A Case Study of How the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Relates to Alternative Journalism in Disaster and Conflict Operations

Fakulteten för Ekonomi, kommunikation och IT Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap

Nina Paulsen Harling

‘More nimble, more human, more efficient‘ A case study of how the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement relates to alternative journalism in disaster and conflict operations

”Flinkare, humanare och effektivare” En fallstudie om hur rödakors- och rödahalvmånerörelsen förhåller sig till alternativ journalistik vid katastrof- och konfliktinsatser

Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap, C-uppsats Media and communication studies, thesis

Termin/Semester: Våren/Spring 2012 Examinator/Examiner: Ulf Buskqvist

Karlstads universitet 651 88 Karlstad Tfn 054-700 10 00 Fax 054-700 14 60 [email protected] www.kau.se

Preface

I would like to extend a big and warm thank you to Karlstads universitet and to my teachers and supervisors Ulf Buskqvist, Christer Clerwall and above all Michael Karlsson and Paola Sartoretto —thank you for the advice and support.

I am also very grateful to my Red Cross and Red Crescent collages that kindly donated their time and shared their experience to answering my questions and providing important content for this essay.

Many thanks!

Nina Paulsen Harling

1 Abstract

Different forms of non-traditional journalism play an increasingly important role when it comes to informing us about what´s happening around the world.

By the use of one case study—the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement—this essay aims to research the following problem: How does the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement relate to alternative journalism during disaster and conflict operations?

The question is explored from theory on alternative journalism and its alleged empowering potential and as an alternative in cases where traditional journalism fails. Through individual interviews with participants from the organization including one focus group interview, the study gives an overview of how these professionals relate to alternative journalism and how it is incorporated into the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement´s (hereafter RCRCM) activities.

Conclusions include that: RCRCM is increasingly using information from alternative journalism to monitor and listen to different audiences and as sources for operational purposes. Alternative journalism comes with opportunities such as; closer dialogue and feedback, credibility and accountability to the sector as well as empowerment.

Direct Movement organizational benefits include helping to mobilize communities to participate in operations through for instance becoming members and volunteers and contributing to fundraising efforts.

However there are challenges, in particularly in view of adhering to the RCRCMs fundamental and key operational principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence.

Keywords: Alternative journalism, advocacy journalism, citizen journalism, participatory journalism, disaster and conflict affected Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, disaster and conflict operations, beneficiary communication.

Sammanfattning

Olika former av icke-traditionell journalistik spelar en allt viktigare roll för oss när det gäller att informera oss om vad som händer i världen.

Genom att använda en fallstudie, rödakors- och rödahalvmånerörelsen, undersöker uppsatsen följande problem: Hur relaterar rödakors- och rödahalvmånerörelsen till alternativ journalistik under katastrof- och konfliktinsatser?

Frågan undersöks utifrån teorier om alternativ journalistik och dess påstådda potential som alternativ i fall där traditionell journalistik misslyckas. Genom individuella intervjuer och en fokusgrupp-intervju med kommunikatörer från organisationen ger studien en översikt över hur de förhåller sig till alternativ journalistik och hur den införlivas i rödakors- och rödahalvmånerörelsens (härefter RCRCM) aktiviteter.

Slutsatser inkluderar att: RCRCM använder alltmer alternativ journalistik för att följa och lyssna på bredare målgrupper men också som källor för operativa ändamål. Alternativ journalistik ger framförallt möjligheter såsom närmare dialog och återkoppling, trovärdighet och ansvarighet (accountability) för sektorn samt medbestämmande.

Direkta organisatoriska fördelar inkluderar underlättandet vad gäller att mobilisera befolkningen till att delta i insatser, till exempel genom att bli volontärer/frivilliga eller medlemmar samt bidra till ökad insamling.

Men det finns utmaningar, särskilt när det gäller att följa organisationens grundläggande och viktiga operationella principer om opartiskhet, neutralitet och oberoende.

Nyckelord: Alternativ journalistik, opinionsbildande journalistik, medborgarjournalistik, deltagande journalistik, katastrof- och konfliktdrabbade, Röda Korset och Röda halvmånen, katastrof- och konfliktområden, förmånstagar-kommunikation.

Contents Preface ...... 2

1 Abstract ...... 3

Sammanfattning ...... 4

2 Introduction ...... 7

2.1 Problem statement and research questions ...... 8

2.2 Relevance ...... 10

2.3 Background to problem area – Alternative Journalism ...... 12

2.4 Background to problem area – Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement...... 13

2.5 Limitations ...... 15

2.6 Disposition ...... 15

3 Theoretical framework ...... 16

3.1 Examples of historically related research ...... 17

3.2 Technical development and use...... 18

3.3 The State, deterritorialization, and jurisdiction: security ...... 19

3.4 The role of alternative journalism in disasters and conflicts ...... 21

3.4.1 Interaction between traditional and alternative journalism ...... 25

3.5 Organization Communication ...... 27

3.5.1 ICRC approach to work in conflict and crisis, communication objectives and social media channels ...... 28

3.5.2 IFRC approach to work in disaster and crisis management communication objectives and social media channels ...... 29

3.5.3 National Society communication objectives and social media channels related to conflict and disasters, the example of Swedish Red Cross ...... 31

4 Methodology ...... 31

4.1 Choice of method ...... 32

4.2 Population and selection ...... 32

4.2.1 Interview details ...... 32

4.3 Execution ...... 33

4.4 Critique of method ...... 35

4.4.1 Generalization ...... 36

4.4.2 Reliability ...... 36

4.4.3 Validity ...... 37

4.5 Ethical considerations ...... 37

5 Results and analysis ...... 38

5.1 Research question one: How does the RCRCM use externally produced alternative journalism? ...... 43

5.2 Research question two: What kind of actions is taken by RCRCM, based on reports from alternative journalism during disaster and/or conflict operations? ...... 45

5.3 Research question three: How do RCRCM communicators use platforms of alternative journalism (journalism by participating in internal and external web-based media or channels such as blogs or micro blogs/twitters) to achieve the RCRCM communication objectives?..... 47

6 Conclusions ...... 51

7 Discussion: findings related to research gaps ...... 55

8 Future research ...... 59

References ...... 61

Appendix 1 (Interview details) ...... 66

Appendix 2 (Interview Guide including definitions) ...... 67

Appendix 3: Key Note speech Pierre Kremer, IFRC, at CDAC ...... 72

Appendix 4: Red Cross workers account of communicating with vulnerable communities ..... 77

2 Introduction

My interest for the subject of this thesis was triggered partly thanks to my own working experience. I have worked for all three parts of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (RCRCM) for more than 13 years. My positions have included Communication Delegate in former Yugoslavia, Caucasus and Reporting Delegate in South Asia. For the past years I have been working at the Swedish Red Cross in different disaster management related positions. In my work I still relate to media, including social media, particularly during disaster situations.

The additional power of the new forms of journalism and crowd sourced information (e.g. systems which allow direct reporting of needs by those affected as opposed to “traditional” journalism performed by formally educated journalists) is widely discussed as part of the discourse within and outside humanitarian sector. Especially with regards to how it can make crisis and disaster related rescue and recovery processes more targeted and ultimately much faster operations. One example is the work at the Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research (HPCR) at the Harvard University, see references section.

As part of its own aim for improved communication with and accountability to beneficiaries, the sector is exploring ways to improve its work in the new media environment. There is also an implicit threat that if humanitarian organizations do not use the opportunities well, there are risks of negative publicity as today, beneficiaries often have the means to speak out and will communicate whether they have been served adequately or not. The debate in the media as well as applied studies I have come across (see reference section) also indicate that there is a general interest for the subject.

While there is available research on different kinds of alternative journalism (e.g. Atton, Allan and Thorsen, Carpentier, Deuze, Karlsson etc.) new concepts of journalism are still relatively contentious. According to Atton, there is virtually no research in terms of alternative media audiences and research in the detailed international comparative studies. Researchers have not focused on how alternative media is produced, how people work, how they learned the job, or how do they identify and select their stories (Atton 2009). Atton also mentioned we know very little about who uses alternative media and for what purposes (Atton 2008).

With regard to advocacy journalism Waisbord’s suggested areas, linked to the problem area of this thesis, the following would benefit from research: -does global advocacy effectively shape news coverage when it dovetails with local actions, considering journalism´s preference for local news hooks? -How (does) global advocacy movements effectively support local advocacy needs to be understood by analysing local reporting practices? (Waisbord 2009).

2.1 Problem statement and research questions By the use of one case study looking at the world's largest humanitarian network — the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement — this essay aims to research the following problem: How does the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement relate to alternative journalism during disaster and conflict operations?

The aim of the study is to examine and compare how Communication staff representing the three different parts of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (hereafter RCRCM) relate to alternative journalism from two sides; as recipients but to some degree also as producers (then linked, one could argue, to public relations). For instance, what kinds of actions are taken based on reports from alternative journalism during disaster and conflict operations?

In order to be able to approach this, the problem statement has been divided into more specified questions which can be dealt with and investigated more easily:

1. How do the RCRCM use externally produced alternative journalism?

2. What kinds of actions are taken by RCRCM, based on reports from alternative journalism during disaster and/or conflict operations?

3. How do RCRCM communicators use platforms of alternative journalism (journalism by participating in internal and external web-based media or channels such as blogs or micro blogs/tweets) to achieve the RCRCM communication objectives?

There are many concepts and definitions in today’s world of journalism including new forms of journalism. Therefore it is admittedly a challenge to provide clear and concise definitions. In this essay, the definitions used mainly build on theories based on the following researchers: Nip, Atton, Waisbord and Allan and Thorsen.

According to the practices observed by Dr Nip in Journalism Studies (2006:1), the connection between mainstream journalism and the people can be categorized as: (1) traditional journalism, (2) public journalism, (3) interactive journalism, (4) participatory journalism, and (5) citizen journalism.

Using Dr Nip´s categorization as a starting point, this thesis will select two of the above mentioned forms of journalism which are amongst the non-traditional, namely number (4) participatory journalism and (5) citizen journalism. These two forms have been selected as they are perceived to be relevant in a RCRCM context.

Participatory journalism takes the form of the news users generating content, more or less independently of the professionals, whereas the professionals generate some other content, and also produce, publish and market the whole news product. Again RCRCM benefits from this but perhaps even more so volunteers and staff may well be in a position to produce participatory journalism.

Citizen journalism has been chosen as it concerns amateurs writing as citizens, members of societies, e.g. activists who could for example include disaster affected community members themselves or RCRCM volunteers living and serving those affected in communities.

In addition and due to the RCRCMs task to advocate on behalf of vulnerable people (e.g. disaster affected), I have also found it relevant to include a third journalistic form to study in this essay, namely the concept of advocacy journalism. Alternative journalism will be the umbrella concept used in this thesis to cover the three selected forms of journalism (advocacy journalism, citizen journalism and participatory journalism.

In summary, the definition of alternative journalism in this thesis is about journalism which is not created by traditional or mainstream journalists. It is about journalists who are not educated in the traditional sense but still performing tasks that contribute to journalistic value. Alternative media, as chapter 3.2 and 3.4 will show, are commonly associated with different social media forms such as blogs, Facebook and twitter.

A more detailed explanation of the definitions and interview questions used to answer the above problem statement are found in the Interview Guide, appendix 2.

2.2 Relevance Mass media and journalism are among our most important social institutions. They are central to democracy, citizenship and our everyday lives. We therefore have reason to care about how journalism is developed and continues to be developed.

Professional journalistic education has only been available since the late 1960s. Up until the beginning of the 21th century, these “traditional” journalists with formal education in journalism have had more or less a monopoly on news production. As in many professions, journalism involves a great extent of information processing, but differs from other activities. For example, commercially produced journalism is constitutionally regulated in e.g. Sweden. It works according to specific criteria and ethics (Kovach, B. and Rosenstiel, T. 2007:18). Journalism is also closely linked to questions of who creates edits and comments on news content.

One way to describe communication through the media is to think of the transmitter as the producer and the receiver as the consumer or public (Shannon 1948). However, a starting point of what the media does to people has in recent decades has been reversed to the discussion on what people do with media. The terms of both journalistic production and consumption have thus changed fundamentally, above-all, with regard to distribution. The result is, among other things, that we are more likely to get more perspectives and voices from the world outside traditional media - often without filtering by traditional gatekeepers.

At the same time, the workload for traditional or mainstream journalists has increased and the appeals for ‘ready-made’ news stories have increased. Major news organizations are struggling to cope with slashed budgets in recessionary times. As Allan and Thorsen point out (2009:3) they are increasingly relying upon the appropriation of first-person news reporting. this appears especially valid in crisis situations, such as disasters and conflicts. There has long been a close association between citizen journalism and the reporting of crises for it is in situation of crises…that ordinary people are often “compelled to adopt the role of a reporter” and “bear witness to crisis events unfolding around them” (Allan and Thorsen, X preface).

The value of citizen journalism is the greatest when and where the professional media fail (Nip: 2009). Disasters and conflicts are examples of such situations. At the same time disasters and conflicts are by nature of their mandate and activity the contexts in which the RCRCM operates to serve vulnerable people. Therefore I find that there is a convergence between the concepts of alternative journalism (as I am defining it in this thesis with different sub groups such as citizen journalism), the RCRCM and its disaster and conflict related operations.

The technical possibilities for even single individuals to initiate and drive projects to highlight humanitarian causes or fundraise in the name of humanity are also becoming more common. Examples of this are publicly initiated efforts to catch the war criminal Joseph Kony (TT. 2012) and targeted humanitarian aid projects using twitter (Utterström, A. 2012).

Parallel to humanitarian efforts made by organizations or individuals, there is an increasing interest and pressure from humanitarian back donors to show detailed results at beneficiary level and a risk associated with not being able to do so. One example of the donor interest is that Directorate General ECHO, the Humanitarian Aid department of the European commission, in early spring 2012 committed a consultancy to conduct a survey on the application of participatory approaches for disaster-affected communities in humanitarian initiatives. Communicating with affected communities is thus a high priority on humanitarian organizations´, donors and engaged citizens´ agenda.

2.3 Background to problem area – Alternative Journalism

Increased democratization, mass communications, commercialization, and a technology revolution have changed journalism rules in recent decades. The possibilities for distribution information have increased. Today citizens are presented in communication models both as producers and consumers. Individuals with different backgrounds, class and language around the world and with no formal journalism training act as both producers and consumers of journalism. They can collaborate with established media or create their own forums such as blogs through social media.

The result, as seen by many is that more voices around the world are heard and seen - often without being filtered by traditional gatekeepers - and may provide a more multifaceted view of the world, e.g. it counteracts the simplistic picture that particularly commercial media often presents. Several researchers such as Young, Khiabany, Ngyen (Allan & Thorsen 2009) suggest that the increased involvement of citizens in the media contributes to greater democratization. The rapid progress has been made possible by technological developments but also by political development, for example, due to fewer military dictatorships and one party states during the latter half of the 1900s. At the same time, other challenges such as information overload make it more difficult and time consuming than before to determine what information is actually useful or not.

