Describing extensive coverage of the recent cyclone Phailin as "commendable", National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) today asked media houses to specially train scribes in disaster reporting and management.
"As newspapers and news channels have separate beats for coverage of politics, crime and others, they should also create a separate set of reporters to deal with natural disaster," NDMA vice-chairman Sashidhar Reddy said while addressing a seminar here on 'Challenges of Disaster Management and the Role of Media'.
With separate, specialised, well informed and trained reporters on natural calamities, disaster management will be easy, Reddy said, adding this will also help reduce the impact of cyclones, floods and other calamities.
Stating that NDMA is bringing a shift in its approach towards disaster management, he said,"We are shifting attention from traditional tasks of warning, rescue, relief and immediate restoration, to an integrated approach embracing socio-technological frontiers of disaster management".
Media can play a vital role in this new approach, he said, stressing that both print and electronic media can reduce miseries of people, besides helping the government to reach at the masses in need.
Odisha's Chief Secretary J K Mohapatra highlighted the job of media in conveying accurate messages to people.
"Media reports in the understandable language of people helped the process of pre-cyclone preparedness, evacuation and rescue operations. Mass media made it easy for the government to reach people," Mohapatra said, adding media plays the role of a "watch dog" and "social auditor" in course of relief and rehabilitation efforts.
Media can play a stimulating role by recognising the good work done by committed officers in the field on the face of many adversities, the Chief Secretary said.
Social activist Jagadanda, Kingshuk Mukherjee Associate Editor of the Times of India, Deepak Malavya Secretary of the Lok Sevak Mandal and Tathagata Satapathy MP and Editor of The Dharitree and English daily The Odisha Post also spoke in the seminar.
