ISOJ 2014

1. Can NGOs Do Journalism?
Understanding the Information
Work of Humanitarian and
Human Rights NGOs
Matthew Powers
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication
University of Washington

3. Debates
Argument 1 NGOs expand the
boundaries of journalism by providing
credible reporting from multiple
locales
Argument 2 NGOs threaten the
autonomy of journalism and turn
news media into a platform for
advocacy.

4. Methods
(1) Interview/Participant
Observation
(2) Content Analysis
(3) Historical Analysis

5. reports:
1987: 0.7 per week 2013: 1.9 per week
press releases:
1987: 15.2 per week 2013: 30 per week
staff size:
Amnesty, 1970: 14 Amnesty 2013: 125
HRW, 1987: 6 HRW 2013: 150
countries reported
Amnesty 1978: 100 Amnesty 2013: 150
HRW: 1987: 50 HRW, 2013: 100

7. Credible
Causal Stories
(1) Violation
(2) Violator
(3) Remedy

8. Takeaways
1) NGOs expand the boundaries
of journalism by providing
credible reporting from multiple
locales
2) NGO reporting shaped by need
for a specific type of credible,
causal story.

9. Can NGOs Do Journalism?
Understanding the Information
Work of Humanitarian and
Human Rights NGOs
Matthew Powers
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication
University of Washington

10. Can NGOs Do Journalism?
Understanding the Information
Work of Humanitarian and
Human Rights NGOs
Matthew Powers
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication
University of Washington