Martine Rolls: Internet great tool during disaster

Our newsroom has been absolutely buzzing since the morning of October 5 when Rena hit the Astrolabe Reef.

Reports of a cargo ship crashing just a few nautical miles off our beautiful coastline came in that Wednesday morning and we knew right away that this was going to be major. We knew that it was going to be an ongoing story that would profoundly affect our community.

Unfortunately, disaster, death and destruction often make the headlines where we wish it was happiness, successes and accomplishments instead.

When tragedy hits, people rally together for the sole purpose of trying to make things better. There are thousands of people who have registered an interest in volunteering for the clean-up and for that, I take my hat off.

These are the times when I most appreciate the technology we have at hand. We can easily get a great bunch of people together who want to help by utilising and streamlining our communication sources, and the internet is our first point of call.

Facebook is being used by several oil spill clean-up action groups including Project Maunganui. This is a concept designed by Hannah Harwood and Lee Faulkner which they use to source support for local charitable organisations and environmental issues. Action speaks so much louder than words. The net has brought people together quicker than any other source could have done in the past.

Since we have launched our new-look website, people can directly have their say on our stories online. And people certainly took the opportunity with this one. I'd like to say a big thank you for that. Debate makes things happen, and inevitably, that makes things more interesting.

If you have left a comment and it does not show on the page right away, it could be in the moderation queue. We check these caught comments several times during the day and accept, reject or edit them. We welcome all feedback and would like to encourage you to have your say on our stories.

Our newsroom is always a busy place but in the past two weeks, an extra dimension was added. Working in the media means that there is never a dull moment. It's a 24/7 job for us all year round but when huge developments like this take place in our own region, we are all extra fired up. We strive to deliver the most accurate and colourful descriptions of events as they take place, as our readers and our online audience expect and deserve no less. But it certainly takes time and resources to pull it off.

Moderating the comments, plus the live updates online and taking care of social media on Facebook and Twitter took up most of my time the past two weeks, and they still do.

Breaking news and following up on major stories is what working in the media is all about. But just as important is to report on what is happening in our community, and all that people do to help.

The buzz of posting live updates on the website and social media, asking for people's opinions and participation, getting the ins and outs, and especially the focus on the efforts made by people that try to make things better is truly amazing. That is why I love what I do as the online editor for the Bay of Plenty Times.