Alternative journalism can be said to contribute to several of the elements of journalism such as contributing to the truth and highlighting what is important and relevant as well as providing critical examination of government and to some extent the economic elite.

Researchers debate as to whether the alternative forms of journalism can be called journalism or not. If there is a publisher who can stand before the law, clear rules on e.g. source protection? Kovach & Rosentiel’s well-known description of journalism does not include alternative forms of journalism (Kovac and Rosentiel 2007: 18). At the same time they say that the purpose of journalism is not defined either by technology or by journalists. The principles and purpose of journalism are instead defined by something more basic: the features that

12 news plays in people's lives. The primary purpose of journalism is to give citizens the information they need to be free and self-governing.

The concept of alternative media is in itself a highly contested notion and alternative media can be understood in different ways, from a variety of theoretical perspectives. Bailey and her co-writing researchers however have proposed four ways to approach, study and research alternative media: community, alternative, civil society and rhizome. At the same time they claim that there is no “right way” to frame or define alternative media (Bailey et al 2008).

Some models of alternative journalism are also criticized and researchers are in general rather careful in attributing great importance to alternative journalism and media. Still, a growing amount of alternative media is out there with growing audiences and readers (for example Huffington Post, Democracy Now, iReport, OhmyNews and Flashback in Sweden)

2.4 Background to problem area – Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

The RCRCM is described as the world's largest humanitarian network. It is made up by three parts: 187 national societies, such as Swedish Red Cross and Pakistan Red Crescent Society and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The third part, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has special mandate based on - and is also the guardian of - the Geneva Conventions. (see also web links in the reference section).

The RCRCM provides assistance and protection to people affected by disasters and conflicts but also support communities in becoming stronger and more resilient in development projects. It is guided by seven fundamental principles enabling it to work in a neutral and impartial way to address vulnerability: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. It has around 13 million volunteers who are considered trained and active. These volunteers often work near their homes. In that way the volunteers also represent ordinary citizens who are also in varying degrees affected by the disasters that occur in their area.

The RCRCM also works in cooperation with governments (in a special role as independent auxiliaries, therefore not being a non-governmental organization), donors and other aid organizations. In summary and based on dialogue with colleagues, the RCRCM communicates with the outside world in order to: - Reach the most vulnerable and improve quality of its programming and support. - Increase the warring parties' in conflicts compliance with International Humanitarian law (IHL) for the protection of civilians. - Increase general awareness of the RCRCM’s mandate in conflicts (specifically ICRC) and its role linked to IHL, its basic principles and its un-political, non-religious status in order to reach acceptance, trust and safe access to vulnerable people. - Influence stakeholders/policy makers on behalf of vulnerable groups to improve their humanitarian situation (e.g. minorities, the landless and other vulnerable groups). - Raise funds for various activities. - Receive feedback on performance, accountability to recipients and donors. - Ensure beneficiary communication/dialogue/relationship building. - Increase the number of members and volunteers (relates only to national societies).

It is important to note that it has always been relevant for RCRCM to communicate within view of building acceptance, to ensuring relevant support and accountability to stakeholders. One example is the so called Red Cross and Red Crescent messages, screened and delivered by RCRCM and its volunteers. They have enabled e.g. victims of war such as prisoners of war and their families to regain lost contact on strictly personal matters since 1897. The IFRCs flagship annual advocacy publication called World Disasters Report 2005 was much devoted to the subject of information and stated that “People need information as much as water, food, medicine or shelter”.

With IFRC and national society services in many areas developing from needs based to rights based it is also relevant to link up with the United Declarations Human Right, article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.

RCRCM has embarked using social media and alternative journalism sources to reach their overall, including communication, objectives.

2.5 Limitations Due to the time and space limitations of this essay and the need to limit the study area, three aspects of alternative journalism were selected due to their perceived link with RCRCM information objectives (advocacy journalism, citizen journalism and participatory journalism). A particular focus on the RCRCM as opposed to the whole humanitarian sector was also pursued to limit the study. Through a number of interviews with communication professionals in the RCRCM, a description of how professional media relations can be carried out in the humanitarian industry during disasters was made possible.

The thesis looks at how the RCRCM is influenced by alternative journalism, and to some extent also how it can influence the external world, the latter which can be explained as part of its public relations. However the concept of public relations will not be elaborated upon in detail.

This essay focus on one method of research: interviews. The subjects for the interviews are 13 strategically selected professional communication staff members who represent the RCRCM.

2.6 Disposition

To start, the ‘Theoretical Framework’ will be presented. It includes a section on historical perspective to alternative journalism with related research and a description of the technical development and use which has facilitated the development of alternative journalism. A short summary of some of the legal realities traditional and alternative journalists face will also be provided. Then examples of the role of alternative journalism in disasters and conflicts including forms of interaction between traditional and alternative journalism will be described. After this comes a section on organization communication followed by a short description of each part of RCRCMs main formally expressed communication focus and

15 available communication channels as sub sections. Swedish Red Cross (SRC) will mainly represent the examples of the 187 national societies.

Chapter four (4) on ‘Methodology’ will begin by giving an account for the choice of method, population, selection and description of the execution of the interviews. After a general critique of the methodology, the concepts of generalization, reliability and validity will be provided in order for the reader to have an opportunity to evaluate the results and form his or her own opinion about the research undertaken.

Then follows chapter five (5) called ‘Results and Analysis’ chapter ’, giving an account for the findings in the essay relating to the research questions asked in the beginning of the essay. These results will be discussed in the light of the theory. This chapter will also describe findings in this thesis in relation to the selected research gaps identified by alternative researchers mentioned in the introduction.

The Conclusions, chapter six (6) will be laid out in order to discuss the empirical results in relation to the earlier presented theoretical framework. Chapter seven (7) will discuss findings in this thesis related to research gaps. At the end, chapter eight (8)will describe some of suggestions for future research will be put forth. There will also be four appendixes included, relevant to the subject discussed.

3 Theoretical framework

The theoretical framework of this essay was based around theory on journalism with focus on the connection between journalism and the people (particularly people directly or indirectly affected by conflict and disaster). Selected aspects of so called alternative journalism (advocacy journalism, participatory journalism and citizen journalism, see definitions in appendix 2) have been prioritized in this study.

3.1 Examples of historically related research

A number of important communication researchers are found in history. The following four researchers described by Scannell (2007) are found to be important to the development of alternative journalism.

The German philosopher Kant (Scannel 2007:46) is an important protagonist of modern journalism. During the so-called Enlightenment in the 1700s he wrote pioneering works on ethics and epistemology. Kant’s thesis was that people should have the courage to use their own judgment instead of relying on the power, not least the so-called feudal public sphere, for example, a country's king.

McLuhan and Innis (Scannel 2007:135) in the 1950s and 1960s represented the first media researchers. McLuhan, known for phrases such as "the global village", predicted that in the global village, consumers will become producers, ¬ decades before social media was conceived.

Lazarsfeld (Scannel 2007: 11) was a pioneer in the development of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. He described the importance of horizontal opinion leaders, such as a politically engaged neighbour, who in addition to media messages guided an individual's decision. In the 1980s he did research on how people decide before a presidential election and described a more dynamic process than previous communication models made. In this sense, the transmission model of the 1920's with the transmitter-channel-message- receiver-noise (as the message will try to get through) is decreasing in relevance. In reality, there are now often more transmitters, and the lines of communication involve a more complicated process.

Atton (2008:14) describes that critical media scholarship developed as a response to an earlier form of administrative research. Critical media scholars argued that administrative research was simply at the service of media power. The role of academics, they argued, was not to serve that power, it was to challenge it. Atton mentions a couple of researchers particularly relevant to alternative journalism who worked from the mid-1990s to mid-2005 (Bagdikian, de 17

Jong, Shaw and Stammers, Downing Mohammadi and Sreberny- Mohammadi).

The Citizen Journalism we see today began to take from in connection with various crises such as natural disasters. The tsunami in South and Southeast Asia in 2004 is often used as the starting point for when the citizen-journalism increased exponentially (Allan & Thorsen, 2009).

3.2 Technical development and use

The technical development is closely linked to industrialization, mass communication and citizens having the opportunity to both access and influence media content. In other words development from the steam engine, electricity to nuclear power, or from the steam press to modern printing technology, digitization and what we have now - the Internet.

The major dividing line in terms of communication in world history, according to Innis as described by Scannel (2007: 123), is the technological evolution of the written language. Printing started already around 1500 BC but it was only during the 1800s and in the context of industrialization that the development of the printing industry established itself in Europe and the United States. This meant that newspapers were spread which in turn enabled the first forms of mass communication.

Radio emerged in the 1920-30's and listeners became involved. TV emerged in 1940´s and the 50´s which gave new opportunities for audiences to participate, for instance as TV audience in the studio or by calling the comments to a program.

As described by Allan and Thorsen, the internet was invented in the late 1960s to serve as a decentralized network that would withstand a possible military attack (2009:23). During the 1990s the public Internet exploded and a technological revolution began. Newspapers started to publish electronic versions during this period. It was also during this period that alternative journalism started to grow rapidly. Web 2.0, the term coined 2004 by the activist and businessman Tim O'Reilly, was the next generation of web services and business models on the web. Common to the web 2.0 is that users should have great opportunities to be involved

18 and contribute to the site's content and be able to have control over their information, such as Facebook, Wikipedia, Flickr, YouTube etc.

Important tools for alternative media since this time have become cheaper, smaller and lighter; laptops, cell phones, tape recorders, video recorders etc. In the last 20 years alternative media has largely shifted to the internet. Besides being cost effective, Internet has potentials for organization, mobilization, interaction and facilitation of debate at both local and transitional level (Baily et al, 2008:151).

As described by Paul Conneally, a former IFRC Head of Communications, new technology has helped to turn victims to first responders. “Broadband →power 2 empower” (Conneally, 2012)

A new potential tool recently described (Bergendorff, 2012) is the so called "Spoken web" which is being launched in Kenya and India to reach e.g. the illiterate populations.

What we have come to see is a situation of “anyone can report anything”. This was said as early as 1998 by Matt Drudge, the young American that first spread the news about President Clinton’s sexual affair with the White House Intern Monica Lewinsky. As it appears, Mr Drudge can be said to partly be right. However it needs to be underlined that still hundreds of millions of people do not have access to e.g. the internet. According to an article the BBC Magazine in May 2009 around 25 per cent of all adults in the world at the time did not have internet access. While 93 per cent of people with a degree or higher levels of education had internet access, only 56 per cent of those who did not have formal education had internet access.

3.3 The State, deterritorialization, and jurisdiction: security

One of the expectations of the online environment was that it would transcend boundaries, that states no longer would be able to control it.

Salter (2009) describes that just as libel law is adapting to internationalization, so are “security laws”. Since 2001, anti-terrorism laws have intensified and multiplied. This increases the capacity of state authorities to survey and investigate citizens and have big effects on the ability of both journalists and ordinary individuals to seek information about the state. Even if internet may not be as easy to control as institutionalized media or licensed media, control can be exerted over all material items, especially when issues of security are in play.

Salter is rather pessimistic when he describes under which legal realities e.g. citizen journalists operate: Mechanisms are in place that affirms jurisdictional control over citizen journalists: they are still subject to law as countries adapt to a changing legal environment. Indeed, the international scope of the internet does not mean that it escapes countries and their laws, but instead that it may be subject to the laws of many countries (2009: 182)

Activist citizen journalism will always be at a disadvantage compared to mainstream journalism – politically, economically, culturally and legally (2009:184)

As Bailey et al point out (2008:155) there is a need for high-qualitative legislation and regulation and their enforcement in different countries and continents, embedded within local, political, social and cultural contexts. The legislation should not be limited to human rights, but needs to recognize the specificities and differences of alternative media on different levels such as context, technique and organization.

While mainstream journalists in many countries work under sometimes difficult circumstances, also confirmed by examples such as Sri Lanka in the interviews for this thesis, it may be even more challenging for alternative journalists. One example of the frightful environment alternative journalists may find themselves in is the story of a journalist sentenced to death for an Al-Jazeera interview, published by Reporters Without Borders 18 May 2012.

3.4 The role of alternative journalism in disasters and conflicts

There are many different concepts and definitions in today’s world of journalism including the new forms of journalism and its tools, i.e. media. According to Bailey et al (2008:150) there is no “right” way to frame or define alternative media. Therefore it is admittedly a challenge to provide clear and concise definitions. In this essay, the definitions mainly build on theory based on the following researchers: Nip, Atton, Waisbord and Allan and Thorsen. As earlier mentioned in the introduction chapter, the journalism definitions I have used in this thesis are described more in detail in the Interview Guide, appendix no 2. Other definitions which relate to the problem area and this chapter include the following:

Conflict: There is a lack of short definitions. Simply put conflicts are contradictions that are so large that one or more of the parties involved resort to violence to reinforce their arguments/get their interests met/secure its survival.

Disaster: As defined by the Centre for Research on the epidemiology of disasters (CRED); A situation or event, which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request to national or international level for external assistance (definition considered in EM-DAT); an unforeseen and often sudden event that causes great damage, destruction and human suffering. Though often caused by nature, disasters can have human origins. Wars and civil disturbances that destroy homelands and displace people are included among the causes of disasters. Other causes can be: building collapse, blizzard, drought, epidemic, earthquake, explosion, fire, flood, hazardous material or transportation incident (such as a chemical spill), hurricane, nuclear incident, tornado, or volcano.

Social media: Represents activities that combine technology, social interaction and user generated content. The term is used for Web 2.0 sites, where the most famous examples are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google +. It may also include other Internet forums, communities, blogs, wikis, group ware, podcast and article comments.

In situations of disaster and conflict, alternative journalism has a rather important role. I will in this section discuss examples of situation where the selected forms of alternative journalism (advocacy, citizen and participatory journalism) have been used.

Historical assessment of online news in its infancy often underscore the significance of crisis events in the latter half of the 1990s – precedents of form and practice, including the reporting of the Oklahoma City Bombing, the crash of TWA flight 800…and the death of Princess Diana (Allan and Thorsen 2009:21) and it has certain qualities; Individual blogs are not always the ultimate in terms of neutrality and objectivity, but exactly because of their specificity, engagement and subjectivity, they are able to challenge hegemonic representations and discourse and articulate a more personal and, some would claim, a more genuine and passionate account of war (Bailey et al, 2008: 150-151).

