Haiti's News Media 11 Months After TH e Earthquake - Rebuilding TH e Haitian Media

HAI TI S NEWS MEDI A 11 MONTHS AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE - REBUI LDI NG THE HAI TI AN MEDI A //////////////////////////////////////
SURVEY
HAITIS NEWS MEDIA
1 YEAR AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
REBUILDING THE HAITIAN MEDIA
2 HAI TI S NEWS MEDI A 11 MONTHS AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE - REBUI LDI NG THE HAI TI AN MEDI A ///////////////////////////////////
QUESTIONS ADDRESSED BY THIS REPORT :
- How much progress have the Ha|t|an med|a made w|th reconstruct|on?
- What help have nat|ona| and |nternat|ona| agenc|es and NGOs prov|ded?
- What structures current|y ex|st |n Ha|t| that ass|st journa||sts?
- What role have the Ha|t|an med|a p|ayed |n nat|ona| reconstruct|on?
- :KDWGLIFXOWLHV have the |ead|ng med|a encountered |n gett|ng back to work?
BACKGROUND
HAI TI S NEWS MEDI A 11 MONTHS AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE - REBUI LDI NG THE HAI TI AN MEDI A /////////////////////////////////// 3
BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
I - The 7.3 magn|tude earthquake that shook the south and
west of Ha|t| on 12 January 2010 caused w|despread des-
truct|on |n Port-au-Pr|nce and severa| prov|nc|a| towns. The
government and |nternat|ona| experts put the death to|| at
250,000 to 300,000. Another 1.5 m||||on peop|e were made
home|ess. They were g|ven temporary she|ter |n approx|-
mate|y 300 resett|ement camps throughout the cap|ta| and
|ts suburbs, and |n towns |n the prov|nces.
As a resu|t of the d|saster, 1.5 m||||on Ha|t|ans were |eft ho-
me|ess, wh||e 75 percent of |nfrastructure |n Port-au-Pr|nce
(homes, government bu||d|ngs, schoo|s and med|a} were
|eft damaged.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
The 2010 earthquake d|rect|y effected 3 m||||on Ha|t|ans,
and |nd|rect|y struck 9 m||||on. The feroc|ous storm |eft
250,000 to 300,000 Ha|t|ans dead. Of those who surv|ved
the earthquake, 250,000 were |eft |njured, 40,000 of wh|ch
endured amputat|on.
I A - Ha|t| on|y began to tack|e reconstruct|on |n 2010. At
the same, |t has had to endure a hurr|cane season (one
that was |ess dead|y than the prev|ous year`s} and a cho|era
ep|dem|c that has a|ready caused more than 1,300 deaths,
accord|ng to the Ha|t|an m|n|stry of pub||c hea|th and popu-
|at|on. Po||t|ca| unrest a|so caused deaths.
I B - The ent|re country was affected by the 12 January
earthquake but Port-au-Pr|nce was the worst h|t. Most of
the deaths were |n the cap|ta|, wh|ch |s st||| |n ru|ns. The
reports |ssued by NGOs and N agenc|es present |n Ha|t|
cont|nue to be a|arm|ng and to |ns|st on the dep|orab|e state
of hous|ng and the emergency nature of the human|tar|an
and pub||c hea|th s|tuat|on.
Ha|t|an journa||sm suffers from recurr|ng |||s. Med|a free-
dom |s st||| far from be|ng assured. lmpun|ty and corrupt|on
had |eft the|r mark before Rene Preva|`s return to the pres|-
dency |n May 2006 but progress has been made dur|ng h|s
second term. Strong s|gna|s were sent when peop|e were
conv|cted for the|r ro|e |n the murders of the journa||sts Br|-
gno| ||ndor, Jacques Roche and A||x Joseph. But the es-
cape of 4,000 pr|soners on the day of the earthquake w|ped
out that ach|evement. H|gh-prof|e rad|o journa||st Jean Do-
m|n|que`s murder |n Apr|| 2001 rema|ns unpun|shed.
