Aleph Notes #2: Don’t forget Media

We’ve just wrapped up some fascinating fieldwork in Zimbabwe, Lebanon and Brazil, where we were looking at the role of media in humanitarian recovery.

During emergencies, access to accurate and reliable information is vital. Public broadcasting can provide life-saving information to increase awareness and understanding of critical issues.

In our recent project, we looked at the role of media in countering the spread of rumours and misinformation around the COVID-19 pandemic amongst marginalised and hard-to-reach communities in 26 countries.

Three key insights emerged from the fieldwork:

1.     Localise content – Information must be tailored to individual communities / audiences. Content produced in local languages and dialects has significantly greater cut-through than content produced in English or a second language. In a battle to win trust, this is a key tenet of good practice.

2.     Get physical - While employing communications formats via radio, television and internet is important, many people, particularly those in rural areas may have limited access. In these circumstances, local community-based organisations are often the most effective means of communication. Similarly, pre-recorded podcasts on a USB for rural busses and taxi services can help increase coverage.

3.     Invest in the eco-system – No organisation works in isolation. Harnessing the energy, innovation and passion of local ‘allies’ – whether small-scale CBOs, journalist networks, student associations or minority religious groups – helps strengthen the wider information eco-system, and reinforces programme effects.