Asia-Pacific Media Discuss Reporting Violence & Emergencies

12 October 2011

Asia-Pacific Media Discuss Challenges of Reporting On Violence and Emergencies

Manila - More than 20 senior editors from media organisations in East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific will join the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Manila on October 14 to discuss the challenges of reporting on violence and other emergencies.

In today's fast-paced, high-pressure media environment, it is not often that top professionals have the opportunity to step back and reflect on fundamental issues facing them as a group.

This exceptional event will bring together media representatives from Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand.

"The media in East Asian, South-East Asian and Pacific countries represent a major and continuously growing source of influence worldwide, and we want to hear their views," said Alain Aeschlimann, the ICRC's head of operations for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific.

"Not only do they report the news, but they also form opinion – and that, in turn, shapes events and developments in society. It will be interesting to discuss how media influence can mitigate the humanitarian consequences of acts of violence."

One of Asia's best-known journalists, Veronica Pedrosa, of Al Jazeera English, will deliver the keynote address on "The role of social media in contemporary conflicts."

* Live updates from the conference will be available on Twitter (follow tweets tagged #mediamanila2011).

* More information about the conference:
http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/event/philippines-event-2011-10-05.htm

ENDS

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