Ha|t| has r|sen |n the Reporters W|thout Borders press
freedom |ndex, from 73rd |n 2008 to 56th out of 178 coun-
tr|es |n 2010. Preva| takes pr|de |n the except|ona| freedom
that the med|a have enjoyed dur|ng h|s pres|dency. 'Press
freedom |s guaranteed |n Ha|t|; they say what they ||ke about
me and l don`t h|t back," Preva| sa|d, a||ud|ng to French Pre-
s|dent N|co|as Sarkozy and h|s tendency to behave |n qu|te
the oppos|te way.
II B - SITUATION OF THE MEDIA AFTER
THE EARTHQUAKE
The pr|nt med|a are of marg|na| |mportance |n Ha|t|. The
|ead|ng pub||cat|on, the da||y |e Nouve|||ste, has a pr|nt-run
of fewer than 15,000 cop|es |n norma| t|mes. The second
b|ggest newspaper, |e Mat|n, has fewer than 5,000 rea-
ders.
They have ||tt|e |mpact compared w|th the rad|o stat|ons,
of wh|ch there are more than 50 act|ve ones |n Port-au-
Pr|nce and more than 300 nat|onw|de. But the qua||ty of
these stat|ons |s very var|ed. Many of them do not broad-
cast news and cons|st of no more than a transm|tter and a
se|ect|on of mus|c. Few of them appear to be econom|ca||y
v|ab|e and |t |s very probab|e that the earthquake w||| acce-
|erate the c|osure of the |east secure ones.
ln genera|, mater|a| cons|derat|ons are the b|ggest pro-
b|em for Ha|t|`s journa||sts. The earthquake and |ts after-
math have h|t journa||sm hard. As|de from the |oss of ||fe
(around 40 journa||sts and med|a workers were among
the 300,000 fata||t|es}, the mater|a| damage from the ear-
thquake cont|nues to be cons|derab|e. Most the bu||d|ngs
hous|ng rad|o and Tv stat|ons (|nc|ud|ng lbo, Trop|c, Mag|c
9, Energ|e, Oommerc|a|, Sodec, So|e|| and Oana| 11} were
destroyed or bad|y damaged. After a d|ffcu|t frst month,
some of the worst-h|t med|a |n Port-au-Pr|nce and the pro-
v|nces began to reemerge from the rubb|e, |n some cases
us|ng makesh|ft stud|os housed |n tents |n the m|dd|e of
the street or |mmob|||sed cars, d|sp|ay|ng a determ|nat|on
to prov|de |nformat|on at a|| costs to the|r ||steners, many of
them home|ess and traumat|zed.
The rad|o stat|ons |n |eogne, Pet|t-Gove and Jacme|
- the three prov|nc|a| towns that were worst h|t by the ear-
thquake - were a|| damaged but they have a|| been ab|e to
resume operat|ng, |n some cases w|th he|p from NGOs and
the Ha|t|an government. Bad|y affected by the co||apse of
advert|s|ng (an |mmed|ate consequence of the earthquake},
Pet|t-Gove`s 17 rad|o stat|ons formed a network to broad-
cast two regu|ar news and d|scuss|on programmes to the
|oca| popu|at|on. Th|s |s he|ped by the fact that none of the
stat|ons |n th|s town - the 19th century Emperor Faust|n
Sou|ouque`s cap|ta| - |ost equ|pment |n the co||apse of bu||-
d|ngs. Rad|o Men Kontre, a stat|on that has been broad-
cast|ng for the past decade, |nsta||ed |ts equ|pment |n an
abandoned 1980s jeep. nder the shade of trees, journa-
||sts from the 17 stat|ons regu|ar|y meet around th|s o|d car
to prepare and broadcast a news programme and a pro-
gramme w|th other |nformat|on of pub||c |nterest.
