What is the role of the media in reporting natural disasters?
Does the media have a role to play in communal grieving?
Does media coverage help galvanise government and
communal support for the victims of natural disasters?
Is that a legitimate role for journalists?
What is ethical journalism in disaster coverage?
Date: 20th April 2011, 6.30pm
Location: The Spot Theatre
Tim Costello is CEO of World Vision Australia. He is a former
Baptist Minister, Mayor of St Kilda, anti-gambling activist and
one of Australia’s best known advocates for a more generous
Australian foreign aid program.
Tim has seen first-hand how journalists cover disasters both in
Australia and internationally. In a globalised world and with
climate change likely to produce more and more severe
natural disasters, the role of the media and the ethics of
media coverage of suffering is increasingly in need of scrutiny.