The British Red Cross is hosting a debate next week on how
humanitarian emergencies are reported in the media.The invited audience of journalists, policy makers, academics and aid agencies, in partnership with the International Committee of the Red
Cross, Department for International Development, ITV News and The Times, is taking place at the Foreign Press Association in London on 13 December.A number of high profile broadcasters and newspaper
journalists, including Bill Neely from ITV and Christina Lamb, the Sunday Times' foreign correspondent, will participate in the panel debates, which will examine a range of issues on the challenges of
highlighting humanitarian crises for the media and aid agencies.A key part of the day will be the launch of research about media coverage during conflicts, which was commissioned by the
British Red Cross.Former BBC correspondent and British Red Cross ambassador Michael Buerk is chairing the two morning sessions, one of which will debate neglected crises, the theme of this
year's World Disasters Report, published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.The debate comes ahead of the launch of the World Disasters Report on 14
December which will be available from the Federation website at www.ifrc.org.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
