Media

The media can make a real difference in the way people think and act about disasters.

Reporters, commentators, editors, broadcasters, and all members of the media can do more than just inform and raise awareness about disasters. By exploring the root causes of disasters and their social dimensions, the media can help communities and countries understand what it is that makes them vulnerable, and what they can do to increase their capacities to cope with disasters.

UNISDR works with the media to share the inside scoop on disasters and risk reduction, and translates them into useful concepts for the public.

The media is a powerful force that can influence policy change and, together with other development stakeholders, bridge the information gap between communities and governments. The dialogue created by the media between government and communities can help to shift the focus from a culture of reaction to a culture of prevention. Working with journalists from The Guardian, Thompson Reuter's AlertNet, the BBC, Vietnam TV, and Tempo in Jakarta, UNISDR produced a guidebook for the media to learn more about disaster risk reduction issues.

The 190-page manual, "Disaster through a Different Lens," describes how climate change, environmental degradation, poverty and rapid urbanization contribute to expose more people to disasters, and discusses what media can do to convince more national and local governments to invest more in disaster risk reduction policies.

UNISDR's focal point for the media is Brigitte Leoni (leonib@un.org)