Creating Waves, Literally

This author writes about a brief window of open and moderate radio broadcast journalism made possible by emergency service needs after the earthquake of October 8 2005 in the Pakistan region. Previous to the earthquake, independent local broadcast media did not exist and information was tightly controlled through the state-owned radio and television in parts of the region, particularly Pakistan-administered Kashmir and North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

The immediate need for news dissemination became clear directly after the quake. Misinformation - such as the rumour that the bottled water sent to the region was for medicinal purposes and was only fit for hand washing, not drinking - grew in the news vacuum. Radio was seen as the most accessible medium to ameliorate the situation
for the majority of quake victims. 10 temporary FM stations were licensed by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and set up by the Pakistan Emergency Information Project to serve Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the NWFP.

The communication strategy included "developing the emergency broadcast sector, building radio production facilities, providing small equipment grants to emergency FM stations, training journalists in humanitarian reporting and the production and distribution of a daily one-hour news and information programme on humanitarian issues, called 'Jazba-e-Tameer' ('The Spirit of Reconstruction')."

Research by the Pakistani Internews Network two weeks after the quake and then four months after the quake showed a 41% increase in listening and that at least one of the seven emergency radio stations was a station of choice of the respondents. Indications were that "that the platform created by the Jazba programme was playing an important role in mediating opinions" with these results:

• Improved timeliness, relevance, accuracy and credibility of information flow to affected population.
• Increased reach of information to isolated, information-dark areas.
• Improved two-way communication flows between affected communities and the recovery operations.
• Increased flow of information from the earthquake zones via media to policy-makers and to the general public.
• Empowered local populations -- through the inclusion of their voices in the media.

Ongoing international attention on the needs of affected populations.

• Increased understanding of the role of local media in emergencies.
• Increased space for independent media and professional journalism.

As a result, the temporary FM licenses were extended and then became permanent licences with invitations for local television channel applications. However, in recent months there has been a reversal of this seeming moderation. Jazbe-e-Tameer went off the air due to under funding; threats to broadcasters from religious groups increased; some had cables cut and one was forced off the air. Finally, the government ordered all the emergency stations to cease broadcasting.

Lessons learned include the following:

• In the absence of local media capacity in disaster areas, the use of outside help to establish it is critical for communication on survival and recovery.
• There is a need for a government and international development policy framework for the role of local media in relief efforts.
• Crisis-driven media support measures need to be extended into the reconstruction period.
• Further research on the gains in accountability and efficiency resulting from investing in communications support in disaster zones is needed.
• Since crises often open the public sphere to diverse voices in formerly controlled media environments, continued external support is more likely to assure that these openings remain viable in their fragile initial phases .
• "Abrupt phase-out of emergency stations in the absence of a parallel emergence of a commercial broadcast sector will stunt moderate messages and create an information vacuum that may be captured by extremist voices."