Advocacy journalism Advocacy journalism, or opinion formation journalism, is according to Waisboard the opposite of the "gatekeeper model" where the notion of professional journalism is guided by the ideals of objectivity and public service. Objectivity, in traditional media, especially in the U.S. and parts of Europe, was an aspiration that has recently been partly relaxed. Examples of this are the opinion-making journalism practiced on Fox News or Swedish Newsmill.

First, today's advocacy-journalism is also said to emanate from a model based on citizens' initiative, which consists of organized groups using the news media to influence reporting, and related public policy. Waisboard believes that civic advocacy initiatives over more traditional opinion-makers have different circumstances (the civil can e.g. be seen both as a source of news and news-residents). Citizens' Initiatives like to use traditional journalistic methods and codes but increasingly also public relations. Examples include Greenpeace who mixes street theatre and public relations to get in on the news sites or music shows by social movements trying to combat HIV and AIDS (and reduce stigma and discrimination as part of multimedia behaviour change communication) to attract media coverage. ..a recent World Bank survey among those living on less than one dollar a day found that when asked, most of the responded that “access to voice” would make the biggest difference in their lives” (Scholz, (Boler, Ed) 2008:359).

American musician Kanye West’s remix “George Bush Don´t like Black People” which he produced after what some consider the scandal of the blatant non-response of the GW Bush administration to the Katrina hurricane disaster (Scholz, 2008:358), could certainly fit under the heading of activism and perhaps fit under the advocacy journalism category. As described by the Guardian on 4 November 2010, G.W Bush considered this the worst moment of his presidency.

Sometimes it leads to trouble as described by Scholz (2008: 358) when the young Parisian designer Alex Chan produced the film “the French democracy” explaining the deep-rooted racism in France which led to the riots in 2005.

Citizen journalism Citizen journalism is thus amateurs acting as media producers with no formal journalistic qualifications. They write as citizens, members of societies, activists, fans or admirers. Citizen journalism, according to Atton, can be divided into categories such as: part of social movements (e.g. to combat poverty), a local alternative journalism (as news from the community centre), fanzines and blogs.

Examples of alternative emergency reporting include an American girl who published a letter by mail from her friend in Kosovo during the war itself and the massive documentation of alternative journalism after the terrorist attacks in the United States September 11, 2001 Allan:2009). Allan describes that blogs are widely used in citizen-journalism, from the girl who portrayed the reality of the Iraq War and by doing this fought against the media's misleading coverage or the researcher who blogged about climate change impacts in Antarctic.

It was after the tsunami in South and South East Asia 2004 when the term citizen journalism was appropriated into the journalistic lexicon (Allan: 2009). In 2005 two crises unfolded that helped make citizen journalism to expand further. In London bombs exploded and ordinary Londoners captured the commuter trains trapped underground as it happened. The pictures captured the horror of what it was like to be trapped underground. The other big disaster was Hurricane Katrina. The editors Allan and Thorsen describe in Citizen Journalism: Global

Perspectives how important citizen journalism, for example texts and images from mobile phones, can be after disasters such as Hurricane Katrina to provide information, including messages from citizens who wanted to help those left homeless.

After the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, technology and volunteerism produced emergency related information to save lives: Less than two hours after the Haiti earthquake, Ushahidi (Swahili for ʻtestimonyʼ or ʻwitnessʼ), an open source platform developed during Kenyaʼs 2007-08 post-election violence, came online (Heinzelman et al, 2010, p.2). The platform, haiti.ushahidi.com, was intended for people affected by the earthquake to freely add information describing among others trapped persons, medical emergencies and needs such as water, food and shelter to a map (CDAC et al, 2011, p.15) as referred in Griberg 2012).

As described by Allan and Thorsen (2009) citizen journalism may need to use a lot of creative forms in countries with limited freedom, war and lack of infrastructure such as electricity and internet connection. A chalk board outside a house can become a "Journal", icons in a suspended UN helmet next to the painting might indicate to the reader that "the UN was involved" in the story, as the example from Liberia. War blogs from both civilians and former soldiers in Iraq provided perspective that journalists who accompanied the troops were not able to accomplish during their mission.

For mainstream news the added value of citizen journalism can now be brought forth when packaged inside their own news presentations – especially when reporting crises and catastrophes: Here first hand testimonies, visceral accounts, and graphic images help to dramatize and humanize stories, injecting emotion, and urgency into the stories of people´s plight and pain. And, possibly, such raw images and graphic images and graphic accounts can also sometimes help to undergrid a mediated ethics of care or even the necessary politics of what should be done (Allan and Thorsen. 2009: XII preface).

Participatory journalism The “Letters to the editor” section of newspapers could (Nip: 2006) be considered a forerunner of participatory journalism, although the submitted letters were likely to be more heavily edited than the participatory contributions are. Public journalism projects that

24 included stories written by news users were the pioneer of participatory journalism as they published the experiences, not just views, of news users.

One of the most important examples of participation journalism with global participation is iReport which is owned by media giant CNN (in turn controlled by Time Warner Inc.). When you for the first time click on CNN's iReport icon, you get a user-friendly look. The service is described like this: Welcome to iReport, where people participate in the news with CNN. Your voice along with other iReporters, helps shape how and what CNN publishes every day. iReport is how people like you report the news. The stories in this section are not edited, fact- checked or screened before they are published. News only labelled "CNN iReport" was reviewed by CNN.

CNN is clear on iReport.com that it does not provide any guarantees as to the content or extent of the site. News content created by users are not edited, fact-examined or screened before publication. IReport was launched as part of CNN in 2006 and has since had success with the product (Allan and Thorsen, 2009:2).

BBC is also investing in public news, but on a smaller scale. BBC's public image is that citizen journalism or user-generated content, UGC as the BBC prefer to call it, has been a good investment (Allan and Thorsen 2009:4),

Like the US and Great Britain, Sweden is also quite developed with regards to participatory journalism, there are studies suggesting that participation journalism flourishes in the Swedish media and they have to some extent taken over work previously done by professional journalists (Karlsson 2011). One example of web-based media with a Swedish version is Wikinews, which include information on the website how to write their own contribution.

3.4.1 Interaction between traditional and alternative journalism The Abu Ghraib example in 2004 (American soldiers breaching International Humanitarian Law in prison in Iraqi and documenting it themselves on video, available on youtube)

25 illustrates the interaction between investigative (mainstream) journalism and the alternative online (Bailey et al, 2008).

It is clear that participation journalism is increasing and developing according to researcher such as Karlsson. At first, participation in web-based news was limited, later it got the opportunity to comment and ultimately it became more involved than commenting finished materials. In 2009 users could comment on more news than ever before and carry out activities traditionally regarded as journalist's role (Nip referred in Karlsson, 2011).

In a study related to Sweden only, Karlsson finds that the participation of journalism used by Swedish news web-based/online do not constitute a major threat to traditional journalists and editors´ so-called gatekeeping roles 2011).

Sometimes the traditional media is important for facilitating alternative journalists to contribute to policy change. Many in the West discuss the potential of communication through the internet as a catalyser of social change. The Facebook generation has already received recognition for the deposition of Egypt's dictator Hosni Mobarak in 2011. For a short period the most beloved person at Tahrir Square was the young Google manager Wael Ghonmin.

If one is identifying the higher goal of public journalism as engaging the people as citizens and helping public deliberation, one can, as Dr. Nip (2006) argue that the new forms of audience participation could further these goals only by infusing the value from and learning the techniques of public journalism. Allan and Thorsen however warn not to view technology as a panacea when it comes to alternative journalism.

According to e.g. writer Nial Fergussen it is however not only pro-democracy activists who know how to harness the power of networking. It is also the enemies of freedom, he says: "Ask yourself how did the murderous mob in Mazar-e Sharif know that the Koran had been burned in Florida? Only look at the internet and mobile phones. Since 2001, mobile phone access in Afghanistan increased from 0 to 30 per cent". The recent debate in Sweden on the

26 communication company Telia’s responsibility and accountability (or not) in enabling the authorities in Azerbaijan to carry out actions that that breaches human rights is another example (Arvidsson, 2012). The information Wikilieak provides is also questioned by many government officials who believe that material can be both dangerous to the security of nations and destroy their diplomatic work.

3.5 Organization Communication

The following short section is included to provide some aspects the RCRCM as an organization may consider based on available and related research.

Roughly speaking when talking about organization communication, the basic objective is creating understanding, lasting relationships and a common identity. Strategic communications (or communication management) aims at building a communication perspective on virtually everything an organization or enterprise is engaged in, such as formulating communication objectives, constitute management's eyes and ears, monitor the outside world and the organization and report on various changes, act as an internal consultant on communications issues, responsible for designing and crisis communications, etc.

Strategic communication can also be described as a fundamental part of an organization's management function and a practical specialty that includes the examination of requirements, planning, strategy formulation and execution of communication interventions and communication processes (Falkheimer and Heide, 2010: 36).

The boundaries of internal and external information are erased and now communications researchers are increasingly interested in the growing interdependence between internal and external stakeholders (Falkheimer and Heide, 2010:41).

A study by Seo et al. (2009) on how transnational nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) use new media tools in their public relation activities included a survey on communication representatives at 75 transnational NGOs based in the United States, found that promoting 27 the organization´s image and fund-raising were the two most important functions of new media for the NGOs. Organizational capacity and main objective of the organization were significant predictors of NGOs new media use in their public relations. However, organizational efficiency and revenue did not significantly predict NGOs use of new media.

Advocacy is not mentioned in the a.m. summary as one of the most important functions. However advocacy is relevant in this study. As indicated in a web based baseline survey done by Harvard’s’ Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research (NB not a scientific poll) with over 600 self-selected humanitarian professionals most people use it for news and information plus exchange of information with peers and networking. It is interesting to note that over 60% claim they use social media for the topic of promoting respect for International Humanitarian Law while 50% engage in the topic of disaster prevention and management as compared to climate change which attracts close to 30%.

According to some researchers people from organizations representing civil society are in a favourable position in the editors' selection process (Holt and Karlsson, 2011) something which can benefit organisations such as the RCRCM.

Below, the three organisations representing parts of RCRCM will be presented briefly with regards to their communication objectives and work with social media tools.

3.5.1 ICRC approach to work in conflict and crisis, communication objectives and social media channels The ICRC, as described on its home page, works worldwide to provide humanitarian help for people affected by conflict and armed violence and to promote the laws that protect victims of war. The work of the ICRC is based on the Geneva Conventions of 1949, their Additional Protocols, its Statutes – and those of the RCRCM – and the resolutions of the International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The ICRC is an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of war and armed violence. It takes action in response to emergencies and at the same time promotes respect for international humanitarian law and its implementation in national law. 28

ICRC has globally and regionally developed guidelines including social guidelines for staff. Main social media channels used by the organization are Facebook, Youtube, Google+ and Twitter. It also uses Flickr and Scribd. ICRC automatically promotes all news releases on Twitter in its available languages. It also promotes certain issues on Facebook. In principle ICRC has three communication objectives which are to: 1. Reach out to those interested in ICRCs activities, but also those it is trying to assist. 2. Increase the visibility of communication products, e.g. news stories, reports etc. 3. Monitor Twitter and other real time information platforms to translate for its communicative and operational work.

ICRC has recently started to do so-called “hangouts”, i.e. web based discussion seminars. On 25 April 2012 the first seminar was held on the topic “Social Media in Humanitarian Crisis communication” was discussed (see references). ICRC also has a hotline for journalists working in dangerous areas (see references).

3.5.2 IFRC approach to work in disaster and crisis management communication objectives and social media channels The IFRC describes in its own position paper its approach to disaster and crisis management; “We (IFRC) work to improve humanitarian standards, as partners in development and in response to disasters. We persuade decision makers to act at all times in the interests of vulnerable people. The result: we enable health and safe communities, reduce vulnerabilities, strengthen resilience and foster a culture of peace around the world….”

“…We (IFRC) have an exceptional decades-long history tradition in assisting people in disasters and crises and a commitment to continue to save lives, protect livelihoods and strengthen recovery from disasters and crises in the future.

The IFRC has a Global Communication document which sets the global objectives and social media guidelines but no set policy. IFRCs plan for 2012- 2013 focus on the following five key communication objectives; 1. Emergency communication (updated communications operating procedure and tool for major crisis, training tools).

2. Four areas of focus for global advocacy: neglected disasters, food security/resilience, inequitable access to healthcare and non-violence and peace. 3. Communication development and initiatives to further address two audiences: youth/volunteers and beneficiaries. 4. International branding initiative (common position, national society strategic communication tools). 5. Communication business improvement: tracking and media monitoring, inline communities and knowledge sharing, satisfaction surveys.

IFRC works with an official Facebook account, Twitter, Youtube, Google+ and Flickr. Based on the social media monitoring that IFRC currently performs, blogs and micro blogs (e.g., Twitter) are the two largest sources of ‘buzz’ that are collected and evaluated. IFRC has many followers who are volunteers and frequently retweet them. IFRC also use the so called Storify application to pull together user-generated content relating to e.g. the annual World Red Cross Red Crescent Day on 8 May (#RCRCDay). Another example is IFRC crowd map documenting Red Cross and Red Crescent activities in the Sahel. "https://rcrcsahel.crowdmap.com/"

The IFRC Beneficiary Communication project is currently with the help of Infosaid consultancy trying to map different endeavours and develop a future strategy on beneficiary communication, have categorized different kinds of communication as follows: 1. One way – social media – blasting out information - early warning (e.g. cyclone warning) and behavioural change (e.g. related to hygiene practices) etc. 2. Two way-social media-asking questions- receiving responses (information gathering/management) 3. Advocacy/Accountability – social media – asking questions-receiving responses- for outcome for beneficiaries 4. One way-mass media (radio, TV, print media) – blasting out information – early warning and behavioural change etc. 5. Two way-mass media (radio, TV, print media) asking questions-receiving responses- (information gathering/management.

6. Advocacy accountability- mass media (radio, TV, print media) asking questions- receiving responses-for outcome for beneficiaries.

In this thesis, focus lies on point number 2, 3, 5 (alternative media) and 6.

3.5.3 National Society communication objectives and social media channels related to conflict and disasters, the example of Swedish Red Cross The Swedish RC (SRC) domestic work gives priority to efforts relating to socio-economically vulnerable areas, for instance in the areas of integration, support for unaccompanied minors (refugee children under 18 year), knowledge enhancement about human rights and International Humanitarian Law directed at young people in school age.

In relation to domestic natural or man-made disasters, SRC has a role in providing psycho- social support in cooperation with relevant authorities.

SRC does not have a Communication Policy but has a digital strategy and guidelines on how to use social media. It has developed its home page with a clear view to open up for comments and dialogue rather than gate-keeping. Facebook, Twitter and to some extent blogs are used and SRC has recently started a blog where e.g. the Secretary General is talking about the food crisis in Sahel on 4 April 2012.

