While on a breaking news shift, I spotted news of a fire on Facebook in one of the hundreds of local groups I am in across the patch.
I requested permission from a group member to use their video of the fire.
Gathering all the identifying information, I contacted the appropriate fire service for verification and a statement.
I then had enough to get a breaking news story out straight away to capture live interest.
However, I had also seen talk of the family involved - and most excitingly a rescue effort.
I contacted the granddaughter of the victim explaining I was doing a story of the rescue and she confirmed the basic details of the story.
The family didn’t wish to speak further which I respected, explaining I was there should they change their minds. Mindful of their privacy, I didn’t include the pensioner’s name or address.
I did however interview both Carly Broad who kicked down a fence to free the trapped pensioner and her girlfriend who spoke of her fear watching her partner disappear into a cloud of smoke.
The initial story here wasn’t particularly striking, accruing only 1,738 page views, but my follow up feature had 8,563 page views and a decent 53 second average engagement time.
It is an example of how I have been well-rewarded for taking ownership of following up on breaking news storys in the subsequent days.
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