'We a|| contr|bute towards the purchase of fue| and the
journa||sts work vo|untar||y, gather|ng |nformat|on, prepar|ng
reports and present|ng the two programmes," sa|d Guyteau
Math|eu, the genera| secretary of the Pet|t-Gove Med|a
Network. Math|eu attached as much |mportance to these
post-d|saster programmes as to the funct|on|ng of h|s own
stat|on, Preference FM. 'n|ted we w||| save Pet|t-Gove,"
he sa|d short|y after the earthquake, wh|ch |s v|ewed as a
monster |n the popu|ar |mag|nat|on.
>
II A - OVERVIEW OF THE MEDIA
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For the most part, the 30 commun|ty rad|o stat|ons aff-
||ated to the Assoc|at|on for Soc|a| |eadersh|p and Oommu-
n|cat|on (SAKS} susta|ned |ess damage than the commerc|a|
and Protestant rad|o stat|ons but the bu||d|ng that housed
SAKS and |ts product|on stud|o |n the Port-au-Pr|nce d|str|ct
of Oanape-vert co||apsed. 'The earthquake destroyed Ra-
d|o Zetwa| Pey|zan |n Fondwa, a d|str|ct of |eogne, and the
SAKS prem|ses |tse|f, and broke the rad|o Saka transm|tter
COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS
NAME FREQUENCY CONTENT SITUATION COMMENTS
Visa FM 88.1 MHz
Mus|c Temporary she|ter Operat|ng
Radio Kiskeya 88.5 MHz
Genera| Damaged Operat|ng
Radio Indigne 88.9 MHz
Genera| Operat|ng
RFI-Haiti 89.3 Mhz
RFl re|ay Operat|ng
Voix de lEsprance 89.7 Mhz
Advent|st church Operat|ng
Radio One 90.1 Mhz
Mus|c/Ou|ture Operat|ng
Signal FM 90.5 Mhz
Genera|
One of the few to
surv|ve the earthquake
|ntact
Operat|ng
Tropic FM 91.3 Mhz
Genera| Temporary she|ter Operat|ng
Radio Etoile 91.7 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Stro Lumire 92 92.1 Mhz
Protestant Operat|ng
Commerciale dHati 92.5 Mhz
Genera| Destroyed Not operat|ng
Radio Ginen 92.9 Mhz
Genera| Prem|ses destroyed Operat|ng
Vasco Stro 93.7 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Nouvelle Gnration 94.1 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Carabes FM 94.5 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
MBC 94.9 Mhz
Genera| Rented to M|nustah Operat|ng
Voix de lEvangile 95.3 Mhz
Protestant Operat|ng
Horizon 2000 95.7 Mhz
Mus|c Operat|ng
RCH 2000 96.1 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Sky FM 96.5 Mhz
Mus|c Operat|ng
Radio Antilles
International
96.9 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Mgastar 97.3 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Radio Lumire 97.7 Mhz
Genera|/protestant Operat|ng
Maxima FM 98.1 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Radio Ibo 98.5 Mhz
Genera| Ohanged |ocat|on Operat|ng
>
|n Grand-Gove," sa|d SAKS coord|nator Sony Esteus. As a
resu|t, SAKS has had to stop produc|ng the da||y news pro-
grammes that |t used to supp|y to a|| of |ts aff||ated stat|ons.
'Thanks to these programmes, the rura| commun|t|es used
to be |nformed about nat|ona| and |nternat|ona| news," Es-
teus sa|d. 'Fortunate|y, our trad|t|ona| partners want to he|p
rebu||d SAKS."
