Asian broadcasters to review tsunami coverage and discuss future role in times of disaster

Broadcasters from around Asia will meet in Tokyo from 28 February to 2 March to review their coverage of the 26 December tsunami disaster, and discuss the role of broadcasters in the event of future natural disasters in the region.

The three-day workshop on Natural Disasters and the Broadcaster’s Role will be hosted by Japan’s public broadcaster, Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), which is organising it jointly with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. The venue is NHK’s Broadcasting Centre. More than 40 broadcasters from 16 countries and regions
will take part, along with representatives of other organisations.

Among those taking part will be senior journalists from the national broadcasters of the four worst-hit countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Participants will discuss such issues as how and when they first received
information on the earthquake and tsunami, how they responded, and the most difficult challenges they faced during the first 24 hours.

The workshop will also discuss the role of broadcasters in disaster prevention campaigns and early warning systems, and in providing emergency broadcasting services after a disaster has struck. Participants will visit Japan’s Meteorological Agency and a disaster prevention centre in Shizuoka prefecture, southwest of Tokyo.

The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) is a non-profit, non-government, professional association of broadcasting organisations, formed in 1964 to facilitate the development of broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific region and to organise cooperative activities among its members. It currently has over 130 members in 54 countries, reaching a potential audience of about 3 billion people.

NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is Japan's sole public broadcaster. It serves domestic audiences via five television and three radio services. The core channels are General TV and Educational TV, broadcast terrestrially, and three radio
channels. Internationally, NHK offers three TV and radio services under the NHK WORLD umbrella. NHK promotes intercultural dialogue, and undertakes many coproduction
projects with broadcasting stations, production companies and distributors around the world.

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