Corruption in Emergencies: What role(s) for media?

Report from U4 working meeting

Part 3:
Media-agency relations: how to break the impasse?

Participants described the relationship between humanitarian agencies and the media as characterised by a 'healthy tension': the media proves useful to humanitarian agencies in drumming up public support and donations but criticism is feared. Agencies are wary of being implicated in stories that would damage their reputation both in the field of operation and at home. Humanitarian agencies are often perceived as overly secretive, unforthcoming and unnecessarily hostile to probing questions.

Maurice Herson, Senior Projects Manager in the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in humanitarian response (ALNAP), provided an overview of the interaction between humanitarian agencies and the media, the impact of disproportionate media coverage and the extent to which media coverage can direct humanitarian assistance.

It's a story of black and white - we love the media and we hate and fear them. We use them when we can. Of course they also use us - they need stories and sales or viewers, and we can provide some of the voices and facts and views that make those stories. We speak a language that the international media can understand, literally and more metaphorically speaking. Behind all these oversimplified and provocative, not to say aggressive statements is a more complex reality.

Maurice Herson, Senior Projects Manager - ALNAP (UK)
The media and responses to humanitarian crises

Gunnar Anderson, Director of Care Norway, also highlighted the dangers of simplistic communication. NGOs' marketing machines create myths that they sell to the public portraying humanitarian assistance as a saintly endeavour, a depiction that does not account for the difficulties in operating in emergency situations and allow the public to understand the inevitable pitfalls that will be encountered. As Hans Skotte from Norwegian University of Science and Technology noted, "We've painted ourselves into a corner by not openly acknowledging the complexities, the difficulties, and the dilemmas people face in the field." Reflecting on his experience in Bosnia, Skotte critiqued the cosy relationship there between Norwegian journalists and aid workers:

Emergencies, reporting on them, and international humanitarian response constitute a reciprocal troika. In practical terms emergencies do not exist, and trigger no action, where there is no-one to report on it. In this sense Bosnia was a true emergency. The Norwegian media, for instance, was in Bosnia primarily to report on the Norwegian achievements. Their key sources were field staff of Norwegian NGOs … This (agenda) allowed international agencies to embed incoming reporters, i.e. to accommodate, transport and strategically inform them on issues deemed important to, say, the Norwegian public. They were not, by the nature of their operations, their source of funding, and by their moral standing in the eyes of the public, interested in presenting fraud and failed projects. But, honest, who would? And furthermore, what media institution would release resources for investigating some irregularities by actually digging in the fields in a far-away country?

Hans Skotte, NTNU (Norway)
Complexity and Corruption

If media coverage normally focuses on feel-good portrayals of heroic humanitarian workers, the rare corruption story will inevitably be - or seem - more damaging by virtue of its very exceptionalism. Participants noted that the only way for agencies to truly tackle the threat of scandalous headlines is to communicate the complexities of aid operations in a more regular, and nuanced, manner. Encouraging responsible and balanced reporting on corruption can help manage public expectations in the long-run.

How can agencies promote responsible reporting? Participants suggested a three-pronged approach that includes: 1) increasing transparency of aid operations by publishing information about funding and expenditures in a timely, accessible manner; 2) informing about corruption problems proactively, and 3) providing direct assistance to local media in emergency contexts.

There are indications that some agencies are addressing corruption concerns more openly than ever before. Oxfam's recent announcement that it closed down a Tsunami relief programme in Aceh because of corruption (see case study below) is a notable example of this trend. By explaining to the press why problems had occurred and setting out what action had been taken, Oxfam pre-empted criticism and was, to some extent, able to counter it.

Oxfam's approach is not, of course, risk-free. In some contexts, negative coverage of relief operations can have serious repercussions for staff security. In Rwanda and Burundi, death threats against aid workers accused of involvement in corruption scandals have been issued in the national press. Such cases illustrate the need to promote objective reporting by working consistently - not just when problems arise - with serious journalists identified in the local environment.

What assistance to the media is appropriate?

Donors have a range of options in their efforts to increase constructive media coverage of emergencies. The following needs assessment can help identify entry points for support.

Following an assessment, donors could consider the following models of assistance:

Media Fund - Establishing a central media fund, into which donors contribute funds, avoids reliance on the government to provide financial assistance to particular (favoured) media outlets. The media fund can be based on key principles - that funds are allocated to support free and independent media, perhaps with an emphasis on providing balanced and objective coverage of emergency operations - but individual donors do not direct funds to any specific organisations. Instead, a governing board oversees allocations.

In Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans, the SCOOP project was established to support investigative reporting. Along with the funds provided, a network of journalists was set up to provide editorial and legal assistance to investigative journalists.

Resource Centre - Given the financial strain placed on many local media outlets, the provision of central facilities - communications, printing facilities and possibly studios - offers an infrastructural base that can be used by all local media without funding any outlets directly.

Training across the media - Specialised training, equipping journalists with in-depth knowledge of and access to emergency operations, can improve the quality and breadth of reportage and help build trust between agencies and local media.

