls to the best of our ability. I pointed out to our staff that folks from outside only know to call the newspaper and in some cases they are trying to find out about family or other loved ones in our city.

But our patience was stretched to the limit.

The hardest thing for most of us was trying to stay focused on what needed to be done at the time. We all had lapses. Everyone cried; some just cried more than others. Tempers were very short at times.

As a manager, I tried to make myself available to my own staff first, and then to others in the newsroom who needed someone to talk with or cry with; just a hug and some pats filled the need at times. Looking back, I find it astonishing to think of some of those crustier reporters and editors saying, in effect, "Hey, I need a little TLC."

Sometimes the most important thing I could do was take the worst work from someone else's shoulders. For instance, processing the victims' obituaries, especially those of the children, seemed an unending task. These were repeated day after day. It was particularly hard for one of our young mothers, so I tried to do as much of that as possible.

The positive thing, the incredibly wonderful thing, is that everyone worked together. The team effort was just outstanding. Feature writers were at hospitals interviewing victims and victims' families. Editors were writing stories. Our CAR guru, who is assigned to the library, lives only a few blocks from the bombed building. It was only minutes before he and his laptop were at the temporary downtown "BB," or bombing bureau. He is a former reporter and assistant city editor, so he could make huge contributions immediately.

Newsroom people refused to go home, even after working 20 hours or more. The managing editor and his assistants had to force folks to get out of the building, go home and get some rest.

Management had food catered twice a day, noon and dinner times. They were afraid people just wouldn't eat otherwise.

And management made sure professional psychological assistance was available for anyone who needed or wanted it. Everyone was encouraged to "come in and just talk."

In other words, from the top down, everyone did everything possible to be sure our stories were the best they could be and that we were giving the community the most complete picture possible of what had happened, what was happening, what was likely to happen next, and what it meant to all of us.

Much support came from outside our area. I received faxes and e-mail from many of you in this room who are in newspaper libraries. Because you understand this business so well, you didn't call. But believe me, those messages relaying your concerns, your thoughts and prayers, were most welcome.

Among the many messages from all over the world was a letter from the Register Star Newsroom (Rockford, Ill.) which was shortly followed by a large assortment of snack foods. In part, the letter said:

'' .... thought about the toll this story must be exacting from the people who have to cover it. Regardless of the personal impact the bombing had on your staff members, they have had to direct their energy outside, toward victims and the community as a whole. We know you've done an admirable job, providing leadership and stability to your community at a critical time.''

All of these responses proved beyond doubt there's a comaraderie between newsrooms all over the world. A newsroom in any language ...

For those of us in the news business, getting away from a tragedy like this is extremely difficult. Other people can watch the news in the evenings, go to bed, get up and go to work, and those jobs help take their minds off the tragedy.

Those of us at newspapers, and radio and television stations, watched and/or read the news several times a day, then went to work and worked with the statistics, photographs, phone calls and heartbreak. Day after day.

Last June in Montreal, when some of you expressed your concern in person, I hope my responses were not short. The fact was, I really didn't want to talk about it. I really didn't even want to think about it. If I was less than forthcoming with my answers, I apologize now.

Last October my husband and I took a driving trip through New Mexico. People who saw our Oklahoma license tag wanted news. If we signed a guest book anywhere, folks expressed sympathy. People everywhere asked, ''How are you folks doing?''

Finally, it was hammered home that this was not just a tragedy for Oklahoma City, nor for the state of Oklahoma. The entire United States, and much of the world, suffered along with us. And for us.

I asked and received permission to make available to you a letter Ed Kelley, our managing editor, sent the staff three weeks after the bombing. Please pick one up, along with the other hand-outs, following this program.

Now, I'm tired of talking and I'm sure you're tired of listening, so I'll close my portion of this with a video of some of the bombing photographs taken by our staff photographers.

Carol Campbell
The Daily Oklahoman
Oklahoma City, OK


1996 News Division Program for the SLA Annual Conference
SLA News Division Home

Reformatted on 03/23/03
Jessica Baumgart
newsdivisionweb@yahoo.com