In a Bird Flu Hot Spot, Community Radio Reporters Learn How to Cover the Virus

This article describes a workshop made possible by a grant to Internews from the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Indonesia, which informed Indonesian radio journalists about how to stay safe while reporting on avian flu, how to conduct interviews with empathy, and how to communicate the risks of the virus accurately. The workshop, conducted in Bandung, West Java, and tailored for Indonesia’s community radio stations, was designed to "stimulate community radio stations to play a constructive role in delivering news and information about bird flu to their listeners, through regular news programming, talk shows, phone-in programmes, radio features, off-air programmes, quizzes, and even song requests."

According to Dr. Djatnika Setiabudi, Deputy Head of Special Team for Avian Influenza at Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung, the incidence of avian influenza is increasing, making Yogyakarta, Medan, and Bandung the three "hot spots" for avian flu in Indonesia. Fifteen journalists participated in the four-day workshop: twelve from community radio stations and three from commercial radio. After lectures, discussions, and critiques of radio and television programmes on avian flu, participants went on a field trip, which included interviewing a villager who had lost 15 chickens to avian flu. Internews is planning similar workshops in Yogyakarta and Medan.

Because Internews believes that local media play a critical role in influencing the response of governments and public attitudes towards a possible pandemic, it works through its workshops to promote accurate and informative reporting that focuses on solutions to help forestall confusion, mistrust, and even panic.