Case Study: ABC News achieves real-time community reporting to find missing persons and inform viewers during Hurricane Harvey with Ion Interactive

ABC News How Storytelling Can Impact Lives

rockcontent (formerly ScribbleLive) partnered with ABC13 KTRK in Houston during Hurricane Harvey, when devastating floods and stalled storm conditions created urgent information and rescue needs. With reporters and producers working around the clock and many neighborhoods inaccessible, ABC13 needed a fast, reliable way to gather eyewitness photos, video and tips—including critical information about missing persons—from the community.

Using rockcontent’s Community Content platform, ABC13 let viewers easily submit and update photos and videos that editors could approve and push on air within minutes. The team built a missing-persons landing page that drew more than 40,000 visits, helped reunite people and guided reporting from areas staff couldn’t reach, and overall strengthened the station’s coverage and community service. The success also led ABC13 to expand use of rockcontent’s suite for live blogs and other immersive storytelling.

ABC News

Rachel Schwartz

Manager, Digital Creative Content