by admin | Sep 16, 2011 | MediaTrain Tips
Many seasoned aid workers tell stories to each other that would make the hair of the donor public stand on end. Just this week I’ve been made aware, privately, and by angry people, of a novel method of growing food in hungry Turkana that isn’t getting any official...
by admin | Sep 12, 2011 | MediaTrain Tips
Famine, disaster, death, disease, hunger, malnutrition, starvation. These are words that appear in the first 50 words of most news stories today on the current Horn of Africa disaster – please don’t call it a food emergency.That’s an unexpected group of six for dinner...
by admin | Sep 3, 2011 | MediaTrain Tips
Describing a first shipment of supplies into beleaguered Tripoli, the UN’s World Food Programme spokesman said they had sent in thousands of bottles of water by ship “on behalf of UNICEF.” WFP insiders might smile ruefully as UNICEF’s name gets in on the...
by admin | Aug 10, 2011 | MediaTrain Tips
The financial meltdown has triggered a veritable avalanche of clichés as experts battle to shed light on details that can be as dull as ditch-water. In a short radio piece on plunging markets, we heard of “trying to catch a falling knife,” not ringing a bell when the...
by admin | Aug 8, 2011 | MediaTrain Tips
A brief news item that residents in the world’s tallest building in Dubai have been advised to break their Ramadan fast later than those on the ground because they can see the sun for longer serves as a reminder that not only the big stories make news. An aid...
by admin | Aug 2, 2011 | MediaTrain Tips
“Well, it’s complicated….” That may be true, but warning your audience that you’re going into complex details might not be the best way to keep its attention. An interview on the shortage of food in East Africa included several examples of such...
