WCPO reporter Hagit Limor was one of only a handful of American journalists to experience the earthquake in Japan first-hand last week, as she was traveling through the country on a trip for the Society of Professional Journalists.
Limor, who is the president of SPJ, was in Okinawa when the earthquake hit and the resulting tsunami rocked much of the country. Limor had just left Tokyo that morning to travel to the city of Naha, fortuitously escaping the region hardest hit by the tsunami.
Limor tells TVSpy that she began reporting for WCPO beginning just four hours after the earthquake hit. Since then, she has been reporting via Skype and providing TV, web, and print coverage for WCPO’s entire station group as well as the Scripps Howard News Service.
“It’s become a nightmare times three–first the earthquake, then the tsunami and now the continuing nuclear threat,” Limor told SPJ about the situation in Japan.
I often speak at conferences about the need to make sure you learn new skill sets to do your job in this day. This experience made that ultimately clear. Five years ago I couldn’t have reported nearly as effectively. Between Skype, Twitter and Facebook I could jump in from another continent and provide my company with valuable coverage. It was a case of preparation meeting opportunity.
Here’s Limor reporting on the aftermath of the earthquake last week: