Q and A with Mark Frohardt
LAURA STEIN/INTERNEWS
Mark Frohardt, Humanitarian Media Director for
Internews Network |
What drives your interest in using media in crisis situations?
My initial interest arose from seeing how the lack of information in a complex emergency could have enormous negative consequences for people affected by the crisis.
In a crisis situation, the sooner an effective two-way flow of information can be established between the local population and those providing assistance, the sooner those affected by the crisis can become active participants in their own recovery.
In a crisis, isn’t media support a luxury compared to food and shelter?
It is not a zero-sum game. Support for local media doesn’t detract from humanitarian response; accurate information dramatically improves the delivery of assistance.
Information abhors a vacuum. So the absence of reliable broadcasts or other forms of information coming from trusted sources creates exceptionally fertile ground for rumors.
In Chad we found that when the government imposed travel restrictions, rumors spread that the government was trying to make life difficult for the refugees to make them go home. Actually there were serious security problems. Once local radio shared this, people’s attitudes changed.
What are some of the roles media play in a humanitarian crisis?
In the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster, people only know what they can see of their immediate surroundings. Broadcast media, particularly radio, can provide a critical assessment of the extent and severity of the crisis for the entire community. This helps families to decide whether to pack up and move or hunker down.
Local media can play a key role in informing the response and the process of reconstruction. Reporters who have been covering the community for years are well-placed to create a forum for discussion, giving voice to the community in the reconstruction process.
To what extent do relief agencies recognize the role of media in disasters?
Humanitarian organizations often find it easier to communicate through controlled information campaigns rather than local media, whom they perceive as overly focused on the problems in assistance delivery.
Support for local media can help reporters better understand the complexities of delivering aid in an emergency and form more constructive relationships with humanitarian agencies. This helps local reporters provide the information that communities need to maximize the use of assistance and report on the problems of aid through a constructive public dialogue, rather than simply critical reporting.
The best way to ensure effective communication between the humanitarian community and the local population is not through information campaigns, but through local media who speak in a voice that the community trusts.