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Guidelines
for InterAction Press Lists
I. Definitions
HPPC: InterAction's
Humanitarian Policy and Practice Committee (comprised of InterAction members
active in international disaster response and refugee protection and assistance).
HPPT: Humanitarian Policy and Practce Team (permanent InterAction
staff assigned to the HPPT)
USG: U.S. Government
Press List: A list of
InterAction members responding to a particular international disaster.
A press list is provided to the press and posted on the InterAction web
site, and is intended primarily for use by potential donors and to provide
media contacts during disasters.
II. Criteria for Establishing
a Press List
The establishment of a press
list can be requested by an InterAction member, HPPT staff, the USG, or
the press. Once requested, the HPPT will send an e mail to the HPPC-Members
and HPPC-Media Reps e mail lists asking if members are "accepting
donations for assistance that they or their affiliates are providing to
the victims" of the particular disaster. If a minimum of 10 members
respond that they are accepting donations for such assistance, then a
press list for that disaster will be established.
III. Criteria for NGO Inclusion
on a Press List
- The NGO must be a member
in good standing of InterAction.
- The NGO must be in compliance
with InterAction's PVO Standards. It must disclose yearly financial
statements on the amount of funds raised and how the funds were spent.
- The NGO must be accepting
contributions for assistance that they or their affiliates are providing,
or will provide, to those affected by the disaster.
IV. Process for Establishing
and Updating a Press List
- Immediately after receiving
a request for a press list from an InterAction member, USG representative,
or the press, the DRU will send an e mail to the HPPC-Members and HPPC-Media
Reps e mail lists asking if members are accepting donations for that
particular disaster. Once ten members have responded positively, InterAction
will proceed with the establishment of a press list for that disaster.
- The HPPT will,
via the HPPC-Members and HPPC-Media Reps e mail lists, request two or
three sentence entries on member and member affiliates' activities related
to the disaster. Press releases will not normally satisfy this requirement,
as most exceed two to three sentences in length, and the HPPT cannot
accept responsibility for their editing. (Members can send news releases
to the InterAction newswire at newswire@interaction.org.)
- The first request for entries will have a deadline as short as late
afternoon the same day, to ensure that editors have the press release
by their deadlines. Entries received after this deadline will not be
guaranteed inclusion on the initial press release but will be added
to the website and all subsequent press releases.
- Requests for entry updates
will be sent approximately once per week while the disaster is in an active
stage (more frequently if events warrant). As the disaster subsides and
member activities turn to recovery, requests for entry updates will be
sent every 2-4 weeks. The decision to archive a press list will be made
based on continuing severity of the disaster and general interest in the
press list (as indicated by "hit reports" for the web page).
The decision on how often to request entry updates and when to archive
a list will be made by the HPPT.
- Requests for entry
updates will not have any deadline attached to them. Entries submitted
in response to these subsequent requests will be added to the website
in a timely manner and included in all subsequent press releases.
- All requests for
entries and updates will ask for information on the activities of the
members and/or their affiliates, as well as an address, phone number,
any special entry to be made on checks, e.g., Swiss tidal wave fund, and
any website that should be used for donations.
- The Communications Unit
will send out an initial press release within as little as a few hours
of the first HPPT request for entries. Subsequent press releases will
be sent as events warrant. The decision on frequency of press releases
will be made by the Communications Director in consultation with the
Director of Humanitarian Policy and Practice. Press releases will list
the names and contact points of the member organizations accepting donations
for that disaster and refer readers to the InterAction website for information
about their activities. Readers also have the option of directly contacting
the members' web sites. Members are not encouraged to contact the media
outlet directly for inclusion on the list.
- Once a list has been given
to the press and/or posted on our web site, InterAction has no control
over how it will be used. For long lists, most media outlets will not
publish all member organizations. The HPPT and Communications Unit have
no part in the papers' selection process. Sometimes the list is attributed
to InterAction, and, on less frequent occasions, our web and email addresses
are published. Sometimes agencies from outside the InterAction coalition
are included in a particular media outlet's list. In contacts with the
press, the HPPT and Communications Unit emphasize that the commitment
of InterAction members to the PVO Standards offers donors an assurance
that their donations will be used as intended. If a non-member is included
on a list presented as InterAction members, InterAction will request
a correction by the paper.
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