Media guidelines for Disaster Reporting Part 6 (Final)

By Malini Shankar Digital Discourse Foundation

Box item:

REPORTING DURING DISASTER - DO’s and DON’T’s:

Training technique: Group work, discussions, Resources required: Flipcharts, bold markers, white board, pen, paper Discuss with trainees what they think a reporter should do when he is assigned to cover a disaster. Prompt them to talk about media’s possible role during disaster. And then make teams (and sub teams depending upon group dynamics) of trainees and ask each team to come out with:

Suggested action by a reporter during disaster Media check list on what should be asked when a disaster happens Generic questions, Questions about structural elements, Questions about non-structural elements, Questions about preparedness measures, Economic questions, Recovery questions, Responsibility/accountability questions.

Let trainees prepare exhaustive list for the above mentioned. Once that is done use flipcharts prepared by trainees and discuss. At the end, give them tips for interviewing the affected, for covering traumatic events.

 Source: Reporting Disaster and Disaster Preparedness: A Training Handbook

 It is as a tribute to the ultimate sacrifice of the victims of natural disasters of the last decade (227898 victims of the Asian Tsunami and the 230000 victims of the Haiti Earthquake and 20352 victims of the Japanese Tsunami) that Media’s growth in disaster reporting has to be seen in the light of. It is this acknowledgement that is the highpoint of Preparing for the Day After – a book that is part of a multi-media tribute.

Concluded


Excerpts from Chapter 18 of the 2014 Book Preparing for the Day

After ( https://play.google.com/store/books/details?

id=EbzkBQAAQBAJ )  ... published by Malini Shankar in time for the 

10th anniversary of the Asian Tsunami. 

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