"This publication is intended to serve as a guide to journalists in different media segments on preventive, risk, and crisis communication. Although the focus is on a potential future influenza pandemic in Latin America arising from avian flu, the pages that follow set forth concepts and tools to as
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sist journalists in other crisis situations, including natural disasters, armed conflicts, environmental catastrophes, and phytosanitary disease outbreaks." (Introduction)
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"[This book] gives you ideas for building an emergency radio network (ERN) for your community. An ERN uses small Family Radio Service (FRS) radios or combined FRS/General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) radios for members of the community. The community relay station can be (1) a basic or "fancy" ham st
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ation, (2) a GMRS station, (3) a basic amplitude modulation (AM) or "fancy" single sideband (SSB) Citizens Band (CB) station, or (4) a ham station using near vertical incidence skywave (NVIS). 'Community Eergency Radio Networks' makes planning your community ERN easy. It has easy-to-use tables (known as coverage planning tables) for your suburban or rural community depending on wether you're located on a smooth plain, in a hilly area, or in a mountainous area. The book also has guidelines to help you set up an effective ERN in a city." (Back cover)
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"Journalists frequently report on disasters. There is a growing evidence that they are subsequently at higher risk of post-traumatic and depressive symptoms. We conducted an internet-based study with 61 journalists who had covered the tsunami disaster in December 2004 from the affected region. The e
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xtent of trauma exposure, symptoms and social variables were assessed. About 8 months after the event, indications of post-traumatic stress disorder were found in 6.6 per cent of the sample. Post-traumatic and depressive symptoms were related to the extent of traumatic exposure and to several social variables, most importantly, a low degree of social acknowledgment by supervisor and colleagues." (Abstract)
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"The crucial interaction between humanitarian agencies and the media has been researched in the past but today it continues to evolve and change—and not for the better. This article, drawing on accounts from communications managers working inside the world's major aid agencies (Red Cross, Oxfam, S
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ave the Children, World Vision, CARE and Médecins sans Frontières), examines how communication strategies designed to raise awareness, funds and support have assimilated to today's pervasive “media logic”. In the increasingly crowded and competitive field of humanitarian agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) now seek to “brand” themselves in the media; they purposefully use celebrities and produce regionalized and personalized “media packages” to court media attention; and they reflexively expend time and resources warding off increased risks of mediated scandals. In such ways, aid agencies have become increasingly embroiled in the practices and predilections of the global media and can find their organizational integrity impugned and communication aims compromised. These developments imperil the very ethics and project of global humanitarianism that aid agencies historically have done so much to promote." (Abstract)
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"The objective of OCHA’s new field information management strategy is to increase support to humanitarian actors by improving the capacity for decision making and analysis through strengthened collection, processing, and dissemination of information. This objective will be met by increasing OCHA
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s IM capacity in Field Offices to strengthen the internal flow and management of information and to provide improved external IM services to its many humanitarian partners. Within the parameters of this strategy, for example: Internal changes include: Mapping and standardizing information flow within OCHA to address the current perception of ‘black holes’ throughout the Office, from which nothing emerges; Standardizing file structures and descriptions so all data can be effectively searched; Introducing a system to regularly and securely back up all field data. External services include: Promoting enhanced information sharing, and providing mechanisms to do so, to improve coordination and analysis; Establishing a minimum standard of products to enhance humanitarian coordination, such as Who Does What Where (W3) databases; Working with partners to standardize, to the extent possible within Agency specific requirements, the collection of data, focusing on geo-referencing and metadata; • Providing database and mapping services to those actors lacking their own capacity." (Page IV)
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"As part of a broader analysis of corruption in emergencies, the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre initiated a dialogue on the role(s) of the media. On 30 May 2006, a working meeting held at NORAD offices in Oslo brought together donors, NGOs and journalists, including media practitioners from Sri
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Lanka, Liberia and Nepal. The purpose was to draw on actual case studies to suggest ways in which humanitarian agencies and the media can mutually support responsible coverage of corruption in emergency aid. Recommendations to donors, humanitarian agencies, and both local and international media are presented at the end of this report." (Back cover)
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"This study breaks the downward communication challenge in post-tsunami Aceh and Sri Lanka into four main areas. The first looks at the nature of communication problems between organisations and communities. The second covers mass information campaigns, including an overview of the information chann
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els in Aceh and Sri Lanka and how best to use them. The third section investigates complaints mechanisms, and, finally, the fourth section is a brief glance at what has been done to bridge information gaps in Aceh and Sri Lanka. Many organisations are still paying for mistakes made in communicating with communities in the early days of the tsunami recovery effort, resulting in what many call the “broken promises” phenomenon. The inherent problems of managing expectations were exacerbated by a widespread use of translators and jargon and the extreme levels of trauma experienced by beneficiaries. A number of organisations, however, have started to address these mistakes and build communications strategies into projects, developing models that potentially have wide application." (Executive summary)
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"This toolkit is a resource for everyone working in emergency situations caused by natural disasters. It is designed to help programme managers from UNICEF, UN agencies, NGO partners and government personnel to prepare, plan, implement and monitor behaviour change communication initiatives supportin
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g health, hygiene and child protection efforts in emergencies." (Introduction)
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"The tsunami demonstrated that modern journalists can do more than just bring unfolding stories to the world. One of the biggest lessons of the tsunami that is unravelling is that the modern journalist can also help to heal communities, rebuild lives, keep families intact and raise funds. The media
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should also keep an eye on government and relief agencies, helping to ensure that aid gets to the people who need it, and that those who deliver the goods remain accountable to the donors and practice ethical standards of aid delivery. The question of media freedoms is also an important part of this equation. Beyond what journalists can do, there is also the matter of what authorities will allow them to do. In other words, the question of how much a responsible media will be allowed to do its job. It is in the rehabilitation or healing process that the media face the most challenging task. In this endeavour, democracy and freedom to gather and disseminate information may not be enough. In many parts of Asia and beyond, the mainstream media has been excessively commercialised. The tsunami became such a hot media issue around the world, because the dramatic pictures available were very attractive revenue making material for commercial broadcasters, but the rebuilding and healing process does not provide such pictures. It is in such an environment, that this book examines the challenge journalists face in reporting a process that may not provide dramatic pictures, but still needs to grab the audience/readers attention. Focusing more on the print media, many interesting issues dealing with the reconstruction and rehabilitation process are explored, with analysis and commentary on why some stories are not given the exposure they deserve and how these issues may be made newsworthy." (Publisher description)
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"This book is about the relationship between the spectators in countries of the west, and the distant sufferer on the television screen; the sufferer in Somalia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, but also from New York and Washington, DC. How do we relate to television images of the distant suf
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ferer? The question touches on the ethical role of the media in public life today. They address the issue of whether the media can cultivate a disposition of care for and engagement with the far away other; whether television can create a global public with a sense of social responsibililty towards the distant sufferer." (Publisher description)
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"The report has two parts. The first, devoted to outbreak experience, describes the special case of outbreaks and the many difficult challenges they present for communicators. It also summarizes presentations during the consultation that looked at recent outbreaks in terms of what they have to say a
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bout effective communication and the consequences of certain errors. The second part translates these experiences into best practices for communication during an outbreak. Contents are organized around five essential practices for effective outbreak communication identified during the consultation: build trust, announce early, be transparent, respect public concerns, and plan in advance." (Page 3)
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