Communicating Disasters: An Asia Pacific Resource Book

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Co-published by:
TVE Asia Pacific and UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok

Edited by: Nalaka Gunawardene and Frederick Noronha
Foreword by: Sir Arthur C Clarke

Table of Contents

 I  Communicating Tsunami

The Indian Ocean Tsunami arrived without public warning. The first few days and weeks after the disaster were extraordinary for journalists and broadcasters: it challenged them professionally, personally, ethically and technically. Some of the region’s leading communicators look back at their post-tsunami experiences, drawing insights and lessons.

• The 2004 Tsunami: Unfinished Story, by Johanna Son, Director, Inter Press Service – Asia Pacific;
• A Candle in My Window, by Peter Griffin, Co-founder, South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog
• Nobody Told Us to Run…, by Chanuka Wattegama, Director - organisational development, LIRNEasia
• Children of Tsunami: Documenting Asia’s Longest Year, by Manori Wijesekera and Nalaka Gunawardene, TVE Asia Pacific
• Beyond the Disaster News Template, by Joanne Teoh Kheng Yau, senior producer, Channel News Asia, Singapore
• Surviving the Tsunami: A Journalist's Story, by Frederick Noronha, freelance writer, journalist and ICT activist, India

II  Communicating under duress

Whenever a hazard turns into a disaster of any kind, journalists and relief workers are among the first to arrive on the scene. But they have very different agendas. Journalists have to access and verify real time information, conform to communication ethics and get their story ahead of the competition. In the information age, disaster managers have to balance their own humanitarian priorities with the need to manage information flows and maintain good relations with the media. Five authors offer their perspectives.

• Capturing Nature’s Fury, by Shahidul Alam, Founder, Drik Picture Library, Bangladesh
• Stop All the Clocks! Beyond Text: Looking at the Pics, by Max Martin, Journalist and editor of indiadisasters.org
• Seeing Disasters Differently: How to Unearth Real Disaster Stories, by Amjad Bhatti, coordinating editor, South Asia Disaster Report 2005
• Communicating to Save Lives, by Patrick Fuller, Communications Coordinator, IFRC Tsunami Response in Sri Lanka
• Extra Hands in Times of Crisis, by Veronica Balderas, United Nations Volunteers

 III  Seeking common ground

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) give us unprecedented power to reach more people faster on hazards and disasters. Technology alone cannot deliver this potential – it requires a mix of sociological, cultural and institutional responses by governments, corporate sector and civil society. This also calls for building or reinforcing 'bridges' between media practitioners and disaster managers who have traditionally been on two sides of a divide. In this section, our contributors offer personal perspectives on harnessing the power of information and communication to save lives, heal broken hearts and help disaster survivors rebuild their lives.

• Engaging the Media: A Rough Guide, by A S Panneerselvan, Executive Director, Panos South Asia
• Building Bridges: Managers and the Media, by Sanny Jegillos, Rajesh Sharma and Pablo Torrealba, UNDP
• Who's Afraid of Citizen Journalists? by Sanjana Hattotuwa, Senior Researcher, Centre for Policy Alternatives, Sri Lanka
• Bridging the Long ‘Last Mile’, by Nalaka Gunawardene, Director and CEO, TVE Asia Pacific
• Gender and Disasters: Tracing the Link, by Ammu Joseph, independent journalist and author, India
• Healing Broken Hearts, Calming Anguished Minds, by Chin Saik Yoon, founder and publisher, Southbound, Malaysia
• 'Critical Mass' for Community Disaster Resilience, by Buddhi Weerasinghe, consultant on disaster risk reduction
• Digging Under the Rubble, by Kalpana Sharma, independent journalist, India

Appendices

Appendix 1: Report of the Brainstorming on 'Communicating Disasters: Building on the Tsunami Experience and Responding to Future Challenges': Bangkok, 21 – 22 December 2006

Appendix 2: List of participants of Bangkok Brainstorming, December 2006

Appendix 3: Suggested guidelines for more effective engagement of mass media and new media before, during and after disasters

Appendix 4: Short profiles of contributing authors

Appendix 5: Reuters AlertNet for Journalists

Appendix 6: UN/ISDR Media Network on Disaster Risk Reduction

Appendix 7: UN OCHA ReliefWeb Project

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