Mediatized Humanitarianism: Trust and Legitimacy in the Age of Suspicion

Abstract

The article investigates the implications of mediatization for the legitimation strategies of humanitarian organizations. Based on a (full population) corpus of *400 pages of brochure material from 1970 to 2007, the micro-textual processes involved in humanitarian organizations' efforts to legitimate themselves and their moral claim were examined. A time trend analysis of the prioritization of actors in the material indicates that marked shifts in legitimation loci have taken place during the past 40 years. A discourse analysis unfolds the three dominant discourses behind these shifts, namely legitimation by accountancy, legitimation by institutionalization, and legitimation by compensation. The analysis relates these changes to a problem of trust associated with mediatization through processes of mediation.

Anticipating public expectations of humanitarian action—An ethnographic study of recruiting donors through face‐to‐face fundraising

“…It is unlikely that NGOs are unaware of this dilemma (e.g., Holmes et al, ). Therefore, we find Vestergaard's () argument that fundraising adapts to public expectations of humanitarian action (mistrust and doubt in particular) a good starting point for further analysis.…”

“…Consequently, we focus on these aspects in this article. Vestergaard (2014) illustrates why NGOs use harmful campaign tactics. She claims that fundraising for humanitarian action seeks to adapt to public expectations about humanitarianism.…”

What is a camp? Legitimate refugee lives in spaces of long-term displacement

“…Aided populations not only make judgments about humanitarian work, but consider it their right to do so. And humanitarian actors seek not simply to impose themselves on populations in need, but to be welcomed by them (Vestergaard, 2014). The language of legitimacy is not always explicitly used in these judgments, but it is at stake in them.…”

Faces of the needy: the portrayal of destitute children in the fundraising campaigns of NGOs in India

“…The increasing competition in the sector is an important part of the reason why mass communication has become progressively more central to the operations of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for mobilizing funds and for securing support and legitimacy for their activities (Tester, ; Vestergaard, , p. 444). NGOs are increasingly forced to adopt “media logics” by selecting beneficiaries for fundraising campaigns guided by media (and political) agendas and focusing on the theatrics of giving (Moeller, ; Vaux, ; Vestergaard, , p. 511), including the use of shocking tactics to get their messages across (Breeze & Dean, ; Cohen, ; Holland, ) and adopting a “sound bite“ approach supported by negative images (Cohen, ; Holland, ; Lissner, ; Stride, ). A growing number of scholars have argued that such media logics may undermine organizations' trust and legitimacy (Hjarvard, ; Krotz, ; Vestergaard, ).…”

“…NGOs are increasingly forced to adopt "media logics" by selecting beneficiaries for fundraising campaigns guided by media (and political) agendas and focusing on the theatrics of giving (Moeller, 1999;Vaux, 2006;Vestergaard, 2014, p. 511), including the use of shocking tactics to get their messages across (Breeze & Dean, 2012;Cohen, 2001;Holland, 2004) and adopting a "sound bite" approach supported by negative images (Cohen, 2001;Holland, 2004;Lissner, 1981;Stride, 2006). A growing number of scholars have argued that such media logics may undermine organizations' trust and legitimacy (Hjarvard, 2008;Krotz, 2007;Vestergaard, 2014).…”