4 Methodology

In order to examine the problem area and answer the research questions for this essay, I have carried out 13 interviews with people representing all three parts of the RCRCM. This chapter will describe the choice of method, selection and methodological procedures surrounding the interviews to enable the reader to better understand and evaluate the results of the interviews.

4.1 Choice of method

This essay is attempting to answer a question with words rather than numbers, which is a reason why qualitative approach is appropriate. Since the aim was to study the relationship and collaboration between RCRCM Communicators interviews with a phenomenological (experience based) approach was used. A combination of individual interviews and a focus group interview was carried out to facilitate dialogue between participants.

Interviews depend on the researcher’s personal abilities and knowledge about the area of interest. In this case, a personal knowledge of the organization of research and skilled colleague workers considerably facilitated the work of constructing appropriate questions (Kvale & Brinkmann 2009). The downside of being part of an organization that you study is that you have a tendency of being biased towards that organization.

4.2 Population and selection

It would have been impossible to include the entire population which could have qualified for this essay. Instead, representatives from each of the three parts of RCRCM with job descriptions linked to the area of research were selected. Strategic selection based on recommendation from the initial contacts determined the respondents for this essay.

Other than interviewing relevant communication practitioners in each RCRCM part, it was also relevant to interview one member of staff who is an experienced social media practitioner.

4.2.1 Interview details The following persons have been interviewed as part of producing this thesis: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 1. Isaac, Griberg, Social Media Officer 2. Bijan Frederic Farnoudi, Media and Public Affairs for Europe and North America 3. Jean- Yves Clémenzo, Public Relations Officer for Eastern Africa

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) 4. Joe Lowry, Communications Manager (up to Feb 2012). NB. this interview took place as part of the qualitative interview exercise performed under the Methodology section of this course. Some questions have been added/or omitted in the final Interview Guide) 5. Amy Greber, Social Media Officer 6. Paula Alvarado, Communications Manager at the Regional Delegation for South Asia (up to December 2011) 7. Bob McKerrow, Head of Delegation, Sri Lanka

Swedish Red Cross (focus group interview) 8. Anna-Carin Hedén, Web Editor 9. Carl- Johan Nordlander, Manager Social Media 10. Inga-Lill Hagberg, Communication Officer, International Programmes 11. Erik Olsson, Editor SRC Membership Magazine ”Henry” and Annual Report

Uganda Red Cross 12. Catherine Ntabadde, Assistant Director Communications

American Red Cross 13. Wendy Harman, Director Social Strategy

4.3 Execution

First it should be noted that prior to this thesis, and as part of the specific methodology tasks of this course, I made a quantitative assessment of what Swedish Red Cross related news triggered traditional media to cover it during 14 days end of 2011. The study also looked at the sources where Red Cross news appear, from blogs to State TV.

Further linked to this thesis I also made qualitative interview as part of the methodology course (See appendix 1, Joe Lowry) using similar questions to those appearing in appendix 2 as part of the testing.

When starting the work with the actual thesis, I discussed the problem statement, research questions and interview questions with colleagues such as the IFRC Head of Communications, the ICRC Social media officer and Swedish RC Managing Editor to further fine tune the content. This was primarily to test the relevance but also the accuracy in my formulations.

Prior to the interviews I called or e-mailed each person and informed them that I would tape the interview. I also shared in writing the Interview Guide (appendix 2) with each respondent prior to the interview. In order to be able to share the results with fellow students, lecturers and the public outside the university, the Interview Guide clarified that that it would not be anonymous, nor would the content of the interview be confidential. This was also repeated prior to each interview.

The 13 interviews for this essay were performed over a period of circa two and a half months in 2012, from end-April to beginning June. Some contacts, like four out of five at the Swedish Red Cross, were known to the author while new contacts and responders were recommended by the initial contacts.

Semi-structured interviews were used (see Interview Guide Appendix 2). Most interviews were conducted by Skype as the persons interviewed work all over the world. The communication officers working at Swedish Red Cross formed a focus group and were interviewed face to face on one occasion at the national headquarters in Stockholm.

Notes were taken during the interviews and most interviews were recorded on a digital voice recorder or smartphone. The interviews went largely uninterrupted and the respondents were friendly, talkative and cooperative.

Key quotes that represented central themes of the respondents answers, or that were particularly noteworthy, were selected in order to illustrate the findings in the ‘Results’ section of this essay found further down.

Because the research for this project had to be undertaken in different countries, it became necessary to perform three interviews via e-mail correspondence. Interviews questions 34 answered via email have both pros and cons (Kvale & Brinkmann 2009). On one hand, the live and animate interaction between the interviewer and the respondent goes missing. On the other hand, responses have the potential to be more thought-through and easier to analyse as the text is provided directly without needing to be transcribed.

4.4 Critique of method

According to Atton, studies of alternative media tend to employ qualitative approaches. Atton believes this is especially appropriate given the perspectives of these studies. Qualitative methods emphasize the experience of media producers; and internal approach to understanding the culture of participants; and a search for the meaningfulness of production as a process (Jensen 1991 referred in Atton 2009).

A conscious sense of naivety should be adopted by the person conducting the interviews as a way of showing openness towards the respondent and unexpected findings. Simultaneously, a sensitivity and previous knowledge of the subject can improve the quality of the interview and allow for a deeper and more nuanced picture of a subject (Kvale & Brinkmann 2009). This reasoning contains contradicting elements and the essay was affected from both ends of this spectrum as the researcher of this essay had indeed spent a significant amount of time in working for the RCRCM, but talked to many of the persons interviewed for the first time.

Most of the interviews for this essay were conducted in the researcher’s second language which may have an impact on the results, but as the research questions and questions were provided and discussed beforehand with colleagues in key functions from all three parts of RCRCM, the risk of misunderstandings were reduced considerably.

However steps to minimize possible negative second language impact have been taken by having had a colleague going through the text. As the RCRCM mainly uses British spelling on its external communication, the British spelling system was chosen.

4.4.1 Generalization The concept of generalization suggests that scientific knowledge is applicable for all cases, in all places, at all times (Kvale & Brinkmann 2009:280).

This essay with its case study approach does not claim to be statistically representative for the entire population. However, Ekström and Larsson maintains that if several cases (such as a number of communication professionals in this case) show reoccurring themes and similar patterns, there could be good reason for assuming that this would also be true in the cases of others (2000).

4.4.2 Reliability The Interview Guide included selected definitions of alternative journalism based on the academic literature that the theoretical section of this course is based on. This was to facilitate a common understanding of the subject matter, alternative journalism. The manual also included the interview questions, again to make sure that there was a common understanding.

This dissertation will give a good, if not generalized, overview of how the RCRCM relate to alternative journalism. A reliable selection of representatives were found thanks to initial contacts. The interview subjects all appeared to have answered the interview questions honestly and the interviews ran fairly smoothly. However, there were cases of technical problems (Skype, recording, loudspeaker etc.). In one case there was a misunderstanding from the person to be interviewed in that he provided written answers directly and the interview then was used as such. In another case, as it was difficult to find a time which suited both parties for a Skype meeting, the written option was chosen.

The fact that I was interviewing colleagues could have influenced to some extent self- censoring, e.g. not revealing some comments or aspects as I am aware that this document also will be public and therefore available to their bosses. However I felt that most people who were interviewed were quite comfortable in their professional roles and views.

The studied area is undergoing significant changes. Still it is felt that for the time being, the questions asked succeeded in answering the research questions adequately.

In order to enhance the reliability of this essay, one could have extended the number of people researched from the three parts of the RCRCM.

4.4.3 Validity As mentioned, the research questions were discussed with at least one representative of each part of the RCRCM prior to starting the interviews. This was not only to ensure that they were understandable (reliability) but also to check that the research questions and interview questions were relevant and no crucial question or aspect had been forgotten. I received good feedback from both colleagues and my thesis supervisor getting started with the interviews.

As 13 interviews is not a large number to make reliable generalizations from, certain areas where the subjects seemed to agree with each other appeared. The themes where the answers came out the most categorical and conclusive was then laid out and analysed in the light of previously mentioned theory.

4.5 Ethical considerations

Kvale and Brinkmann argue that since interviews by definition deal with people and many times with personal views on subjects which could be regarded as sensitive in certain contexts, the act of interviewing in itself is surrounded by ethical issues that need to be taken into consideration (2009). The following steps were taken to make ethical considerations:

Information about the organizations which was gathered in other ways than through the interviews (mainly the background information about the different organizations) was found on their own websites or through other reliable sources and should therefore not have posed a risk of damaging or misrepresenting the organization in question.

Revealing the working methods of a company could potentially lead to problems for an organization and cause respondents being reluctant to give up ‘too much’ information. As mentioned, each respondent was clearly informed in writing prior to interview about the purpose of this essay, the questions and that the interview would be recorded. A section is mentioned in the written Interview Guide about confidentiality and at the beginning of each interview the respondent was reminded of this issue.

5 Results and analysis

This chapter will be an account for the results of how RCRCM professionals relate to alternative media. The results will mainly be organized under each of the three research questions introduced in chapter 2.2 and sub-headlines will divide the findings relevant for each of the three organisations respectively. Representative quotes have been pulled out to illustrate key points. More information on the respondents can be found in Appendix 1.

First of all, most respondents find the concepts of alternative journalism somewhat confusing, interlinked and blurred, confirming the status of research used in this thesis and the varying translations of the different aspects of journalism (see also chapters 2 and 3.4). As Bailey et al have mentioned there is no one ‘right‘ way to frame or define alternative media (2008:150).

Some respondents, like Joe Lowry, describe that the convergence whereby e.g. TV stations are becoming blogs and the other way around contributes to the blurred picture. Lowry would not count IReport (CNNs channel for public contributions described in chapter 3.4) as alternative journalism as there is not much different having a reporter on the scene except that there is no money involved. If alternative journalists or alternative media platform such as blogs or micro blogs are big enough to be interesting they are not really alternative anymore. Again this in line with what e.g., Bailey et al note, the categories of alternative and mainstream are not rigid; they can be extremely fluid. For instance, some bloggers have been appropriated by the mainstream media and the publishing industry others are clearly striving to strengthen the hegemonies in which they are located (2008-150-151).

One respondent described that alternative media per definition is not objective but traditional media has also changed a lot. The notion of agenda setting and gatekeeping are not quite the case anymore and while traditional media still pretend to be objective this is really not the case. This is also in line with the development described in section 3.4 under with e.g. opinion making journalism such as Fox News and Newsmill have been introduced. For RCRCM communicators the consequence is that they need to spend much time and effort in verifying and triangulating sources, particularly in order to ensure that information is accurate and that the RCRCM key operating principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence are not violated in its communication. This is considered the biggest challenge by the respondents.

To differentiate between ‘journalism’ and ‘communications’ is also not entirely easy, as described by Pierre Kremer, IFRC. National Societies (such as Swedish Red Cross) may engage in crowd-sourcing to glean important insights from the masses, for example, but it does not necessarily mean that they consider the individual sources ‘alternative journalists’. A National Society may regard its micro blog as strictly a communications tool, while its more substantive blog may qualify as a platform for journalism.

There is a varying degree of available policy and guidelines to support the work of RCRCM communication staff related to alternative journalism and media, e.g. Uganda Red Cross has an information policy which is updated to include alternative forms of journalism. ICRC is on their way to standardize how information should be verified and triangulated while SRC so far has found ways to verify information case by case to ensure its fundamental principles are not breached. All organisations interviewed have some guiding documents to support work with social media.

One theoretical starting point was that alternative journalism is particularly relevant where traditional journalism fails (See section 2.3, Nip: 2009). Examples of such situations are cases of natural disaster or conflict, i.e. environments which are both very familiar to the RCRCM. The usefulness was clearly confirmed both in the theoretical research study of the role of alternative journalism in disasters and conflicts (chapter 3.4) and in the interview results (chapter 5.1, 5.2, 5.3).

RCRCM is indeed increasingly using information from alternative journalism, especially when it comes to monitoring “listen more than to talk, as a source rather than as a channel of information” as one respondent formulated it. Staffs thus listen to a broader audience but also use obtained information as sources, to inform operations and support activities. One respondent underlined the importance of monitoring to be able to clarify miscommunication such as false alarm early warning messages in relation to e.g. a tsunami.

Alternative journalism is mainly seen as coming with opportunities such as; closer dialogue with target groups including affected communities, timely and relevant programming or as one respondent put it; it makes us more nimble, more human and more efficient. This in turn benefits feedback on how communities perceive the organization, credibility and accountability to the human sector. Dialogue with alternative journalists is also viewed as contributing to empowerment of communities which the RCRCM serves. Bijan Farnoudi, ICRC described that information can be considered aid in its own right (see also section 3.4 and Scholz on the World Bank survey confirming this) and the new channels available offer many possibilities to be explored.

Direct Movement organizational benefits include helping to mobilize communities, especially the youths to participate by for instance becoming members and volunteers. The new kind of dialogue can also be supporting fundraising efforts in favour of relevant and timely support to disaster and conflict affected people. This is relevant both after quick onset disasters such as the Haiti earthquake 2010 but not the least also related to more so called neglected disasters such as supporting vulnerable people after the long conflict in Sri Lanka that ended 2009. Here follows another example of perceived benefits: We would have more stories from the ground, stronger impact with the media; reach a wider audience of donors. There is a difference telegraphing a story or to have someone skyping and you see the story. It is more powerful! (Paula Alvarado).

The technology development and the amount of information available have developed fast and the number of people with access to mobile connection is increasing every day, even in countries such as Somalia. Still there is a great – if not greater – need for actors, such as the

Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre in converting accessible meteorological information toward those who do not use traditional media into comprehensive, credible and understandable way to communities, allowing people to mobilize. Sometimes with the help of community based volunteers or more direct via clarifying e.g. disaster preparedness measures to community members at risk via sms etc. In that regard one could say that RCRCM has a kind of gatekeeping role. I feel part of my job is to be a concierge, particularly at crises. I try to support empowerment of national society staff in the field. For instance I can shepherd a journalists to a Turkish Red Crescent staff Twitter accounts for the journalists to follow the earthquake operation (Amy Greber, IFRC).

Overall communications staff from all three parts of the RCRCM find that they still put more resources in working with traditional journalists as oppose to alternative journalists. This is due to factors such as the sense of better understanding the traditional actors, having personal relationships with them and their ethic rules being clearer. It is also about RCRCM representatives being more certain of that traditional journalists would provide space, even in a critical journalistic piece, for a RCRCM comment and to make sure the quotes are right.

