Can journalists and aid workers trust each other?

We work together in difficult circumstances in the same complex environments, but are there for different reasons. Media and aid workers rely on each other – for information, access, profile and support. But in the hunt for a good story, do journalists put aid workers at risk? And do aid agencies just treat the media as a marketing tool? In this fast-paced media world of web-based dissemination, rolling TV news coverage, and burgeoning radio stations, how is the environment changing for both groups? Are we on the same side, or just in the same place at the same time? And who are we each answerable to?

At this ALNAP, HPN, ODI and Reuters AlertNet event, journalists and aid workers discussed the main issues and shared experiences. The panellists all have direct experience of working in crisis contexts and include David Pratt, an experienced print journalist; Jean-Michel Piedagnel, the head of a humanitarian agency, and Martyn Broughton, the editor of Reuters AlertNet, which bridges the worlds of media and humanitarian relief.