23 April 2008

Try putting yourself in the shoes of an aid agency press officer. A colleague in Zimbabwe is lined up to do a TV interview to discuss the humanitarian situation in a country where most people can't afford a loaf of bread, and delayed election results are stoking political violence.

But then you hear rumblings that a radio interview she did earlier has upset the ruling party. What do you do?

These are the kind of tough decisions facing aid groups on a daily basis. Should you expose people's suffering, and risk disgruntled authorities obstructing or even closing down your operations? Or should you stay silent so they'll allow you to carry on working? In this particular case, the interview was pulled.

Tension for aid agencies

"There is always a tension between aid agencies wanting to speak out – which is part of the humanitarian imperative – and wanting to help people stay alive," Martyn Broughton, editor of humanitarian news website Reuters AlertNet told a debate hosted by the British Red Cross at London's Frontline Club on 15 April.

Broughton said the media doesn't always understand the dilemmas faced by relief groups in conflict zones – where talking openly about abuses inflicted on civilians can endanger aid agencies' programmes and their staff.

While this isn't a new problem, panellists at the debate agreed it's getting worse. Both journalists and aid workers face growing security risks, making it harder than ever to cover the humanitarian consequences of conflict.

Neutrality questioned

"The difficulties we face are changing and growing," said Bill Neely, international editor for ITV News. "With the rise in insecurity in places like Iraq, Pakistan and Somalia, we face a growing problem as Westerners. Our neutrality is being challenged – we are seen as part of the Western intervention."

In recent years, Neely has reported from southern Afghanistan – where the high risk of violence means there are few international aid workers on the ground, and journalists often travel with the British military. "When you are embedded with the military, you tend to see things from a military perspective and sometimes humanitarian issues take a back seat," Neely explained.

The changing nature of war may be making it harder to cover what's happening to civilians in conflict zones. But aid workers have long accused the media of neglecting certain humanitarian stories, or giving others only superficial coverage.

Grabbing attention

Faced with a kaleidoscope of emergencies - yet limited column inches and airtime - press officers have to judge what's most likely to grab journalists' attention.

"You pick the low-hanging fruit first. What can I get coverage for? How can I get the best bang for my buck?" explained Dominic Nutt, head of news for Save the Children UK.

In the past, some journalists have accused aid agencies of exaggerating the urgency or scale of certain situations. And there's fierce debate over when to use the label of "humanitarian crisis", and whether the media responds fast enough when aid agencies do raise the alarm, as with the 2005 food shortages in Niger.

Accountability

But panellists argued that these disagreements are part of a healthy process of accountability. Aid agencies should be ready for journalists to get tough on them, said Greg Barrow, UK spokesperson for the World Food Programme, which is now grappling with a surge of media interest in the humanitarian impact of rising global food prices.

So far, coverage has been fairly sympathetic to the UN body, but Barrow suspects that could change in the months ahead, as journalists start to investigate how aid agencies are coping.

Questioning the news

Given the increasingly competitive and dangerous newsgathering environment, the need to keep questioning what's in the headlines and why seems stronger than ever. 

"I welcome the tension between aid agencies – it is healthy and democratic," said Save the Children's Nutt. "I love it when we get scrutinised."

This event, chaired by Leigh Daynes, head of media and public affairs at the Red Cross, was part of a series organised by the 'Dispatches from Disaster Zones' task force, a group of aid agency communicators and journalists, managed by the Red Cross.

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