Funded follow-up trips - Foreign Ministries have funded trips for their media to return to emergency situations.

In the aftermath of the Tsunami, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs paid for survivors to return to Thailand and see the recovery operation. With a domestic hook, the Norwegian media followed and provided good coverage of how donations to rehabilitation on the Island of PiPi had never reached there. Instead, funds were diverted, often to individuals with Government connections, to rebuild big hotels.

Media Development Organisations - There are many organisations with expertise in the field of media support and development that have experience of needs assessments and integrating considerations of long-term sustainability into any assistance.

For additional information see the list of resources.

Recommendations to Donors

• In each emergency situation, take stock of the following questions and devise a media strategy accordingly:
  
  
  • What are the risks in exposing or failing to expose incidents of corruption?
    
    
  • What action can be taken to send a clear message that corruption will not be tolerated and will be investigated thoroughly?
    
    
  • What measures can be taken to ensure that preparation and risk assessments are not rushed, exposing agencies to greater corruption risks?
    
    
  • What action can be taken to publicly support agencies that have decided to confront cases of corruption?
    
    
  • What can be done to provide information on the overall picture of corruption, alleviating the risk that one agency will bear disproportionate responsibility if they go public?

 

• Develop a policy of supporting agencies confronting corruption
  Agencies' willingness to confront corruption publicly will depend partly on their confidence that donors will support them. Donors should make it a clear policy to encourage a transparent approach towards corruption. When agencies do proactively address corruption, donors should back them through public statements where appropriate.
  
  
• Ensure information concerning the aid intervention is public and accessible
  Donors should establish access to information policies for implementing partners and themselves, so that media can more easily track allocations of funds, the areas of expenditure and the extent to which the needs of affected communities are met. Some of this, such as pledges made, amounts allocated, recipients of funds and the timetable of financial allocations should ideally be sourced from donors. Similarly, donors' own efforts to investigate the extent and causes of corruption should be made public. This will increase public confidence that the matter is taken seriously and addressed rigorously. It will provide the media with a basis for inquiry and help to set individual cases of corruption in context to prevent distortion of particular examples.
  
  
• Provide resources for proactive communication
  For implementing agencies to operate communications departments with responsibility for working creatively with international and local media, the costs of professionalism must be reflected in the budget.
  
  
• Support specialised training on humanitarian aid for journalists operating in
  crisis-affected countries, including those based in donor countries for international media outlets.
  
  
• Assist local media in crisis-affected countries
  Recognition that local media coverage can contribute to, and improve, accountability and transparency justifies assistance to local media (see needs assessment above). Donors should assess the possibilities for integrating support to local media into their emergency response allocations.

Recommendations to Humanitarian Agencies:

Humanitarian agencies are often responsible for distorting expectations of what can be delivered and how fast. The media might compound this impression but agencies bear some responsibility for correcting false expectations and providing a more realistic picture of the field of operations. In this regard, agencies could engage with the media in the following ways:

• Resist using the media as a public relations device, promoting the organisation at the expense of informing the public. As a matter of policy, agencies should acknowledge the validity of external scrutiny and investigation; providing that it is conducted in a fair and balanced manner.
  
  
• Operate an access to information policy allowing journalists to trace expenditure and assess the quality and effectiveness of the relief effort. Work with other organisations to determine a consistent approach to information disclosure, particularly in cases involving corruption.
  
  
• Draw on the experience of organisations that have employed media experts to liaise with journalists, build up long-standing relationships with both international and local media, and aim to deepen journalists' understanding of the complexities of emergency operations.

Recommendations to Local Media:

Relief agencies and donors can only be expected to engage with media that conducts investigations with balance and objectivity. Political partisanship will not be supported. To be in a position to expect cooperation from domestic and international organisations, local media should:

• Realise the traditional media roles as watchdog and whistleblower, providing a voice to victims and affected communities and ensuring that, where their needs are not met, questions are raised. Where possible, stories should not be a "one-off" but rather follow the situation of crisis-affected populations over time.
  
  
• Maintain regular contact with relief organisations, make efforts to understand the difficulties faced during relief operations and convey these to the audience. Where necessary, probe areas of weakness and investigate the causes of corruption and malpractice.
  
  
• Relate local knowledge to particular cases, providing insight and explanations of how corruption becomes possible and what measures can be taken to limit it.
  
  
• In situations where skills or resources are inadequate, make these known to agencies and donors and explore possibilities for assistance.

Recommendations to International Media:

• Promote expertise in the area of humanitarian assistance and emergency relief and reconstruction. Emergency situations are too complex to be understood by generalists. Specialisation enables journalists to set individual cases in context, investigate malpractice and common, systemic causes of corruption. Thorough knowledge on the part of the media will encourage cooperation from agencies and donors.
  
  
• Advocate for access to information regarding relief activities from government bodies, agencies and donors as a basic right of affected citizens.
  
  
• Where possible, assist in the support of local media and provide solidarity where local journalists are persecuted or harassed for their reporting on corruption.
  

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