- On July 22nd 2011, there were bombings in Oslo and a mass shooting at a youth camp on the island of Utøya. This presented major challenges for VG as they covered these breaking news events. - VG's offices were evacuated after the bomb explosion. Staff worked from a temporary location to report on the events. They established routines for staff support and counseling in the aftermath. - Covering these tragic events raised difficult ethical dilemmas around identifying and portraying the shooter. VG's choices faced some criticism but also generated significant public discussion. The experience highlighted both strengths and weaknesses in VG's emergency preparedness and communication.

1. Breaking
News,
INMA
seminar
VG
building
September
28th
2011
Espen
Egil
Hansen,
Execu0ve
Editor,
VG
Digital.
Twi<er:
@eghan

16. Hanne
Skartveit,
Poli0cal
Editor

17. Readers
expect
us
to
tell
them
what's
going
on
Right
Now!
Bomb
in
government
headquarters
Shoo0ng
at
Utøya

18. Friday
July
22nd
3.34
PM
“I
was
in
the
building
(6th
floor)
when
the
explosion
came,
working
as
a
front
page
editor
at
VG
Ne<.
Was
evacuated,
and
outside
Stopp
Pressen
I
borrowed
a
laptop
so
I
could
update
the
front
page.
A^er
some
hassle
I
made
it.
“
Francis
Lundh

19. VG
Ne<
frontpages

26. Chris0an
Brændshøi,
Managing
Editor

28. Follow-­‐up
of
staff,
crisis
therapist
•
Already
Friday
night,
we
hade
a
chrisis
therapist
at
our
provisional
loca0on
at
Bristol
Hotel,
several
talk-­‐throughs
where
conducted
during
the
first
days
•
The
staff
was
systema0cally
encouraged
to
take
breaks,
have
meals
and
to
sleep
•
Rou0nes
for
mandatory,
but
individually
tailored
follow-­‐up
were
established
•
Debrief
in
the
canteen
Sunday
and
Monday,
130
employees
a<ended
•
The
need
for
follow-­‐up
varies
a
lot,
but
several
has
great
needs
•
Summer
temps
were
given
special
a<en0on
on
the
way
out
-­‐
with
the
opportunity
to
contact
us
a^er
they
have
le^
VG
06/10/11
28

29. Large
journalis0c
projects
“...we
have
to
hold
hands
and
take
care
of
each
other”

33. 06/10/11
33

34. @Bergestuen
”How
we
remember
our
loved
ones”
is
an
important
and
quiet
memorial
from
a
publishing
house
that
has
had
heads
and
hearts
in
the
right
place
these
last
days
#VG

38. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

39. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

40. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

41. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

42. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

43. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

44. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

45. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

46. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

47. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

49. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

50. Boys
hiding
under
house
at
Utøya

51. 22/7 The day that changed Norway PAPER WEB MOBILE TABLET

52. Ethical
dilemmas
Should
we
idenHfy
Mr.
Breivik?
July
23rd
at
02:00

53. Should
we
use
his
glamorous
pictures?
473
FULL
PAGES
FROM
JULY
23rd
UNTIL
AUGUST
9th

54. How
much
should
we
expose
him
on
the
front
page?

55. Can
we
tell
all
that
we
know?

56. How
much
should
we
show?

65. How
strong
can
we
ques0on
the
work
of
the
police
and
rescue
workers?

68. Førsteutgave

72. •

74. “He
should
be
forgo<en,
not
exposed”

75. “Bullshit
from
the
VG
Editor...”

76. Observa0ons
•
VG
was
the
most
cited
medium
a^er
July
22nd,
but
also
the
most
controversial
=
Buzz
•
Social
media
and
the
number
of
media
outlets
has
drama0cally
changed
our
working
condi0ons
=
Challenging
•
The
management
team
of
VG,
as
well
as
several
employees,
have
used
nearly
100%
of
their
0me
on
this
case
=
Challenging

77. Learnings
ON
THE
POSITIVE
SIDE
-­‐
Good
journalism
on
all
plasorms
-­‐ Start
early!
-­‐
The
staff
reported
in,
vaca0on
or
not
-­‐
We
were
well
trained
for
evacua0on
-­‐
Good
rou0nes
for
use
of
professional
help
ON
THE
NEGATIVE
SIDE
-­‐
Did
we
communicate
our
editorial
choices
well
enough?
-­‐
Technically,
we
were
not
ready
for
an
a<ack

78. Breaking
News,
INMA
seminar
VG
building
September
28th
2011
Espen
Egil
Hansen,
Execu0ve
Editor,
VG
Digital.
Twi<er:
@eghan