As journalists on the frontline have supplied essential live-saving information to massively expanded audiences in need of reporting they could trust, advertising revenues have collapsed, leaving public interest media struggling to survive.
This report covers responses to the infringement of the right to freedom of information, misinformation on social media and the impact on public interest media caused by the Covid-19 pandemic with a human-rights based approach and gender-sensitive lens.
Across the world, media are finding new, creative ways to inform citizens, debunk false information and present the facts. On Wednesday 9 December, eight IMS media partners joined UNESCO’s virtual World Press Freedom Conference 2020 to share challenges, learnings and solutions from covering the pandemic.
On March 23 the first case of Covid-19 infection in Myanmar was confirmed in Chin state, one of the poorest regions of the country. A young man had returned from the US to marry his fiancé in Tedim Township, more than 500 miles from the commercial capital Yangon. But the marriage had to be postponed
Swift reopening results in looming health crisisIn Armenia, a country of approximately three million people, the first case of Covid-19 was detected on 1 March. Until the beginning of April, the situation was evolving slowly in Armenia, and the spread of the virus was under control.Although the government of Armenia introduced strict quarantine from 16
INDEPENDENT MEDIA & THE CV19 CRISIS IN IRAQIraq: The numbers don’t add upIn Iraq, every political party, and every ethnic and religious group has its own news outlets that tend to slant coverage in ways that further the group or its patrons’ interests. Pro-government media parrots official figures without question, while pro-Iranian cable-channels feature politicians accusing
INDEPENDENT MEDIA & THE COVID-19 CRISISPodcast offers new perspectives on the current crisisIn late March, air raid sirens echoed in Jordan marking the beginning of one of the world’s strictest curfews. The restriction prohibits the movement of people by car and only allows Jordanians to walk and shop from nearby stores. Anyone violating the curfew
CRISIS HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR RELIABLE INFORMATIONDemand for “solution-oriented journalism”Since the launch of their Covid-19 site, about half of the content produced at Daraj has been on the coronavirus, and in the same period the readership has been growing rapidly:“I think that in a time of crisis, where people don’t understand what’s going on, they are
“We had a regular news podcast, but it was very challenging because under lockdown we had no access to our studio, and it was unsafe for us to report, on our own, from the field,” COO of PumaPodcast Carl Javier accounted during the UNESCO World Press Freedom Conference 2020.So, taking their cue from PumaPodcast’s original
COVID-19 IN PALESTINECovid-19: Time to set the focus on marginalised groups“I’ve never felt the power of radio as much as now,” Maysoun Odeh Gangat states. She is the founder and director of Nisaa FM, a radio broadcaster based in Ramallah, actively working to support the empowerment of women in and through media. Since the outbreak
Take a deep breath and listen to Covid-19 facts!“With a podcast the engagement is much more personal. It’s a warmer medium. It sets us apart from the trolling culture, it insulates us from the paranoia, the anger and the overall culture of fake news.” Roby AlampayCEO AND HOST, PUMAPODCASTTHE COVID DIARIESAs part of their coronavirus coverage,
Journalists and media workers faced difficulty reporting on the pandemic as the Federal Government of Somalia initially provided lower death tolls than the situation in the country projected. As this led to a general lack of access to accurate information, media and media associations, including IMS’ strategic partner, the Somali Media Association (SOMA), took action
by Nalaka Gunawardene, IMS advisor in Sri LankaINDEPENDENT MEDIA IN SRI LANKA DURING COVID-19Coronavirus prompts general election to be postponedThere is never a good time for a disaster, but the Covid-19 pandemic caught Sri Lanka at an especially vulnerable time – without a parliament and while preparing for a general election.On 2 March 2020, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dissolved
Rappler is adept in utilising the power and reach of video, particularly on social media, and while it continues to use it for breaking, daily news wrap-ups, and live coverage – particularly as the community lockdowns went into effect two weeks ago – the Rappler Talk series has been especially successful.CRISIS HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR INFORMATIONA
ARTA FM · نشرة الأخبار – 11/07/2022ARTA FM is an independent, multilingual community radio station broadcasting in the north-eastern parts of Syria and also available on Soundcloud as well as at artafm.com.INDEPENDENT MEDIA AND THE COVID-19 CRISIS IN IRAQCovid-19: An opportunity for local media to show their worthThe Covid-19 crisis has shown, once again, the important role
Learn more about Syrian Female Journalists Network and their work in the context of Covid-19 at UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day Conference where eight IMS partners share their main lessons learned and developments during the pandemic.Syrian Female Journalists Network (SFJN) is an organisation that “builds bridges between media and the Syrian women’s movement through capacity
Media are seeing growing audiencesHow do you break bad news to someone? Do you ask if they want the good news or the bad news first? And what if the good news actually shines some light in otherwise dark circumstances? The novel coronavirus is causing that exact dilemma when it comes to describing the situation many independent media outlets
Freedom Network, an IMS partner in Pakistan, says that over the past decade not a single killer of a journalist has been convicted, with the CPJ highlighting “corruption, weak institutions, and a lack of political will” as reasons for the ongoing impunity. In late 2020, the High Court in Sindh acquitted the four men who
COVERING COVID-19 IN TUNISIAThe spreading of fake newsMuch like in other countries around the world, in times of crisis, false news stories and misinformation tend to flood Tunisian social media. “African people are being used as guinea pigs for the coronavirus vaccine,” “having facial hair makes you more likely to catch the coronavirus,” “pets can transmit
How does the Zimbabwe Covid-19 Tracker work?Munya Dodo: The application has two functions: a Covid-19 Data Tracker and a Personal Tracker. Through the first function, data from the Ministry of Health is aggregated and visualised to make sense of how the pandemic is progressing in Zimbabwe. The data is visualised in bar graphs and line graphs
Robert Mugabe imposed an increasingly ruinous rule on Zimbabwe for four decades, until a military coup ousted him in 2017. Since then, misinformation has been described as a “tsunami”. Now, as elsewhere, misinformation has become part of the country’s political game.“Most often the elite is benefiting from mis- and disinformation. Government is using disinformation to
From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, our partner organisations are exploring new ways to inform and connect with their audiences. They’re helping prevent panic, amplifying the voices of those affected, and helping mitigate the social and economic costs for the people and societies in which they work.
Several partners have reported unprecedented audience growth since the crisis began.
Clarity and accuracy in reporting can save lives. IMS has produced guidelines to help journalists get it right. Click the images to download the guides. Read why clarity matters.
