Project Report: An Exploration of the Lived Experience of African Journalists during the 2014 Ebola Crisis

This report, collated by the World Federation of Science Journalists and researchers from the department of journalism at Concordia University, Canada, discusses the experience of local journalists during the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

Key findings from the research were:

• 81% faced challenges while producing journalism around Ebola

• 93% expressed a strong desire to improve the use of credible information during such an outbreak

• Journalists had difficulties contacting experts and with the non-collaborative environment

The report recommends improving real-time collaboration between the health sector, governmental agencies and journalists during future health outbreaks to reduce the impacts of these problems.

The prevalence and value of different sources of information for journalists during the outbreak is also discussed. This includes ‘on the ground’ contact with survivors, communities and health practitioners and demonstrates the value of engaging with community groups to improve journalism in an outbreak scenario. 

Image: World Federation of Science Journalists

The report lead to the creation of a digital ‘Health Toolbox’, a free resource aimed at linking journalists with health experts to produce more impactful health stories.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.