Developing a Disaster Management Framework for News Production in Nepal”

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Developing a Disaster Management Framework for News Production in Nepal” “Developing a disaster management framework for news production in Nepal” A qualitative study on Nepalese media portrayal of disaster events using news frames and PPRR cycle of disaster management” Bharat Raj Poudel Master of Community Development (MCD)-(SCU-AUS), Master of Sociology Anthropology (TU-Nepal) Supervisors Prof. Gerard FitzGerald School of Public Health & Social Work, QUT Prof. Michele Clark School of Public Health & Social Work, QUT Dr. Amisha Mehta Senior Lecturer, QUT Business School, Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, QUT External Supervisor: Professor Meen Bahadur Poudyal Chhetri Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Health, School of Public Health & Social Work Queensland University of Technology 2016 i Abstract Nepal, due to its topography and changing climate conditions, faces continuing threats of natural hazards. The effects of these disasters are devastating and result in human and infrastructure losses. Nepal ranks in the 11th position in terms of disaster risk as a whole, and ranks in the 12th position in human exposure to floods out of 162 countries. Nepal has faced nearly 13,500 disaster events in the last century, with significant human casualties and enormous economic losses. Nepalese news media have underreported disasters despite the frequent occurrence of natural disasters in the country, and whenever a disaster is reported it seems to lack a developmental, social responsibility and particular media management framework, guidelines or model. Moreover, the news media in Nepal tend to focus story coverage on current affairs, politics, business, technology, and the arts etc. neglecting natural disasters and environment related issues. Given this context, the current study has pursued to understand the prevailing status of media engagement in natural disasters, and propose a media management framework to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the news production of the Nepalese media with respect to the prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery (PPRR) phases of disaster management. A qualitative descriptive design, consisting of the analysis of existing natural disaster news coverage and in-depth interviews with key informants was utilised in the study. The results contributed to and expanded the limited number of media content studies on the portrayal of natural disasters, which enables citizens, concerned agencies and professionals to better prepare for, prevent, and respond to, and recover from, disasters. All news and stories pertaining to natural disasters in Nepal, for the period of May 2012 to April 2013, were included. Media analysis and in-depth interviews were conducted. Four categories of Nepalese media outlets, viz.: the Republica English Daily, Nepal Television, Radio Sagarmatha, and ‘nepalnews.com’ online were examined for analysis of media, while in- depth interviews with media professionals and disaster managers were conducted. The study was undertaken in four phases. The Phase-1 involved a review of literature supported by context and theoretical perspectives. Phase-2 consisted of qualitative analysis of media content using the ‘directed approach’. The media contents were categorised deductively into two sections. Firstly, the news contents were categorised into frames, as ii proposed in the Framing theory. The researcher then identified and recorded the emerging frames for further analysis. Secondly, the news reports were categorised according to the PPRR cycle to determine how media are reporting throughout the phases of disaster. In Phase- 3 in-depth interviews with (i.e., key informants) journalists, disaster managers, and community leaders were conducted to gain an understanding of the important role of the Nepalese media in the event of a natural disaster. The interviews were analysed thematically using the five steps proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). In Phase- 4, based on the findings of phases 1, 2 & 3, a framework termed as “Natural Disaster Friendly Media Management Framework (NDFMMF)” was developed for effective media management in natural disasters which is expected to be socio-culturally appropriate for Nepal and other countries with similar economies of the world. The findings suggest that a number of key factors influence effective media response, as well as the characteristics of an effective media role in disasters. The identified factors include: endorsement of an effective policy, planning and framework guiding the media, sensitization and mainstreaming of disaster issues through PPRR, a balanced response of the media throughout the cycle of PPRR, revisiting news protocol and editorial judgement, and the practice of specialised journalism for disasters, etc. The characteristics of the effective media role within the involvement of the agencies, professionals and the communities can be distilled into three categories: Firstly, the media have been expected to be attentive to, and pay their attention towards, realising the need and importance of disaster friendly reporting by providing editorial support and revisiting the existing protocols of the news reporting process. Secondly, disaster managers can be regarded as very supportive if they are playing their role by providing key information to the media, and sharing relevant information without any information withholding. Thirdly, feedback from the disaster managers to the media is also important so that the media can improve their programs and reporting. These findings led to the framework of media management in disasters, namely, NDFMMF. The NDFMMF is expected to allow the Nepalese media to benchmark the disaster reporting skills and knowledge of international standards, and through its own framework of effective iii engagement of the media in crafting the disaster stories. Therefore, there is significant potential for institutional capacity development, specialised disaster beat reporting with balanced prominence, as well as the positioning and focusing of the news .Finally, the study has contributed to a greater capacity for developing disaster friendly media curriculum in the Nepalese academic and institutional sectors, that may not have been included in the current literature. The outcome of this study is multifaceted. It has both policy and practical implications. The benefits of the study are illustrated at the micro-, meso, and macro-levels. At the micro-level Common people may benefit as it enables a reduction in the loss of human life and property through the effective dissemination of information via the news and other modes of media. Hence, they will be well ‘prepared for’, ‘able to prevent’, ‘respond to’, and ‘recover from’ any natural disasters. At the meso-level The media industry may benefit because they may have their own ‘disaster management model of news production’ which they can use as an effective disaster reporting tool to improve the media’s editorial judgement, and the priority used for reporting natural disasters in Nepal. As a consequence, the Nepalese media may report disaster events more effectively and seek prominence from the government, the people, and the agencies involved in disaster management. At the macro-level The findings may assist the government and international agencies in the development of appropriate policies and disaster risk reduction strategies for the better management of natural disasters. Importantly, the study contributes to the existing, limited literature on media treatment of disaster events, and provides a more expanded base for further research. Furthermore, on the basis of social responsibility theory, duty of the press can support people to reunite and rebuild their society ruined by catastrophes. The media is mainly viewed as management tools used to influence people’s preparedness and response to natural disasters. iv Nepalese media may have their roles to be revised or refined under the factors consolidated in the ‘NDFMMF Framework’ which interacts with the existing theoretical understanding of media framing of natural disasters to support the community/society. This perception also extends beyond the responsibility of transferring information and salience so as to suggest that the media message exercises an agenda of both objects and attributes and they may consider the common disaster types, prevalent frames identified and phases followed in disaster reporting. Keywords “Media operation, theories of the press, disaster management, media management, media framing, PPRR, crisis communication, agenda setting, social responsibility, natural disasters, content analysis, in-depth interview, analysis of media, mass media, journalists, community representatives, disaster managers, policy makers,” v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................... ii Keywords ................................................................................................. v Publications, conferences and relevant items .................................... xiii List of Abbreviations ........................................................................... xiv Statement of Original Authorship ....................................................... xv Dedication ............................................................................................. xvi Acknowledgements .............................................................................
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