Journalists attend workshop on disaster reporting

Journalists have been trained to play an important role in disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Papua New Guinea during a one-day workshop.
The workshop urged them to focus their news reports on disaster mitigation and preparedness, to educate people.
United Nations DRR coordinator for the Pacific, Andy McElroy, told participants that when a disaster struck, most of them focused their reports on its aftermath.
He challenged the journalists during the training to fill that reporting gap by featuring affected people and how to help them.
Journalists were also urged to consult non-government organisations (NGOs) as reliable sources of information on DRR.
Acting-director for National Disaster Centre (NDC), Martin Mose said: “Media should not focus on disaster aftermath alone, but must also report on preparedness and mitigation as part of disaster risk management.
The six journalists who attended a one-day workshop conducted by the United Nations Development Programme, in partnership with the NDC, were given certificates and assigned tasks after receiving the training.