1. San Salvador, El Salvador, 8-10 November 1989.
REDES/Panos Seminar on "Communication Media and Environmental
NGOs: Towards Dialogue and Cooperation".
"I learned a lot about the problems that are
common among journalists and NGOs," one participant
wrote. "Maybe there was too little time for concrete
subjects but basically a unified spirit of journalists
working for the environment was achieved," another
wrote. "I've never heard people dedicated to saving
nature and the earth before," wrote another.
The Regional Network of NGOs for the Sustainable Development
of Central America (REDES) was established in Managua
in May 1987. From its inception it had NGO membership
from the seven Central American countries. About 60
NGOs participated in its first General Assembly (Belize,
23-27 August 1988), where it was recognized that neither
NGOs nor the media are generating a regular flow of
information on environmental issues and Panos could
be catalytic here. This seminar was part of the second
General Assembly of the members of REDES, which was
held from 6-11 November 1989 in San Salvador.
There were 37 participants in the Panos seminar. Among
the 13 representatives from the media, El Salvador was
not well represented, even though the seminar took place
there. This was due to lack of communication between
the organizers and the media. One news editor of La
Prensa Gráfica and a Salvadorean part-time radio
commentator joined the workshop at the last moment.
The reporter from Belize left early due to other commitments.
The workshop was conducted by Diana Page, a consultant
for Panos, former journalist with 15 years experience
in Latin America. She had organized workshops on environmental
journalism in Chile, Costa Rica and Ecuador, but the
active participation of NGOs made this Central American
workshop unique.
The programme started with an overview of Central America's
environmental problems and the role played by the press.
The presenter, Rigoberto Romero, head of the Honduran
Ecological Association, was critical of the press for
failing to cover environmental issues or only looking
for a sensational headline with reckless disregard for
the scientific facts. Two panelists from NGOs in Nicaragua
and Guatemala echoed Romero's criticism, saying the
press knew too little about science and politicized
everything.
Patricia Sánchez then spoke from her experience
as a reporter in Costa Rica, emphasizing the pressures
from advertisers and politicians that influence the
media owners. She stated that the press is unwilling
to spend money on environmental reporting and that coverage
is seen as a favor, not an obligation. She told NGO
representatives that they could increase coverage by
learning more about what makes "news". Other
journalists confirmed that the situation is similar
in other countries: commercial interests dominate the
press, news has to sell - with human interest and a
"poison pen". NGOs should have more understanding
of the problems of the press: reporters having very
little time, many stories to cover and working under
limits set by editors.
The debate between journalists and environmentalists
was lively but not malicious. Some groups mentioned
good contacts with the press, giving them space for
articles on their activities and events. However, this
coverage was often limited indeed to their organizations,
without spin-offs.
Natural disasters were discussed on Thursday morning.
It was mentioned that in Nicaragua the impact of Hurricane
Joan on coastal ecology was first politicized by the
press and later forgotten. Also for Costa Rica, it was
noted that nature is normally portrayed as an enemy
and that human responsibility for some of the effects
is not investigated. El Salvador's coverage of an earthquake
and forest fires was praised.
Then, the social and economic links to the environment
were discussed. Two Salvadorean scientists, one expert
on water resources and the other on pesticides, gave
alarming statistics on the situation. The journalists,
in return, spoke about how the polluters and chemical
firms are influential advertisers, and said that the
NGOs should take the lead in denouncing the problem
so it would have to be covered. Fear was noted as a
major constraint to publicizing certain information.
Recommendations were developed through working groups.
The main ones were:
1. Build common bonds between NGOs and media through:
(a) training workshops for journalists on the environment;
(b) training workshops for NGOs on communication techniques;
(c) joint workshops with academic and practitioners;
and (d) personal ties between interested journalists
and NGOs.
2. Create a communication network between the press
and NGOs: (a) REDES should ensure information exchanges
between countries; (b) journalists should form their
own regional network; and (c) information and stories
should be shared throughout the region.
3. An effort should be made to reach media owners and
publicity agencies, as well as journalism associations
and schools, to convince them to cover environmental
news.
4. NGOs could be more effective in reaching media if
they would: (a) propose solutions when they denounce
problems; (b) use simple and understandable language;
(c) help journalists find other sources of information
when they can't answer a particular question; and (d)
avoid giving "exclusives" and provide information
to all.
The network formed by the journalists, the Central
American Environmental Journalists Network (REPAC),
immediately sought funding through REDES and met with
representatives of agencies. Funding would enable REPAC
to produce and exchange features and hold training seminars
in each country.
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