II C - TV BROADCASTERS
Oommun|ty rad|os are not the on|y broadcast med|a that
are tak|ng the|r t|me, dur|ng the severe econom|c s|owdown
resu|t|ng from the earthquake, to resume programme pro-
duct|on. The same goes for Ha|t|`s Tv stat|ons, of wh|ch
there are around 20 |n the cap|ta| a|one. Even |n norma| t|-
mes the|r product|on capab|||t|es are severe|y ||m|ted. S|nce
the earthquake, they have been reduced to broadcast|ng
||tt|e but French and S news programmes, a|ong w|th foot-
ba|| and basketba|| games and f|ms. Poss|b|y good therapy
for the home|ess, but |t contr|butes ||tt|e to the enormous
reconstruct|ons tasks, wh|ch w||| take t|me and a |ot of mo-
ney, energy and |eadersh|p. S|nce the Duva||er dynasty`s
fa||, poor |eadersh|p has he|ped to p|unge th|s Oar|bbean
nat|on |nto terror, poverty and despa|r. 'The med|a were
a|so bad|y h|t by the 12 January earthquake, and they need
to rebu||d |n order to effect|ve|y p|ay the|r ro|e," sa|d Phares
Jerome of the da||y |e Nouve|||ste.
II D - NEWSPAPERS AND NEWSPAPER
ASSOCIATIONS
Ha|t|`s two da||y newspapers, |e Nouve|||ste and |e Mat|n,
and |ts journa||sts` assoc|at|ons (|nc|ud|ng SOS Journa||sts,
the Assoc|at|on of Ha|t|an Journa||sts and the Ha|t|an Sports
Press Assoc|at|on} have not been spared by the earthqua-
ke. SOS Journa||sts was h|t hardest. lts bu||d|ng,
>

>
Maximum FM
98.9 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Vision 2000 99.3 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Sweet FM 99.7 Mhz
Mus|c Operat|ng
Radio Mtropole 100.1 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Magik9 100.9 Mhz
Univers FM 101.3 Mhz
Mus|c Operat|ng
Energie FM 101.7 Mhz
Radio Nationale 102.1 Mhz
Zenith FM 102.5 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Radio Super Star 102.9 Mhz
Mus|c Operat|ng
Mlodie FM 103.3 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Shalom FM 103.7 Mhz
Re||g|ous Operat|ng
Radio Galaxie 104.5 Mhz
RFM 104.9 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Radio Nationale 105.3 Mhz
Radio Soleil 105.7 Mhz
Oatho||c Ohurch Ohanged |ocat|on Operat|ng
Plant Kreyl 106.5 Mhz
Mus|c and
enterta|nment
Operat|ng
Kadans FM 106.9 Mhz
Mus|c and
enterta|nment
Operat|ng
Radio Solidarit 107.3 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Scoop FM 107.7 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Radio Digital 107.9 Mhz
Genera| Operat|ng
Radio Boukman 95.9 Mhz
Operat|ng
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hous|ng an lnternet centre, a conference room and a
recreat|on area for journa||sts, was comp|ete|y destroyed.
lts secretary-genera|, Guy|er O. De|va, puts the |osses at
hundreds of thousands of do||ars. That has c|ear|y had an
|mpact on |ts act|v|t|es.
As regards |e Nouve|||ste and |e Mat|n, the earthquake
ma|n|y affected the|r pr|nt|ng presses. Max Ohauvet, the
owner of |e Nouve|||ste and the company that pr|nts the
newspaper, managed to repa|r the damages to h|s presses
w|th|n three months. And |n Apr||, he put the earthquake
beh|nd h|m by resum|ng da||y pub||cat|on.
|e Mat|n has gone back to be|ng pr|nted |n the Dom|n|can
Repub||c, as |t was |n the past. ||ke |e Nouve|||ste, |t dec|-
ded to pub||sh on a week|y bas|s for the frst three months
after the earthquake at |east. |e Mat|n |s owned by a group
of shareho|ders who were recent|y asked to |ncrease the|r
cap|ta| |nvestment. |e Nouve|||ste, wh|ch |s a fam||y enter-
pr|se (Ohauvet a|so has |nterests |n bank|ng}, dec|ded that |t
wou|d |tse|f prov|de the cap|ta| needed to be ab|e to resume
pub||sh|ng.