This exemplifies that even if the respondents appreciate the relevance of alternative journalism, they still put more trust into mainstream media. This is expressed by most respondents but particularly crucial to ICRC with its mandate linked to International Humanitarian Law and working in conflict environments. Opinions of a political nature can have adverse impact on operations. The different mandate is reflected in that ICRC and IFRC have chosen rather opposite ways of communicating in social media. While ICRC limits its communication more or less to selected heads of operations and professional communication staff and channels, IFRC and SRC are rather promoting the use of social media towards staff, resulting in ‘larger and mixed bouquets’ of messages. IFRC and SRC on their hand promote its staff users to use a disclaimer when they blog to limit this risk. From a strategic communication point of view (compare chapter 3.5) both approaches may well be right. The scope of the thesis did not allow to conclude whether any of the organisations operate in a more strategic way.

However it is clear in the author’s view that the American Red Cross provides a leading example as a national society. It finds itself empowering social media communities and at the same time executing the mission of the American Red Cross online. If the above result in this thesis is generalizable, one could argue that there are currently many missed overall RCRCM opportunities in relation to communication with target groups such as, but not limited to, diaspora groups who use alternative media. As described by Bailey et al, e.g. diaspora groups have distinct uses for alternative media. They tend to form “communities” bound by some degree of common political form and social interest, and by ethnicity, langue and culture. Moreover, they may produce and use these media as political instruments to voice concerns about their exclusion from the main public sphere, to maintain connections with their countries of origin and to build and sustain a new local and transnational “imagined” community 2008:150).

A couple of respondents perceived a need for further professional communication human resources to deal with new forms of information. The lack of professional journalistically trained and experienced communication staff within the RCRCM was seen by one respondent as a main limitation for dealing with alternative media as was management understanding of the importance as compared to e.g. Oxfam.

A more practical challenge perceived by one respondent is to officially connect and integrate alternative journalism with operations while another respondent mentioned the risk of empowering only those with access to this technology and leaving out the rest. Humanitarian response must be driven by need and not by who has access to technology.

From the authors point of view, a concern is if the new forms of alternative journalism and media and the opportunities that come with them too much are associated with technical aspects (linking to the warning Allan and Thorsen stated in 3.4.1 about not to view technology as a panacea when it comes to alternative journalism). Having the technology in place obviously does not automatically translate to working strategically with communication including aspects of alternative journalism and media, especially if there is a lack of professional communicators to fill and use the channels with regards to content.

A perhaps more practical challenge is to ensure dialogue in social media is facilitated in the main languages. It is for instance a priority for the ICRC to increase its global blogs (Washington, Paris, Jakarta and Bangkok). In Beijing Kaixin (equivalent to Facebook), Weibo (Chinas equivalent to twitter) and Louku (Chinas equivalent to Youtube) is used. In addition, ICRC has 9-10 twitter channels in different languages such as Spanish and Arabic plus a number of delegations with separate Twitter files (Jakarta, Tokyo, London, Washington). However Isaac Griberg admits there is still room for improvement e.g. in Africa, Mena and South Asia and it is a priority for the ICRC to increase its ability to communicate in local languages.

When summarizing, there seem to be room for further study whether the RCRCM communication capacity is geared to deal with alternative journalism in a way that supports the organizations strategic communication or communication management (compare chapter 3.5 and e.g. Falkheimer’s and Heide’s descriptions).

Below follows more concrete examples from interviews linked to the respective research questions introduced in section 2.2:

5.1 Research question one: How does the RCRCM use externally produced alternative journalism?

ICRC: In many areas where the ICRC operates, such as Afghanistan, radio remains the best tool. As explained by Isaac Griberg, the ICRC today makes more use of material including video clips produced by people who are present in areas where the ICRC operates, for example during the so called Arab Spring 2011. Often people provide comments on e.g. Facebook on the ICRC’s work during crisis or natural disaster or man-made disasters. They might be wanting to provide sources or asking for help, e.g. from Egypt 2011, Bangkok and Syria. People representing both sides of the crisis approach the ICRC with information. When the material contains violence and blood Isaac and his colleagues takes it out from the web site but may still share it with the operational department as a first hand source. They also omit the information if it is sensitive or contain information such as ’I can confirm that XX has been

43 detained in XXX’ to avoid the person who has provided the information being to be put in danger. The most credible sources however remain our delegates in the field, but sometimes Twitter is faster. It is important to remember that many of the audiences we communicate with are armed groups that we want to reach with dissemination about International Humanitarian Law (Geneva Conventions, NP notes) (Isaac Griberg, ICRC).

IFRC: As explained by Pierre Kremer, the IFRC approach as to what the thesis defines as citizen journalism is first and foremost a monitoring approach. In a nutshell, the IFRC is mostly in a listening mode to better capture this trend and evaluate its potential impact in terms of reputation management (in Haiti for example). One interesting actor for the IFRC to follow is the watchdog organizations and new way of fostering investigation pieces such as Bureau of Investigative Journalism or the alternative journalist (s) behind the Inner City Press. The perceived a need to listen broadly is confirmed by another IFRC staff member as follows: If you do not listen 360 degrees you miss things. I find Twitter very good. You can have information from nine people getting different opinions. On my phone I get traditional media, Facebook and Twitter, policial activists, people who do not agree with mainstream politics and information through blogs…(Bob McKerrow, IFRC)

Below are a couple of concrete examples of how the RCRCM use information from citizen journalism: At the early time of the violence in Syria, when refugees from Syria started to cross Turkish borders, only citizen were in place. I was using info from citizens then at task force meetings and international monitoring team meetings. Sometimes information from citizens also contributes when there has been a disasters and the official figures of e.g. are stating one number of dead and lots of citizen information keeps informing about no deaths, this would be reflected in us stating something like “the number of killed at this point is XXX and unfortunately this figure is likely to be increased” (Joe Lowry, former IFRC).

Swedish RC (SRC): At the time of the crisis in Syria 2011-2012, the SRC cooperated with a private blogger with many followers who had close connections with many people both in Syria and Sweden. The information was used to highlight that the SRC was raising funds for ambulances to be sent to the Syria Red Crescent. To limit the risk of cooperating with a potentially biased person with not proven objective agenda, the SRCs decision was to only retweet the blogger when he was mentioning the info which the RC had checked (i.e. his

44 fundraising message to send contributions through the Red Cross itself). A SRC staff member was also in regular contact with him. The focus group interviewed believed that the cooperation contributed well to achieving the fundraising objective.

The SRC also mentioned contacts with the Spanish speaking local radio at the time when a big earthquake happened during the spring in Chile 2010.

American Red Cross (ARC): As described by Wendy Harman the ARC gets at least as much, if not more, value out of incoming conversation as compared to outgoing ones.

There is a clear agreement amongst the respondents that the biggest challenge about dealing with alternative journalism and media is to verify the information. You have to make sure and be damned careful. What looks OK could be carefully orchestrated propaganda, particularly when you deal with governments or government agencies, they hide themselves as alternative journalists – this is dangerous. When I am a guest speaker when we do communication trainings and I always repeat to the participants to check, check and check again the news! A good way for me is to go to BBC and then check Al Jazeera, after which I go to some of my credible Twitter contacts (2-3 traditional, 2-3 alternative)” (Bob McKerrow, IFRC).

5.2 Research question two: What kind of actions is taken by RCRCM, based on reports from alternative journalism during disaster and/or conflict operations?

ICRC: When communication staffs find relevant information on the ICRCs social media platform they share the information with their operational department through personal accounts and sources. Sometimes the challenge, and absolute necessity, is to verify or triangulate the information, with the view of adhering to the ICRCs fundamental principles such as impartiality and neutrality. The principles are the basis and key for the organization to be able to fulfil its mandate. i.e. victims of conflict. In other words, more information leads to more work for the communicators.

In the spring of 2012 the ICRC hosted a so called hangout web seminar (see references) that also provided the recommendation not only to engage in conversations on the platforms you 45 host (e.g. your organization’s Facebook page), but to explore how you can proactively engage on others’ blogs and sites too (e.g. correct information, address rumours and answer questions that concern your work).

IFRC: A benefit expressed by one respondent is that ’It is keeping us on our toes (as is mainstream journalism)’. One respondent described a situation during her mission in South Asia when the Indian State of Bihar was affected by floods. Government officials would come and distribute water etc. but some villagers were not receiving anything as they represented a low caste. However, the traditional journalists joining the officials did not mention any of this. As journalists, traditional and alternative, frequent the same places and talk, the alternative journalists, young local people who blog about what they see, would inform the mainstream journalists and communication staff like the respondent about what they witnessed. In this case, the respondent used the information to inform the Secretary General of the Indian Red Cross about this piece of information for him and his national society to act upon (this could in turn be needs analysis, distribution, advocacy efforts etc.).

Related to this discussion on can question about when an ordinary person becomes an alternative journalist? Isaac Griberg describes (se section 5.3) what are incitements for people to become active as volunteers, contributing with info on the web. My reflections include that it might be e.g. when a story is interesting enough to be picked up by traditional media (e.g. the Abu Ghraib story described 3.4.1) or when it is providing journalistic material by providing citizens with reliable information through the discipline of verification, as well providing a forum for public criticism.

Alternative journalists and their sources are seen as useful, not the least in situations where there is a disaster or conflict with a lack of traditional journalists (e.g. Syria 2011). Alternative journalism (or rather reporting as the respondent said) can be powerful when supported by an NGO and the RCRCM as displayed in the 2011 IFRC World Disaster Report, a usually rather well publicized annual report (media, research institutes etc.) on disaster related topics. All you need now is a telephone to tell a story.

Civil society actors such as NGOs and the RCRCM sometimes can act as gatekeepers, in the sense that RCRCM is in charge of the process through which information is filtered for dissemination, be it publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other type of communication. Gatekeeping is also seen as one of the traditional roles of journalism.

SRC: Se example for research question one.

American Red Cross: Several things happen when we have a major disaster operation. As described by Wendy Harman; 1. We update all of our official social platforms immediately to acknowledge the disaster and pledge to update our stakeholders with all the info we have as soon as we have it. (Facebook page, Twitter, Blog, Disaster Online Newsroom, YouTube, etc. 2. We deploy a Topic Profile in our Digital Operations Center and continually monitor all social conversations to determine trends, needs, and gain situational awareness. 3. We may activate our Digital Volunteers to take 4 hour shifts to listen to and respond to individuals with questions about where to find resources like shelters and food and how to donate. We also offer people hope and comfort - we call them digital hugs. 3. We have a team of 200+ Public Affairs volunteers who are pre-trained to deploy to speak to the media and to provide social content from the ground. We place all of their content on the Disaster Online Newsroom. (see suggestion future research, NP notes) 4. We continually update all of our social platforms with information about the response effort. We find that during steady state we have to be very creative to hold our stakeholders' interests, but they have an insatiable hunger for information during disasters. We especially concentrate on the Disaster Online Newsroom with "color commentary" from the ground and raw data from our Disaster Operations Center HQ.

ICRC: During the Syrian Crisis, the ICRC has used twitter heavily to disseminate information about its activities and about the humanitarian situation. As explained by Bijan Farnoudi, the media interest was so overwhelming that it was the fastest and most efficient way to disseminate key messages.

In this regard one can claim that the RCRCM in fact in situations like this takes on some of the roles which usually are given to the media, to provide sources of information which is verified and filtered (e.g. from content which may lead to security risks for people mentioned or pictured in the conversation, censorship of content with strong violence etc.).

New media has also been useful in the Democratic Republic of Congo according to Jean- Yves Clémenzo: When ICRC wanted to rehabilitate a water supply system there was no good map available. We decided to buy satellite image and started to draw up a map from this. We got some support from volunteers from the DR Congo Red Cross but mainly from people all over the world using our own software (similar to Open Street Map, NP notes) to draw houses, roads. Then we double checked with people in the communities to draw a rather precise map. This helped us. (see also story link called ’mapping humanitarian action ’ in the reference section).

IFRC: In the mentioned example from Syria/Turkey under section 5.1 the IFRC Communications Manager used Twitter to access the information which he then used as a source to complement official data with indications that the death toll would rise in the IFRC’s official communication.

A couple of the RCRCM related examples on interaction between alternative and traditional media, as described by Paul Conneally at the Médicines Sans Frontièrs Scientific Day (see references), include providing hand operated radios to enable vulnerable people in Somalia year 2000 to link up with the diaspora outside with the support of the BBC (however it is possible to question, similar to Thorsens and Allens note in chapter 3.4.1, that technology can solve all communication problems).

The Tsunami 2004 was a time when the use of mobile technology and people seeking or providing information collaborated successfully with primarily local radio. The Haiti earthquake 2010, often called the first digital disaster, enabled according to Conneally humanitarian organizations not only to engage communities but truly to empower them, turning them from victims to responders, and in essence, making them part of the team.

(One might add that the concept of being part of the team ideally should be defined in cooperation with the communities themselves, what is their view of being part of the team?)

As stated by Pierre Kremer in his CDAC speech, the Red Cross after the Haiti earthquake 2010 became a broker of communication, an intermediary between the donor and the beneficiary. What people ask for in times of disaster or crisis is finally quite simple. Essentially, they want to be treated the same way as you and I would like to be treated in crisis situation: we would need to have access to information, to be able to express our needs and to be listened to. This is where beneficiary communication can make a difference.

Accountability, dialogue and technologies as a game changer, direct advocacy from beneficiaries - all of these are emerging and unstoppable trends that are already influencing the way we work, Kremer says.

In terms of advocacy journalism and participatory journalism (and Public Relations too) the IFRC’s high profile annual advocacy publication “World Disasters Report (WDR)” is an example. The 2011 edition theme is Hunger and Malnutrition. The edition analyses the challenges, complexities and causes of hunger and malnutrition and advocates some solutions. The content range from stronger support for smallholder farmers to improving regulation of financial speculators in order to calm the increasing volatility of food prices around the world, from advocating sustainable agriculture to empowering rural and urban communities, and from social protection schemes to strengthening the work of international institutions. It also examines the response to food insecurity and malnutrition in crises, and the challenges and constraints to improving these responses.

For the India case, the IFRC used videos taken by community members themselves in cooperation with the NGO Video Volunteers to illustrate the situation (see references including link to IFRC WDR and sub links including India video project). The whole purpose was to talk about the problem in India, not to talk about (i.e. promote) the RCRCM.

SRC: An example, which links closely to, or rather is an example of, Public Relations, was when the SRC in the spring of 2012 was using the fact that a well-known stand-up comedian who was once reunited with his family in Sweden thanks to the Red Cross and mentioned this in his 49 show, took the opportunity to attract volunteers and inform about the service outside the show. This is also in line with the development explained under section 3.4 under advocacy journalism.

As stated by Pierre Kremer in his CDAC speech the Red Cross after the Haiti earthquake 2010 became a broker of communication, an intermediary between the donor and the beneficiary. Since then he elaborated further as follows: The Haitian Red Cross offers a good example of how important it is to connect with local communities based on how the latter obtain and convey information: calling in to Red Cross radio programs, exchanging SMS and tweets, conversing in-person with Red Cross volunteers.

