One of the goals of the Daily Cal news desk is to improve its coverage of breaking news, delivering important stories immediately via the Web and then following up with more detailed articles in the print edition.

An aspect of our coverage that really benefits from this accelerated news cycle is crime reporting. This came into play for two recent crime stories:

On the night of Sept. 10, just after editing our regular stories for the next day’s issue, we received several calls about a rumored shooting on campus. A few writers immediately went to the North side of campus to chase down police officers, while others called emergency dispatchers from the office.

Outside, we observed UC police and asked several about what was happening. They told us about the source of the rumors–an armed robbery–as we watched them put away a camera and some other belongings of the victim. That was followed by a post to our Web site about the incident, which wasn’t covered by TV news. After more calls to police, a second update was posted. The third and most complete version of the events ran in the next day’s paper, linked here.

On Saturday, Sept. 22, authorities released information about an early-morning homicide in West Berkeley. The Daily Cal reached police in the afternoon, just as rumors of a second homicide began to surface. A reporter was able to question officers at 63rd and King Streets in South Berkeley, where a dispatcher directed us, and confirm a second incident. Several posts to the Web site gradually told the story, first reporting one homicide, then details about one homicide and a mention of a second incident and finally as many details as were available about both crimes. The Daily Cal was the first media outlet to post details about both killings.

The story about the homicides that appeared in Monday’s paper, found here, included interviews with residents of both neighborhoods affected by the incidents, as well as confirmations of the victims’ names. We hope that longer, more in-depth story will be a model for future “day-after” stories that add to our breaking news posts.

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