Handbook for Pakistani Journalists Reporting on Humanitarian Crises

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Internews Publishes Handbook for Pakistani Journalists Reporting on Humanitarian Crises

(June 14, 2010) Internews Network has published the first-ever humanitarian reporting manual for Pakistan, Humanitarian Reporting in Pakistan: A journalist’s handbook(PDF).

The handbook is based on Internews’ five years of experience working to empower local media in Pakistan to convey vital information to people in conflict and disaster-hit areas.





Empowering Local Media to Report on Humanitarian Crisis
Internews currently runs the Pakistan Humanitarian Information Project aimed at providing information for returnees and IDPs, which uses local media to tell the stories of the nearly three million people affected by the conflict between the Pakistan Army and militants in the country’s northern and tribal areas (NWFP).

Internews has trained a team of journalists on covering humanitarian crises, and set up five production units for two daily radio programs, Sabaoon and Maraam. The program Sabaoon airs through Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, the State broadcaster’s AM transmitters, and the program Maraam airs through two independent radio stations with signal coverage in IDP areas. Both programs aim to improve the quality and quantity of information reaching people who were displaced before and during the conflict. At the same time, the program creates two-way communication between the affected communities and the government, local and international organizations providing humanitarian assistance. Internews has also set up a web portal to connect the humanitarian aid community to the conflict affected people.

The Pakistan Humanitarian Information Project builds on the lessons from 2005 – when Internews launched the Pakistan Emergency Information Project. Internews successfully advocated for emergency broadcast licenses for the earthquake-ravaged areas of NWFP and Kashmir destroyed by the October 2005 earthquake that killed 70 thousand people and left 3.5 million homeless, and helped build seven humanitarian information FM stations in NWFP and Kashmir. Within two weeks of the earthquake, a team of Internews-trained reporters were on the ground, producing an hour-long radio program designed to provide information to help earthquake survivors cope with the consequences of the disaster and rebuild their lives.

Internews continues to offer humanitarian training for journalists, where topics such as immediate needs in a humanitarian crisis, the roles of various actors and stakeholders, and sensitivity toward victims of a crisis, are covered. Technical tips for field reporting such as collecting sound and interviewing skills are also part of Internews trainings.

Solid Reference Guide for Reporters
Based on these experiences in Pakistan and others across the region, Internews produced Humanitarian Reporting in Pakistan: A journalist’s handbook, as a reference for journalists in Pakistan during humanitarian crises. The handbook addresses issues and concerns specific to Pakistan and includes a section detailing the government ministries and departments, international and local actors that respond to humanitarian crises in the country.

The handbook, which is in English, is the first manual of its kind in a country where media training and professional development in journalism is slowly starting to happen. Internews believes that the handbook will help improve the capacity of journalists to cover such issues in Pakistan.

Internews’ Humanitarian Information Project in Pakistan is supported by the United States Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Swiss Development Corporation.

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