Given the diversity of National Societies worldwide, it is difficult to generalize how each uses social media. (Different schools of thought come into play when examined at a tactical level. For example, is social media truly appropriate for fundraising – or is it best to focus on relationship-building?

The American Red Cross which is one of the national societies in the forefront of social engagement clearly states that it wants to provide valuable user-focused news and tools to help people - Get help or give help in emergencies - Donate blood and get others to donate - Take health and safety courses and get others to enrol - Get prepared for disasters and encourage others to do so Thereby it finds itself empowering social media communities and at the same time executing the mission of the American Red Cross online. The American Red Cross (ARC) is here singled out as the example in the lead with regards to using news format to communicate with beneficiaries and potential volunteers and other stakeholders. It might not fit in a traditional definition of “journalism”, however, this kind of news related information can be part of a strategic communication programme.

The ARC has a social engagement team with three specialist of which one is the interviewed Director, a policy (on social engagement) and strategic plan, online communication guidelines, social engagement handbook 2.0, frequently asked questions (FAQ) document related to its digital operation centre etc. A sign that this is not only the authors’ view is that respondents both from the ICRC and the IFRC specifically recommended I would interview the American Red Cross. Why the American Red Cross appear to be dealing so strategically and active with new forms of media is likely to be found in a number of reasons such as that; - the national society works in a big country with a huge and complex media environment. - Facebook, YouTube and Twitter were developed in the US. - National Societies have different roles in different countries as defined in dialogue between the Red Cross and its state and local authorities. According its home page the American Red Cross since has its founding in 1881 been the nation's premier emergency response organization. Over the years, the organization has expanded its services, always with the aim of preventing and relieving suffering. - the public health and social network system is less developed to cover its whole population in the US as compared to e.g. Sweden.

6 Conclusions

Through (the means) of one case study and the conducting of 13 interviews with professionals in the RCRCM, this study examined the following problem of ‘How does the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement relate to alternative journalism during disaster and conflict operations?’ through the breakdown of the following three research questions. 1. How do the RCRCM use externally produced alternative journalism? 2. What kinds of actions are taken by RCRCM, based on reports from alternative journalism during disaster and/or conflict operations? 3. How do RCRCM communicators use platforms of alternative journalism (journalism by participating in internal and external web-based media or channels such as blogs or micro blogs/twitters) to achieve the RCRCM communication objectives?

The theoretical framework of this essay was based on theories of traditional and more recently emerged forms of journalism and the connection between journalism, producers of 51 journalism and the audience. Selected aspects of what I have called alternative journalism (advocacy journalism, citizen journalism and participatory journalism) and social media channels such as Facebook, Blogs and Twitters/Micro blogs have been prioritized in this study.

One aspect which has been important in the study is to how the RCRCM takes in information from vulnerable individuals, groups or communities who do not have access to, or are not represented, in traditional media. The RCRCM has a clear role in advocating on behalf of these people and/or to facilitate their own voices being heard as part of meeting their basic humanitarian needs and rights.

According to Atton (chapter 2, Introduction), there is virtually no research in terms of alternative audiences and research in the detailed international comparative studies. This case study of the RCRCM is believed to have provided some information to fill parts of the gap. In addition, available research on civil society organizations and media usually concentrates on internal communication, strategic communications or relations with traditional media. On the other hand there is limited research which focuses on communication between these organizations and the people they seek to assist or help. The heart of the RCRCM’s mission is to provide support to vulnerable populations around the world. Therefore it is important to analyse how the organization communicates with its beneficiaries.

The notion of alternative media and journalism being contested concepts and that the line between traditional and alternative journalism is sometimes blurred was further confirmed in this study as e.g. respondents questioned e.g. IReport as being alternative, found that traditional media transform into TV, blogs etc.

There is a close association between citizen journalism and the reporting of crises as it is in situation of crises ordinary people are often “compelled to adopt the role of a reporter” and “bear witness to crisis events unfolding around them” (Allan and Thorsen, X preface). This statement was clearly confirmed in this thesis as was Nips view that alternative journalism is particularly relevant where traditional journalism fails (Nip:2009).

One theoretical department of this thesis was the notion that alternative journalism contributes to empowerment something which the respondents also clearly supported.

The interviews with IFRC representatives in South Asia related to conditions for alternative journalists confirmed the situation described under the theoretical framework section 3.3, where alternative journalists, but also traditional journalists lack legal support and face the risk of being put in jail or being killed when covering sensitive situations such as for example the internally displaced during the conflict in Sri Lanka.

The RCRCM is increasingly using information from alternative journalism. It uses it a lot to monitor and listen to a broader audience but also information such as sources for operational purposes, including advocacy work. It is mainly seen as coming with opportunities such as; closer dialogue with target groups which in turn benefits feedback on how communities perceive the organization, credibility and accountability to the human sector, timely and relevant programming or as one respondent put it; it makes us more nimble, more human and more efficient. Dialogue with alternative journalists is also viewed as contributing to empowerment of communities which the RCRCM serves.

When asked if overall the respondents find that the increased level of information stemming from alternative journalism constitute a threat or an opportunity, every respondent was in agreement that it brings opportunities while some answered both opportunities and threats.

One of the challenges described is the sheer amount of information around, as one respondent mentioned; there is over 200 million Twitter users and e.g. at a time of a large earthquake. How to bring out the pearls from the sea of information? The main challenge perceived by the respondents regards the verifying, or triangulate information from alternative sources.

How do one ensure the information is true and relevant? There is scope for further discussion on how organisations such as the RCRCM should navigate in an environment with endless amount of information. How can it use all the possibilities and at the same time deal with the

53 threats and challenges? This is particularly in view of the Movements fundamental principles such as impartiality, neutrality and independence which is key to its performance and accesses to the people it serves to support, as illustrated by Bob McKerrow’s quotes in section 5.1.

Relating to the study described in section 3.5 by Seo on how NGOs organizations use new media tools in their public relation activities it was found that promoting the organization´s image and fund-raising were the two most important functions of new media for the NGOs. Advocacy is not mentioned in the a.m. summary. A Harvard University web based study (not scientific but 600 self-selected humanitarian workers participating) does indicate participants use new media tools for advocating International Humanitarian law (60%) and disaster preparedness and disaster management (50%). According to some researchers people from organizations representing civil society are in a favourable position in the editors' selection process (Holt and Karlsson, 2011) something which can benefit organisations such as the RCRCM. The findings in this study support that.

Alternative media affects journalistic form, content and even the standards. Deuze describes that the future news systems will be based, at least in part, on an interactive and connective mode of production where media makers and users will work and compete to play a part in the mutual construction of reality. He describes potential developments in two directions: toward finally establishing the ideals of journalism and democracy to enable citizens to be self-governing, or to supercharge the social fragmentation of society into countless individualized public spheres. On a hopeful concluding note he mentions that: “Some consider a shift toward a more engaged, emancipatory and participatory relationship between media professionals and their publics and example of a new humanism in the domains of public relations, journalism, and advertising, constituting “an antidote to narrow corporate-centric ways of representing interests in modern society (Balnaves, Mayrhofer, and Shoesmith referred in Deuze 2009: 262)”.

This is in line with the optimism expressed by most respondents in this thesis related to alternative journalism and the opportunities they bring. However, as mentioned, the majority of respondents interviewed still feel that traditional journalism and media is more trustworthy and communication staff still makes priority to deal with mainstream journalists and media. In 54 conclusion and based on the findings in this study, I would attribute alternative journalism and media rather big importance in contexts such as disasters and conflicts. Organizations representing civil society such as the RCRCM do communicate with its beneficiaries and find it useful and coming with mainly opportunities. There are Challenges though, both in terms of navigating in the endless space of information and adhering to its own principles key to its performance.

This thesis indicates that the RCRCM would benefit from investing further in qualified communication staff and from develop its communication guidelines. This to support the RCRCM walking the fine line of protecting its key fundamental principles and further use the potential alternative journalism and media brings to improve dialogue with the people the RCRCM serves.

There is thus scope for further studies on if, and how, the RCRCM need to improve its strategic communication with regards to alternative journalism and media to reach organizational objectives.

7 Discussion: findings related to research gaps

In the Introduction, chapter two, a couple of research gaps identified by Waisbord and Atton are mentioned. Below the gaps are again described followed by information extracted during the course of working with this essay which is believed to provide some information in contribution to reduce the gap.

Research gap identified by Atton: Who are the audiences of alternative media, who uses alternative media and for what purposes? As the respondent Isaac Griberg mentions, many people who contact the ICRC via social media do it because they want to advocate or put pressure on the ICRC to act in one way or another. Sometimes the ICRC gets hundreds of similar messages and its clear then that it is an organized act. Sometimes it is individuals seeking assistance. Some people send content with violence or pornography and this kind of information is clearly taken out.

Section 3.4 describe that diaspora populations, such as those living abroad during the Kenya election crisis in 2007, are often audiences of alternative crisis media. In this case the diaspora provided to be useful for the Kenyan Red Cross fundraising. The online Mikes, an online business, provided the diaspora Kenyans to give online, purchasing relief materials that the company staff delivered to displaced persons camps in the Rift Valley, either through Mama Mikes or directly to the (Kenyan) Red Cross. (Zuckerman 2009: 192-193). This thesis has also described that the RCRCM is itself a user even if it is still in many ways still finding its way.

Research gap identified by Waisbord: Does global advocacy effectively shape news coverage when it dovetails with local actions, considering journalism´s preference for local news hooks?

As part of this thesis results, the practical example of facilitating and supporting hunger affected communities themselves to advocate in India in the rather well quoted IFRC World Disaster Response publication 2011 provides an example (section 5.1 and above point 1).

The respondent currently working in Sri Lanka explained how communication has been key in supporting fundraising efforts for operations in support of internally displaced, a generally speaking neglected disaster.

Research gap identified by Atton, in the introduction, chapter 2: How is alternative media produced, how do people work, how did they learn the job and how do producers identify and choose their stories? Atton has also mentioned that we know very little about who uses alternative media and for what purposes (Atton, 2008).

This thesis found that when the IFRC was working with citizen journalists in e.g. India through the “Video Volunteers” (an American NGO) for advocacy purposes in its high profile annual publication World Disasters Report (see above section 5.3) we have an example of how alternative media is produced. The people that made the filming are young and activist people, themselves coming from the poor communities suffering from hunger. Level of

56 education is primary to high school level with workshop level journalistic education only. They pitch stories which the NGO Video Volunteers, other NGOs or media may or may not be interested in. Video Volunteers as explained by one respondent is led by a professional journalist (see web link references, alternative journalists). No script was provided by the IFRC, only information that the purpose was not to point finger but to describe their situation. Funding was symbolic to cover transport and work. The reporters are members of community, trained in the basics and ethics of journalism.

Another example of how staff members use platforms of alternative journalism: After 25 years of civil war, people are reluctant to speak out. Many local people, caught in the middle of conflict, have been severely disciplined, have lost jobs, and had to build a life all over again. Many lost everything. You will find that it is rather the Sri Lanka diaspora and the expatriates that speak out. In a post conflict there is also a lot of inaccurate information in circulation. I see from time to time diaspora and sometimes they comment my blogs. Sometimes they comment and tell me I am not objective and I tell them – I write about what I see. I love this kind of direct dialogue with people (Bob McKerrow, IFRC).

One respondent mentioned the “Inner City Press” and what he believed was a one man band trying to be like a wasp and challenging large actors such as the United Nations and how it was useful for the RCRCM to monitor these kinds of actors to stay on your toes.

Regarding who uses alternative media, the following examples were encountered during the process of working on this thesis:

As Zayan and Carter describe, most citizen journalists in Arab countries come from privileged backgrounds, having high levels of education, income and leisure time in which to blog. Syrian blogger Amman Abdulhamid does not see this as a problem, however insisting that Arab citizen journalism often “cross*es+ the bridge between the elite and the grass roots” in reporting on human rights abuses and in helping to organize public campaigns to end them (Beckerman 2007, p 19 referred to in Zayan and Carter 2009).

The students (including the Ph.D candidate quoted in Isaac Gruber’s piece where he did empirical research to understand motivations for participation within volunteer and technical 57 communities (V&TCs), described people who supported e.g. trapped victims after the Haiti earthquake in 2010 using Ushahidi’s platform is another example of young people engaging in something they believe is useful.

Gribergin his study describes six functions (motivations, or reasons) of V&TVs volunteerism (Houle et al, 2005, p 337-338 as referred by Griberg (2012); values – the person is volunteering in order to express or act on important values, such as humanitarianism and helping the less fortunate understanding- the volunteer is seeking to learn more about the world and or exercise skills that are often unused career – the volunteer has the goal of gaining career-related experience through volunteering social- volunteering allows the person to strengthen one´s social relationships protective – the individual uses volunteering to reduce negative feelings, such as guilt, or to address personal problems enhancement- the individual is seeking to grow and develop psychologically through involvement in volunteering. A seventh function can be added as an attempt to broaden the model (Butler et al 2010 as referred by Griberg 2012:5): visibility – online volunteering provides the person with an opportunity to be visible beyond the boundaries of their geographical community.

Research gap identified by Waisbord: How (does) global advocacy movements effectively support local advocacy needs to be understood by analysing local reporting practices? As Pierre Kremer describes in his CDAC speech (see appendix no 3) , the Red Cross Red Crescent after the Tsunami 2004 in Indonesia “we became a broker of communication, an intermediary between the donor and the beneficiary, we worked on behalf of communities to fix or help with the issues that communities were facing”. Kremer explained that the program used a mix of face to face, SMS, TV, Radio and print to not only get a two way communication going but it was supported by multiple channels of communication allowing an open discussion between us as the advocates, the beneficiaries and the service providers.

8 Future research

Several scholars argue that a big part of available research on journalism has a liberal and Western perspective. Globalization has helped to make it more interesting to do research across boundaries such as country or culture. Based on the concepts I have chosen to describe in detail in just alternative journalism, I describe below areas that some of today's scientists believe require priority in future research.

Advocacy (Opinion Formation) Journalism: Issues Waisboard suggests to be further explored include: "What happens when the global impact (human rights, environment, NPs listing) clashes with national or local government interests, or the chief representatives of the news?"

Citizen Journalism: According to Atton there is virtually no research in terms of audiences and research in the detailed international comparative studies. Researchers have not focused on how alternative media is produced, how people work and how they learned the job. How do they identify and select their stories and how do they represent their sources? There are very few studies critically examining “progressive” media in terms of their “repressive” aspects, such as the advocacy of violence.

Participation journalism: Karlsson and Holt (2011) suggest that more research is devoted to the conditions/circumstances in which journalists work and how they affect editors' choice and content of participation journalism.

