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1 Framework for the Sustainable NGOs Media Strategies: The Synergy of NGO –Media Collaboration With the emergence of exploding forms of media and ever greater variety of internationally vocal non governmental organizations including multinationalcorporations, the field of public diplomacy and international communication is infinitelymore complex. The fluid equation of public and private forces on the world of international communication and public diplomacy is the crosscutting issue in themultimodal media world. There is a need to highlight the principles and practice of globalcommunication and public diplomacy today focusing on the interaction of government,media and NGOs and Interplay of non governmental forces on governmental actions.Focusing on the context, this paper tries to forward a thematic framework for exploringand practicing efficient NGOs media strategies to sustain NGO-Media collaboration intoday’s Multimodal Media world. The framework has dealt with the critical perspectiveson development communication and journalism by putting forward the ways out forinstitutionalization of development media, and the technical aspects to operationalize theeffective monitoring and evaluation process through benchmarking the standards andquality of development news and reports. Sundar KSharma Digitally signed by Sundar KSharmaDN: CN = Sundar K Sharma, C =US, O = Worldwide Foundation / Nepal, OU = Research andDwevelopmentDate: 2010.07.16 13:24:23 +05'45' 2 1. NGOs Media Strategies in focus: An organization needs to constantly communicate to its environment how it is performingin relation to the reason for its existence. 1 An NGO which can produce a media strategywith clearly identifiable, predetermined and actual outcomes can sustain for longer.Promoting good governance and development requires improvement of media capacityfor reporting on socioeconomic and development issues such as public health andeducation (Hudock, 2003; and Ojo, 2005 as in Biswas). 2 United Nations General Assembly, Special Session on HIV/AIDS , 3 has suggested for the development of mediastrategy by networking with local journalists, local NGO network and Local media formeaningful involvement of NGOs and Civil society. Given the media's important role inshaping public opinion and awareness, advocates of any development program must relyon the media to disseminate their messages (Rubin, 2000 as in Biswas). 4 It appearsobvious and urgent that media and NGOs have to find out new way of collaboration thatcould lead to better general understanding and awareness on North-South relations. 5 3 Examples (Successful NGO-Media collaboration) …… ã Some of the NGOs –such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Belgium or ActionContre la Faim (ACF) in France- have developed a strong and sustained relationshipwith national and international media, who now refer to them in order to getinformation or to confirm data from third sources. ã The partnership between the public Czech Television and the NGO People In NeedFoundation (PNIF) is one of the best illustrations of the impact of a public mediainvolvement in Development Education. ã AlertNet, from Reuters Foundation, whose mission is to raise the profile of many of the world’s “forgotten” emergencies, is a very good example of the use of ICT withmedia. Source: European conference on Awareness-Raising and Development Education for North-Southsolidarity, 1/8 [Working paper group C], Media and Communication. Strategies, Brussels, 18-19-20 May2005 4 2. Significant Features of NGOs Media Strategies in International Communication: Regarding the growing trend of public diplomacy practice (the participation of non-stateactors in the process of communicating and relationship building among citizens of different nations with implication for government foreign policies) Zhang and Swartzstudied the media strategies of a U.S.-based NGO, the Washington Profile . 6 According totheir work, the perceived effectiveness of this NGO in international news service is muchhigher than government sponsored news programs such as Voice of America (VOA). Thefactors that impact this effectiveness include foreign censorship, NGO leaders’ vision,audience access to the Internet, and funding restraints.Non-governmental actors have become increasingly effective in advancing their agendasand disseminating their messages across the field of international affairs. For example, in1996, more than 1000 NGOs as leading actors, joined by like-minded nations,successfully reached a global treaty to ban anti-personnel landmines. In 2002, the NGOsand like-minded nations successfully made the International Criminal Court Treaty intoforce (Davenport, 2002 as in Zhang and Swartz) 7 .
