Shaking Our Foundations: Media and the Asian Tsunami

This 10-page report describes the work undertaken by international and local organisations as they seek to rebuild media in the aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami. The report also details how coverage of reconstruction has taken place and offers suggestions for how the media can play a "watchdog" role in monitoring these efforts.

According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the media's role has now shifted to "ensure transparent and corruption-free aid while local governments struggle to distribute it."

As eyewitnesses to the December 2004 tsunami disaster, this report describes local journalists as having "a huge task." The situation required "reporters to uphold a high standard of accuracy, professionalism and, above all, ethics while, at the same time, maintaining their own peace of mind in an atmosphere of great suffering which had a traumatic effect on survivors and observers alike."

The report gives an overview of efforts by local and international media to respond to this challenge and suggests how media can play a better role in monitoring reconstruction efforts. The report notes that in Sri Lanka, political interference is occurring, where the state-owned media (which includes the nation’s largest newspaper group) makes it difficult to get reliable information. The report ends with an article that seeks to answer this question: "How do you photograph a tragedy?"