Many of the respondents mentioned that while they agreed with that the concept of alternative journalism is difficult and blurred and the authors mentioning in the Interview Guide that the concept is rather contested, they found the topic interesting and timely. The rise of social media is now quite influencing the way we communicate, it is becoming as important as what we communicate. I’m not sure this is for the good but we certainly need to embrace this trend and build from the opportunities it offers, especially in terms of directly partnering with people (starting with our volunteers and beneficiaries) in directly addressing key humanitarian/development challenges, leading advocacy activities and designing informal communities campaigning on common interest issues. 59

We’re still in an early stage in terms of further engaging our volunteers (blogs, Movement Facebook page, Twitter) or beneficiaries (beneficiary communication project). Our approach there is explorative more than strategic for the time being. But we’ll get there! (Pierre Kremer, IFRC).

In some places, such as described by the respondents working in the US and Sri Lanka, volunteers are already doing advocacy work and it would be interesting to further explore the results and potential of this .

As e.g. Pierre Kremer’s speech (Appendix 3) shows, the matter of how the RCRCM is using information from inside to support beneficiaries is a highly interesting topic. As it is not possible to address several research questions in one thesis, one area I am considering to do further research on is: How can the Red Cross better include content from volunteers and the beneficiaries themselves through alternative journalism (journalism by participating in web- based media or channels such as blogs and micro blogs/twitters) to reach stakeholders?

References

LITERATURE AND RESEARCH ACTICLES

One author Allan S (2009) Histories of Citizen Journalism. Allan, S and Thorsen, E (Eds) Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Page: 17-33. Atton, C (2009) Alternative and Citizen Journalism. Wahl-Joorgensen, K and Hanitzsch, T (Eds). The Handbook of Journalism Studies. New York Routledge. Page 265-279. Atton, C (2008) Alternative Media Theory and Journalism Practice. Boler, M (Ed). Digital Media and Democracy Tactics in Hard Times. Massachusetts- The Mit Press Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts. Page 213-229. Deuze, M. (2009) The Future of Citizen Journalism. Allan, S and Thorsen, E (Eds) Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Page 255-265. Deuze, M (2005) What is journalism? Professional identity and ideology of journalists reconsidered, Journalism 2005 6:442 – SAGE Griberg, I (2012) paper, Understanding motivations for participation within volunteer and technical communities (V&TCs) Birmingham City University. Karlsson, M (2010) Rituals of Transparency, Journalism Studies, 11:4, 535-545. Kvale, S Den kvalitativa forskningsintervjun. Lund. Studentlitteratur. Nip, J.Y.M (2009) Citizen Journalism in China: the Case of the Wenchuan Earthquake. Allan, S and Thorsen, E (Eds) Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Page 95-104. Salter, L. (2009) Indymedia and the Law. Issues for Citizen Journalism. Allan, S and Thorsen, E (Eds) Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Page 175-185. Scannell, P (2007) Media and Communication. London, Thousand Oaks (California), New Delhi, and Singapore. SAGE. Scholz, T. (2008) Where the Activism is. Boler, M (Ed). Digital Media and Democracy Tactics in Hard Times. Massachusetts- The Mit Press Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts. Page 355-367. Singer, J.B (2005) The political j-blogger: “Normalizing” a new media form to fit old norms and practices, Journalism 2005 6:173 – SAGE. Sonwalkar, P (2009) Citizen Journalism in India: The Politics of recognition. Allan, S and Thorsen, E (Eds) Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Page 75-85. Waisbord, S (2009) Advocacy Journalism in a Global Context) Wahl-Joorgensen, K and Hanitzsch, T (Eds). The Handbook of Journalism Studies. New York. Routledge. Page 371-386. 61

Wall, M (2009) The taming of the Warblogs: Citizen journalism in Iraq. Allan, S and Thorsen, E (Eds) Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Page 33-43. Vis, F. (2009) Wikinews reporting of Hurricane Katrina. Allan, S and Thorsen, E (Eds) Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Page 65-75. Zuckerman, E. (2009) Citizen Media and the Kenyan electoral Crisis. Allan, S and Thorsen, E (Eds) Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Page 187-196. Xiaoge, X (2009) Development journalism. Wahl-Joorgensen, K and Hanitzsch, T (Eds). The Handbook of Journalism Studies. New York Routledge. Page 357-371.

Two authors Atton, C and Hamilton, J.F (2008). Alternative Journalism. Journalism Studies: key texts. London. SAGE. Ekström, M and Larsson, L-Å (2010) Metoder i Kommunikationsvetenskap. Lund. The authors and Studentlitteratur Falkheimer, J and Heide, M (2010). Strategisk kommunikation. Lund. Studentlitteratur. Holt, K and Karlsson, M (2011) Edited Participation – comparing editorial influence on traditional and participatory online newspapers in Sweden. 19 Javnost – the Public, vol 18 (2011), No 2,pp 19-36. Kovach, B. and Rosenstiel, T. (2007) The Elements of Journalism. New York. Three Rivers Press. Kvale, S & Brinkmann, S. 2009. Den kvalitativa forskningsintervjun. Second edition. Lund: Studentlitteratur. Zayyan, H and Carter, C (2009) Human Rights and Wrongs: Blogging News of everyday life in Palestine. Allan, S and Thorsen, E (Eds) Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Page 85-94.

More than two authors Bailey, O.G, Cammaerts, B., and Carpentier, N (2008), Understanding Alternative Media. England. Open University Press. Liu, S.B, Palen, L, Sutton, J , Hughes, A.L, Vieweg, S. (2009) Citizen Photojournalism during Crisis Events. Allan, S and Thorsen, E (Eds) Citizen Journalism: Global Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Page 43-65. Östbye, H., Knapskog, K, Helland, K and Larsen, L.O (2008). Metodbok för medievetenskap. Malmö. Liber AB.

ONLINE SOURCES Arvidsson, C. Hockey och schlager är mer än propaganda. Opinion piece. Svenska Dagblandet, 24 April 2012: http://www.svd.se/opinion/ledarsidan/hockey-och-schlager-ar- mer-an-propaganda_7077105.svd [2012-05-24] BBC Magazine: Who doesn´t have the internet? 19 May 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8057158.stm [2012-06-13] Bergendorff, J. "Spoken web" lanseras i Kenya och Indien. Sveriges Radio. 10 Maj 2012. http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=406&artikel=5100930 [2012-05-16] Conneally, P. Médicines Sans Frontièrs (MSF) Scientific Day: Digital Humanitarianism: opportunities and challenges of harvesting new technologies in humanitarian Action. 25 May 2012. Paul Conneally Key Note Speech. http://presenter.qbrick.com/?pguid=fc943adb-841e- 4796-86ba-d496be1d45ad [2012-06-01] Emdat http://www.emdat.be/glossary/9#term81 [2012-06-11] Fox News. www.foxnews.com [2012-05-23] Grace, R. blog on Hprcresearch: Social Media Use and the Humanitarian Sector) http://www.hpcrresearch.org/blog/rob-grace/2012-04-19/social-media-use-and- humanitarian-sector?goback=%2Egde_1781047_member_109056864 [2012-05-16] Infoasaid has developed a set of diagnostic tools aimed to support: community and audience profiling, information needs and access assessments, communication strategy development and feasibility assessments related to different channels of communication. http://infoasaid.org/diagnostic-tools [2012-05-16] Inside Abu Ghraib. Pt.1 (Iraq Prison Camp CBC. Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ_Vxoyu8zY [2012-05-16] Humanitarian Innovation Fund, survey on the use of social media in a humanitarian protection context. Further information and the survey itself can be found on the following web site: http://www.humanitarianinnovation.org/news/humanitarian-social-media-survey [2012-05-16] Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research (HPCR) at Harvard University. Baseline survey to gather information about how the humanitarian community uses and perceives social media in its work. http://www.hpcrresearch.org/blog/rob-grace/2012-05-29/social-media-and- humanitarian-protection-baseline-survey-results [2012-06-21] Karlsson, M (2011) Flourishing but restrained, Journalism Practice, 5:1, 68-84, research article. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rjop20 [2012-05-24] Large, T. blog on Reuters: Will Twitter put the UN out of the disaster business? 24 March 2012. http://blogs.reuters.com/the-human-impact/2012/03/24/will-twitter-put-the-u-n-out- of-the-disaster-business/ [2012-05-16] Michaels, S. George W Bush: Kanye West attack was worst moment of presidency. Guardian. 4 November 2010. www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/nov/04/george-w-bush-kanye-west [2012-05-23] Newsmill. www.newsmill.se [2012-05-23]

Nip, Joyce Y.M (Dr), Exploring the second phase of public journalism. This is an electronic version of an article published in Journalism Studies (2006), 7(2): 212-236. Journalism Studies is available online at: http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~jour/documents/joyce/Exp_2th_Public_J.pdf [2012-05-16] Reporters without Borders. Citizen journalist sentenced to death for Al-Jazeera interview. 18 May 2012 http://en.rsf.org/syria-citizen-journalist-sentenced-to-18-05-2012,42641.html [2012-06-11] Shannon, C, A Mathematical Theory of Communication. Reprinted with corrections from The Bell System Technical Journal, Vol. 27, pp. 379–423, 623–656, July, October, 1948 http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/ms/what/shannonday/shannon1948.pdf. [2012-08-27] Seo, H; J.Y Kim, Yang, S-U. (2009) Science Direct. Global activism and new media: A study of transnational NGOs’ online public relations http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0363811109000332 [2012-06-01] TT (Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå) (2012). Åklagare har hopp om Kony’s gripande. Dagens Nyheter. 1 April, 2012. http://www.dn.se/nyheter/varlden/icc-kony-grips-i-ar [2012-05-16] United Nations (UN): Declaration of Human Rights http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ [2012-06-01] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: Remarks at Meeting of Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Principals [as prepared for delivery] 24 April 2012 http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=1517&utm_so urce=Copy+of+Social+Media+Survey+%235+%28Ban%29&utm_campaign=Social+Media+Surv ey+4&utm_medium=email [2012-05-16] Utterström, A. (2012) Privata biståndsprojekt i Twitterflödet, Dagens Nyheter, 4 Mars 2012 http://www.dn.se/livsstil/trend/privata-bistandsprojekt-i-twitterflodet [2012-05-16]

EXAMPLES ALTERNATIVE MEDIA BBC Have your say: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/have_your_say/ [2012-05-24] Bureau of Investigative Journalism. http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/ [2012-05-30] OhmyNews web site: http://international.ohmynews.com/[2012-05-16] Radioswap: http://www.radioswap.net/wiki/doku.php?id=about [2012-05-16] IReport: http://ireport.cnn.com/ [2012-05-24] Schnews web site: www.schnews.org.uk [2012-05-16] Video volunteers, home page. http://www.videovolunteers.org/ [2012-05-30] Wikinews: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Wikinews:Writing_an_article [2012-05-24]

RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT MOVEMENT RELATED SOURCES AND WEB BASED EVENTS: ICRC: The first so called hangout (digital online seminar forum) arranged by ICRC 25 April 2012 with the theme “Use of Social Media in Humanitarian Crisis - notes http://baljitdhillon.tumblr.com/post/22068663638/use-of-social-media-in-humanitarian- crisis-notes [2012-05-18] ICRC web site. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) http://www.icrc.org/eng/ [2012-05-16] ICRC web site: Mapping humanitarian action - a fast developing sector. http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/interview/2012/mapping-interview-2012-04- 05.htm [2012-05-23] ICRC web site: Hotline for journalists in dangerous situations: http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/publication/p0394.htm [2012-05-30] IFRC web site: About the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement http://www.ifrc.org/en/who- we-are/the-movement/ [2012-05-16] IFRC web site. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) www.ifrc.org [2012-05-16] IFRC web site: The web site explaining about its 187 member national societies http://www.ifrc.org/en/who-we-are/the-movement/national-societies/ [2012-05-16] IFRC web site: World Disasters Report (WDR) 2005: Information in Disasters http://www.ifrc.org/Global/Publications/disasters/WDR/69001-WDR2005-english-LR.pdf IFRC web site: World Disasters Report (WDR) 2011: Focus on Hunger and Malnutrition. http://www.ifrc.org/en/publications-and-reports/world-disasters-report/wdr2011/ [2012-05- 30] IFRC: Beneficiary Communication- Listen, Act, Now. Video on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlmGkU7qKxQ [2012-05-16] IFRC web site. Pioneering better communications in Haiti: http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and- media/news-stories/americas/haiti/pioneering-better-communications-in-haiti/ McKerrow, B. Thavarani one year later (blog on Red Cross results in Sri Lanka) http://bobmckerrow.blogspot.se/2012/05/thavarani-one-year-later-poorest-of.html [2012- 05-16] Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre http://www.climatecentre.org/ [2012-06-25] RCRCM: The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/icrcfans#!/RedCrossRedCrescent/info [2012-05-16] Swedish Red Cross. Home page: www.redcross.se [2012-05-30] Swedish Red Cross. Official blog. http://svenskarodakorset.wordpress.com/ [2012-05-30] Wynter, A. IFRC. Nigeria using cell phones to combat malaria in Nigeria http://www.ifrc.org/news-and-media/news-stories/africa/nigeria/using-cell-phones-to- combat-malaria-in-nigeria/ [2012-05-16]

Appendix 1 (Interview details)

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 1. Isaac Griberg, Social Media Officer, conducted on 7 May 2012 via Skype, [email protected] 2. Bijan Frederic Farnoudi, Media and Public affairs for Europe and North America, answers provided to the Interview Guide provided by e-mail 8 + 16 May [email protected] 3. Jean-Yves Clémenzo, Public Relations Officer for Eastern Africa, conducted 23 May via Skype. [email protected]

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) 4. Joe Lowry, Communications Manager up to Feb 2012. (NB this interview as part of the qualitative interview exercise under the Methodology section of this course, therefore some questions have been added and/or omitted in the final Interview Guide) – conducted by Skype on 11 November 2011. [email protected] 5. Amy Greber, Social Media Officer, conducted on 18 May 2012 via Skype. [email protected] 6. Paula Alvarado, Communications Manager at the IFRC Regional Delegation for South Asia between October 2008 and December 2011, conducted at the Swedish Red Cross Headquarters on 3 May, 2012) [email protected] 7. Bob McKerrow, Head of Delegation at the Sri Lanka Delegation – conducted by Skype on 16 May 2012. [email protected]

Swedish Red Cross A focus group interview was conducted at Swedish Red Cross headquarters on 4 May, 2012 with the following individuals: 8. Anna-Carin Hedén, Web Editor. [email protected] 9. Carl-Johan Nordlander, Manager Social Media. [email protected] 10. Inga-Lill Hagberg, Communications Officer, International Programmes. inga- [email protected] 11. Erik Olsson, Editor Magazine ”Henry” and Annual Report. [email protected]

Uganda Red Cross 12. Catherine Ntabadde, Assistant Director Communications. Written answers provided on 1 June 2012 on the basis of Interview Guide. [email protected]

American Red Cross 13. Wendy Harman, Director, Social Strategy. Written answers provided on 6 June 2012 on the basis of Interview Guide. [email protected]

In addition, Pierre Kremer, IFRC Head of Communications, provided feedback on problem statement, research questions and questions, last time 28 May 2012 [email protected]

Appendix 2 (Interview Guide including definitions)

Problem statement and aim By the use of one case study — the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement — the thesis aims to research the following problem: How does the Red Cross relate to alternative journalism during disaster response operations?

