What is humanitarian news? A multi-sited study of how journalists define, debate and reproduce the boundaries of humanitarianism

The rapid spread of new forms of digital media production and reception around the globe is often seen as bringing about a 'contemporary flourishing of humanitarianism' (Barnett and Weiss 2013:9). Yet no one has ever studied the world's largest humanitarian news agencies, whose output is regarded as highly influential for relief workers, policy makers and donors working in humanitarian response. In particular, we know almost nothing about such news agencies' approaches to humanitarianism, news-making, and the relationship between the two. Nor do we yet understand much about the distinctive characteristics of the texts humanitarian news agencies produce.

The main objective of this research is to remedy this situation by conducting a 12 month comparative analysis of two major global sources of humanitarian news, Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) and the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF). This is made possible by the unprecedented level of access to these organisations we have been able to achieve. Indeed, we have already been conducting a small-scale pilot study with IRIN since January 2015 in which we have tested our methodology, refined our research questions and developed a suitable project management model.

Our research will focus on three main areas. First, we are interested in what different people within these organisations think humanitarianism is. Does the concept of humanitarianism imply a certain threshold of suffering - either in terms of the number of people affected or the severity of the crisis? Is it more important to focus the immediate aftermath of a disaster or the slow-onset of chronic crises and efforts to prevent them?

Secondly, we are concerned with the ways in which the routines and practices of news production affect journalists' ability to pursue the forms of humanitarian news that they value. How does physical location, online collaborative working and the use of different digital media shape humanitarian news content, for example?

Thirdly, we aim to investigate what distinguishes the actual outputs of IRIN and TRF from each other and from that of other news organisations - especially the BBC World Service (BBCWS) and Reuters. Do humanitarian news organisations represent suffering in distinct ways? How do they attribute responsibility and frame the consequences of humanitarian crises? What, if anything, is unique about their sourcing practices, and use of multi-media material?

In order to answer these three sets of research questions we will be conducting (1) extensive newsroom observations with IRIN, TRF, the BBCWS and Reuters, primarily in London, but also in Bangkok and Nairobi, (2) regular interviews with relevant journalists and editors and (3) a long-term content analysis and framing analysis of their outputs, over a 12 month period. Our model of project management involves fortnightly and quarterly team meetings, routine reporting to research partners and a reciprocal process of researcher skill-sharing, all overseen by a project mentor. The results of our study will be disseminated directly to IRIN and TRF and to academics in media studies, journalism studies and development studies as well as relevant news organisations, funders, regulators, public service broadcasters, the humanitarian sector and the general public. Results will be disseminated through social and mainstream media, academic articles, conference papers, an industry focussed final report and a 'fusion' dissemination event.

The principal (non-academic) beneficiaries of our research will be the humanitarian news organisations we are working with directly - IRIN and TRF. Indeed, one of the main reasons why we have been able to gain such extensive research access to these organisations is because they recognise the potential benefits of our research and are seeking constructive critical feedback on their work (see Letters of Support). Specifically, the results of our interviews and ethnographic work will allow us to investigate whether dominant understandings of humanitarianism within each organisation lead to the privileging of certain perspectives within news output. The results of our content analysis will enable IRIN and TRF to identify both trends and gaps within their coverage, which may inform their editorial decision-making and strategic planning, as it has done for IRIN during our pilot study.

Our research will also have significant implications for other news organisations producing or aiming to produce humanitarian content - and for funders seeking to support it. We will be able to examine the viability and implications of different funding models for humanitarian news. In particular, given that both IRIN and TRF are largely foundation-funded, our research will shed-light on the potential role of philanthropic funders in shaping humanitarian news and the effectiveness of different strategies for preserving editorial independence. We already have a note of interest from Professor Banda at UNESCO, expressing interest in the implications of our research for the model journalism curricula he publishes, which includes a chapter on humanitarian journalism.

Our pilot study has shown that humanitarian news organisations not only reflect different understandings of humanitarianism, they actively shape dominant perceptions of the term. These definitions of humanitarianism have direct consequences for humanitarian actors, such as NGOs and international organisations, because they shape understandings of what are, and are not, legitimate and effective means of assisting vulnerable populations. By revealing the ways in which dominant discourses of humanitarianism are reproduced and/or challenged within the media, our research will encourage critical engagement with humanitarian news coverage within the humanitarian sector. Such insights may also be beneficial for media practitioners seeking to reflect critically on their own practice, and for fostering critical media literacy skills amongst the general public.

Broadcasters and policy makers with a remit related to international news will also benefit from our interrogation of the notion of humanitarian news. According to the Public Media Alliance - the largest global association of public service broadcasters and another of our project partners - providing 'international context in today's globalised world' is key pillar of public service media. One of the BBC's six public service commitments, for example, is to 'bring the world to the UK'. However, the vagueness associated with the idea of 'international content' means that it is often difficult either to assess the extent to which broadcasters are fulfilling this remit or even identify what aspects of coverage it refers to. Our research will provide relevant broadcasters, and associated regulators, with a clearer framework for understanding the different dimensions of international news coverage of humanitarian crises and for evaluating such content.