As I was covering one of my first presidential campaign events as a cub reporter more than 20 years ago, a fellow journalist turned to me and asked, “What would you do if someone shot the candidate right now?”
I was in my 20s and dumbstruck, so he shared a list:
Always sit on the aisle near an exit — to avoid getting trapped in a scramble.
Keep your phone, pen and notepad in the same place in your bag, so your most important tools are always at the ready.
Store your news desk as your first emergency contact, and practice saying the words: "File this news flash: Gunshots fired at presidential campaign event."
In more than a decade covering the presidency before I joined our firm, I fortunately never had to use those steps. Saturday night, I was at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, no longer a reporter but a guest along with a few other FGS colleagues.
Then the shots rang out.
The journalists at the dinner in their formalwear — to celebrate, not to work — immediately started doing their jobs. Phones and cameras out. Moving toward information, not away from it. Calm in the way that only comes from having imagined the unthinkable in advance.
I've been reflecting on that ever since, for all of us who want to rise to the moment when the worst happens, whatever that means for each of us. Most crises are predictable. What's your checklist? Who do you call first? Have you ever practiced out loud?
The journalists in the ballroom — and most especially the law enforcement agents who kept everyone safe — had their answers ready. That's worth something, in a moment when so much feels uncertain.
Nedra Pickler is an FGS partner and a former Associated Press White House reporter.