Definitions: There are many concepts and definitions in today’s world of journalism including new forms of journalism. Therefore it admittedly is a challenge to provide clear and concise definitions. In this essay, the definitions mainly build on theory based on the following researchers: Nip, Atton, Waisbord and Allan and Thorsen.

According to the practices observed by Dr Nip Journalism Studies (2006:1), the connection between mainstream journalism and the people can be categorized as: (1) traditional journalism, (2) public journalism, (3) interactive journalism, (4) participatory journalism, and (5) citizen journalism.

I will start with sharing Dr Nips description of mainstream (traditional) journalism followed by a definition of alternative journalism which I find serve as a cluster to include the above mentioned forms number 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Traditional journalism As described by Nip In traditional journalism, professional journalists are the gatekeepers who filter through the happenings of the world, select the significant events, and report them for their audience. The people do not play any part in the news process except as news sources from which journalists gather information and opinion. But most people, except government officials and those who bear titles, have little chance of becoming news sources. Apart from this, the journalists perform the entire news process, from story idea

generation, news gathering, writing, editing, to publishing, exercising their professional news values at every stage. Members of the news audience could send letters to the editor or lodge complaints after the news is delivered, which may feedback to the journalists for making corrections or for future reference” (Nip 2006:10).

Alternative journalism Alternative journalism, at least in its ideal form, is produced outside mainstream media institutions and networks. It can include the media of protest groups, dissidents, fringe political organizations, even fans and hobbyists” (Atton and Hamilton 2008:1-2).

According to Atton, alternative journalism is typically produced by amateur media producers who have little or no training or professional qualifications as journalists: they write and report from their position as citizens, as member of communities, as activists, as fans etc.

Public journalism

Includes citizen journalism, journalism as practiced by non-professionals and civic journalism. A brand of politically engaged journalism practiced by certain news organizations.

Nip describes that public journalism aims to engage people as citizens both in the news making process and the use of the news. Town hall meetings, citizen panels, and polls are common techniques used to tap the concerns of the community, which would then form the reporting agenda for the journalists. However, the professional journalists generally remain the gatekeepers in editing the stories and publishing the news, which frames the issues and presents the story elements in a way that addresses public concerns and helps the people to participate in the community. Pieces written by citizens are often included as part of a public journalism package.

Interactive journalism Interactive journalism is a new type of journalism that allows consumers to directly contribute to the story. Through Web 2.0 technology, reporters can develop a conversation with the audience. According to Nip one need to talk about two dimensions: (1) content interactivity, and (2) interpersonal interactivity. Content interactivity is enabled not only by the technical capabilities that allow users to free themselves from the linearity set by the professional journalists, but also by the complexity of choice of content made available. Interpersonal 68 interactivity is potentially possible if capabilities of communicating with the content producers and other users are provided, but takes place only when professional journalists answer inquiring emails or chat with users, and when users respond to postings of others on messages boards and chat sessions. The web, which houses the online sites of news organizations, has been the platform used for interactive journalism.

Participatory journalism. Some researchers define participatory journalism and citizen journalism as the same or synonym phenomena while Nip (2006:12) suggests a separation of the two. He describes participatory journalism as follows: “participatory journalism takes the form of the news users generating content, more or less independently of the professionals, whereas the professionals generate some other content, and also produce, publish and market the whole news product. User contribution is solicited within a frame designed by the professionals”.

Citizen journalism Also known as "public", "participatory", "democratic", "guerrilla", "street journalism, “grass root journalism”, “DIY (Do-It-Yourself)” etc. Allan and Thorsen describe Citizen journalism as not being produced by professionals but outside the normal media-institutions/enterprises. Jay Rosen (Allan and Thorsen 2009, 256) practically define it as “when the people formerly known as the audience employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another”.

From the above mentioned forms of alternative journalism, I will focus on number 4 and 5. In addition and due to the RCRCMs task to advocate on behalf of vulnerable people (e.g. disaster affected), I have also found it relevant to include the concept of advocacy journalism (6).

Advocacy journalism Waisbord describes that advocacy journalism gives journalists role to actively "speak for" certain groups and may even be said to emanate from organized citizens' initiative (2009: 371).

Propaganda can be used to create a climate of opinion that is a general opinion. Paul F Lazarfelds theory describes public opinion in two steps with silence helix as an alternative. Lobbying is a related concept where interest groups in an organized form bring forth their views to government leaders.

Silvio Waisbord (2009) describes two concept descriptions. Advocacy journalism award ’journalists’ role as active interpreters and participants who ’speaks of’ certain groups, usually those groups that are denied (or lack, like e.g. Roma populations) ’powerful spokespersons’ in the media. Journalists are representatives of specific interests and they are motivated by a desire to reveal power imbalances in society ... advocacy journalism is the opposite of the "gatekeeper model" where the notion of professional journalism is guided by the ideals of objectivity and public service.

Waisbord (2009) believes that today's advocacy-journalism is also based on a model derived from citizens' initiative, which consists of organized groups using the news media to influence reporting, and related public policy.

I will in this thesis focus on the above mentioned categories of participatory journalism and citizen journalism. I also think in this case it is relevant to include the category advocacy journalism. Asking about 14 questions will result in interviews of approximately 50 minutes each. The order will be followed as much as possible but will inevitably come to be changed sometimes.

Interview questions to be linked to the research questions: 1. Does your communication policy and strategic plan include relating to/working with alternative journalism/using information from alternative media?

2. Could you to share the document with me or could you talk me through the policy or plan?

3. What guidelines do you have to support your work and those involved in it that relate to communication where alternative journalism can be applied?

4. Comparing traditional and alternative journalism/media; how does RC/RC relate to the two different types of journalism/media. What relevance do the two versions of journalism/media have in relation to RC/RCs work?

5. Describe if and how you work with different kinds of media including alternative media.

6. How would you describe the people providing you with alternative journalism items? What methods do they usually use?

7. Describe how you work with different kinds of media proactively/as a producer at the onset of and during disaster operation. If yes is it successful? E.g. Do you use/ contribute to info in traditional media, combined traditional and alternative (like CNN/IReport) or fully alternative media (like comments from the public about/to Red Cross in social media foras such as blogs, twitters mentioning Red Cross, mobile pictures sent to you from affected people etc.). Please provide examples from different operations.

8. Do you believe that Red Cross and Red Crescent community volunteers/affected themselves in disaster response operations can contribute via alternative journalism to support RCRCM communication objectives?

9. If yes, what are the results so far that benefits vulnerable (advocacy, fundraising, other)?

10. What can the RC/RC do to better include content from community volunteers/affected themselves in its external communication?

11. What is the main benefit of alternative journalism in your experience?

12. What is the main difficulty/challenge with alternative journalism in your view?

13. Overall, do you find that the increased level of info stemming from alternative journalism constitute a threat or an opportunity?

14. What is your perception of how the future will look in terms of RC/RC using alternative media? Learning?

Confidentiality It is envisaged that elected quotes or information stemming from the interview might be included in this thesis once finalized. Please note that even if it is not expected that there will be a wide circulation of the thesis, the content will be made publicly available. 71

Appendix 3: Key Note speech Pierre Kremer, IFRC, at CDAC

CDAC Network/Google Media and Technology Fair London - 22 & 23 March 2012

Communicating with Disaster Affected Communities

Keynote speech – Pierre Kremer Firstly, I would like to thank you all for the invitation to come here and speak on behalf of the Humanitarian sector and I would also like to give a special thanks to the CDAC network members who I have watched develop from a group of like-minded people who care about how we communicate, to a recognized network with global influence. People are now thinking more seriously about how we engage and communicate with Disaster affected communities as a result of the important work of this network.

It is also great to see the participation from the private sector of Google and the GSMA as we see obvious convergence between private, public and civil organizations, and urgent need to develop synergies and partnerships. This is particularly true when it comes to beneficiary communications that has shown that the combined skill base of the humanitarian, Media and telecommunications industries is essential to scale our impact.

So where are we now? 1. Mobile uptake, especially in the developing world, is reshaping the humanitarian landscape. Individuals are interconnected more than ever before. In 2011 more than 5 billion phone subscriptions were in use worldwide. The global response to the Haiti earthquake showed how connected individuals are becoming, and how they can influence our work. This response demonstrated that SMS technology could support more involvement by communities as part of the humanitarian effort.

2. There is a growing and renewed critique of international aid which is gaining ground. At the very heart of the critique of aid is the argument that aid is not accountable and

that feedback from people to whom aid is intended to benefit, is non-existent or limited to the assessment phase.

3. People really do now have a voice. For people who have access to the internet it is possible to communicate with the world using twitter and Facebook and a myriad of other social networking tools. We are now seeing levels of democracy and interaction with governments that in the past would have been unthinkable. In addition, the appearance of NGO watchdogs and the proliferation of SMS and Internet based technology are making it possible for communities to publicize how they are being affected by our actions.

The link between accountability of aid and effectiveness suggests that if improvements are to be made to the program effectiveness, organizations involved in aid delivery must be more accountable to those they aim to serve.

What people ask for in times of disaster or crisis is finally quite simple. Essentially, they want to be treated the same way as you and I would like to be treated in crisis situation: we would need to have access to information, to be able to express our needs and to be listened to. This is where beneficiary communication can make a difference.

Accountability, dialogue, technologies as a game changer, direct advocacy from beneficiary… All of these are emerging and unstoppable trends that are already influencing the way we work.

Red Cross Red Crescent activities to communicate with disaster affected communities In Haiti, for the first time, Red Cross Red Crescent trialled SMS based communication to beneficiaries by partnering with local telecommunications provider in Haiti and Trilogy International.

The IFRC first used TERA (Trilogy Emergency Relief Application), an automated text information service, to disseminate critical messages to over 1.2 million people in partnership with a local telecoms provider.

TERA allows aid agencies and mobile phone users in disaster areas to interact and listen in real time. Unlike traditional SMS services, TERA allows the IFRC to specify the area – a particular region or even a neighbourhood – and to send text messages directly to mobile phone users.

The enormous added value to humanitarian operations of this technology is demonstrated when Red Cross Red Crescent reached more than 360,000 people, on the issue of gender based violence, with more than 10% of that number responding directly to Red Cross Red Crescent’s offer of support and help – this is a staggering success in a 24-hour time frame with minimal human resources.

It also provided early warning last September and October during the hurricane season to more than half a million people in the vulnerable areas on Haiti’s northeast coast. The hotline - operated by volunteers from the Haitian Red Cross - received an impressive 710,000 calls during that particular early warning operation.

We’ve been using SMS blasting, hot line operated by volunteers while also ensuring a weekly radio show mixed to poster announcement and more traditional community engagement. This setting has proved to be most effective on the Haitian population. A recent evaluation showed that 74% of the people interviewed received RC information, and 83% of them reported taking action based on this information.

Challenges and next steps So what are the next steps? What we call beneficiary communication is anything but new. We’ve been focusing on community engagement and participation for decades. So what is the games changer? Certainly the unprecedented potential offered by technologies to scale our capacity out to further a one and two-way communication approach. But not only. There is another step in the process and that is making change.

I would like to go back a few years and talk about the Tsunami and a project that the Indonesian Red Cross delivered called the Community Outreach Program. For the Red Cross, this project was totally outside of the box. We became a broker of communication, an

74 intermediary between the donor and the beneficiary, we worked on behalf of communities to fix or help with the issues that communities were facing. The program used a mix of face to face, SMS, TV, Radio and print to not only get 2 way communication going but it was supported by multiple channels of communication allowing an open discussion between us as the advocates, the beneficiaries and the service providers.

We realised that it was not just about giving out information or just about giving access to allow people to discuss issues. It was actually more about being truly effective in what we promised, and to fully inform programming by actual needs as openly expressed by people.

During the course of the project, the team case managed over 6 000 issues to completion and set a standard within the RC on what we now call Beneficiary Communication.

However, establishing such mechanisms to achieve strong two way communication in today’s world are facing many challenges collectively as a humanitarian community. Firstly, a focus needs to be given to the internal barriers to change within our humanitarian organizations.

Inclusive, accountable and participatory approaches have traditionally been associated with more development than with humanitarian work. To shift this paradigm, we need to not only focus on crisis or emergency but to envision ourselves as agents of development and resilience for the communities we work with, rather than givers and providers or top down providers of information. In a nutshell, we need to position ourselves as equal partners with people that we help themselves. This requires a new mind-set that will contribute increase aid effectiveness and efficiency, before, during and after a disaster strikes.

For the humanitarian system as a whole, there is also a need for sharing a common understanding of beneficiary communication and effective information sharing to ensure effective coordination, especially within the cluster system. The more that we can share information across these ecosystems the more effective we can become.

Finally, to greatly improve our transparency with communities we should evidently be more open about our successes and failures.

Ultimately, our common belief is clear: communication can help save lives but also contributes building resilience. Furthering programme deliveries and accountability, it offers renewed possibilities to engage and partner with people in need, and help them fulfil their rights. For us, this approach is not that much a choice, it is a responsibility.

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Appendix 4: Red Cross workers account of communicating with vulnerable communities

With the permission from Bob McKerrow (Head of the IFRC Delegation and Red Cross employee since 1975): “… I am seeing on every field visit to remote corners of Sri Lanka, many of today’s most vulnerable being empowered through mobile phones (often shared in a village), public call boxes, or through a computer with access to the internet in a local school, clinic or a 24/7 grocer’s shop.

During the West Sumatra earthquake in 2009 when we were the first in to remote mountainous villages by helicopter, the first thing we did was took the mobile phone numbers of people, which guided us on further relief distribution and evacuation of the most vulnerable. It also enabled us to communicate with villagers to check what damage aftershocks did.

We also discovered ingenious local technology because most villagers were without power, so they wired up their phone chargers to run off motor bike generators…..”

“…Therefore I read your Opinion Piece with great interest and it is essential we combine forces to ensure that…we can only achieve global solutions through a global framework that promotes – for example – the secured sharing of information and expertise, more effective early warning systems to mitigate cyber risks, and developing effective resilience across society.”

By achieving this, we can be guaranteed to serve globally, populations at risk by reliable communications.” (Extracts from an e-mail sent from IFRC Head of Delegation Bob McKerrow to IFRC Head of Communications, 8 March 2012)”.