II D - AFTER INITIAL RECOVERY
A year after the earthquake, the Ha|t|an press |s operat|ng
aga|n w|th an aston|sh|ng v|ta||ty. 'l am surpr|sed," sa|d
Ohauvet, who now heads the Nat|ona| Assoc|at|on of Ha|-
t|an Med|a, a coa||t|on of more than 20 rad|o stat|ons, Tv
stat|ons and newspapers. The recent Footba|| Wor|d Oup
|n South Afr|ca de||vered a f|||p that he|ped the med|a turn
the page on the earthquake. How? 'The pr|vate sector |oo-
sened the purse str|ngs and p|aced |ots of advert|s|ng at
the t|mes that the footba|| games were be|ng broadcast,"
Ohauvet sa|d. 'There was no better w|ndow d|sp|ay than
that for promot|ng a product."
lt d|d not however suffce to compensate |e Nouve|||ste for
the |oss of subscr|bers k|||ed |n the earthquake. 'We have
not gone back to the prev|ous number of subscr|bers," he
sa|d. 'That w||| take severa| more years but the newspaper
|s do|ng a|| r|ght and we have as many emp|oyees as before
the quake." |e Mat|n, Ha|t|`s No. 2 newspaper, |s hav|ng
more d|ffcu|t|es and |s st||| pub||sh|ng on a week|y bas|s.
About ha|f of |ts ed|tor|a| staff has been |a|d off.
II E - THE MEDIA'S ETERNAL PROBLEM
'The prob|ems confront|ng the med|a |n Ha|t| are essen-
t|a||y the same ones they were a|ready fac|ng before the
earthquake," sa|d Reporters W|thout Borders d|rector of
pub||cat|ons G|||es |ordet, who has v|s|ted Ha|t| tw|ce s|nce
the earthquake. 'They are the prob|ems of tra|n|ng for jour-
na||sts, |ega| status, |nvestment and proftab|||ty, fnanc|a| v|-
ta||ty, access to advert|s|ng and regu|at|on |n a country that
has more |||ega| rad|o stat|ons than ones reg|stered w|th the
author|t|es." |ordet regards the extreme|y ||m|ted resources
of Ha|t|`s Tv stat|ons, wh|ch are produc|ng noth|ng |oca||y
and |n many cases have been reduced to p|rat|ng French,
Oanad|anGuy|er O. De|va, puts the |osses at hundreds of
thousands of do||ars. That has c|ear|y had an |mpact on |ts
act|v|t|es.
As regards |e Nouve|||ste and |e Mat|n, the earthquake
ma|n|y affected the|r pr|nt|ng presses. Max Ohauvet, the
owner of |e Nouve|||ste and the company that pr|nts the
newspaper, managed to repa|r the damages to h|s presses
w|th|n three months. And |n Apr||, he put the earthquake
beh|nd h|m by resum|ng da||y pub||cat|on.
|e Mat|n has gone back to be|ng pr|nted |n the Dom|n|can
Repub||c, as |t was |n the past. ||ke |e Nouve|||ste, |t dec|-
ded to pub||sh on a week|y bas|s for the frst three months
after the earthquake at |east. |e Mat|n |s owned by a group
of shareho|ders who were recent|y asked to |ncrease the|r
cap|ta| |nvestment. |e Nouve|||ste, wh|ch |s a fam||y enter-
pr|se (Ohauvet a|so has |nterests |n bank|ng}, dec|ded that |t
wou|d |tse|f prov|de the cap|ta| needed to be ab|e to resume
pub||sh|ng.
for promot|ng a product."
The project |n|t|a||y env|saged that news med|a rece|v|ng
a government subs|dy wou|d |n return d|ssem|nate pub||c
serv|ce programmes or government announcements at a
reduced rate (up to 50 per cent |ess than the usua| tar|ff}. ln
the event, checks were handed over w|thout any contract
be|ng s|gned. The project |n|t|a||y a|so |nc|uded prov|s|on for
more than 3 m||||on S do||ars for rep|ac|ng destroyed equ|-
pment and 600,000 do||ars for prefabr|cated offce un|ts for
med|a whose prem|ses were destroyed.
III C - NGO SUPPORT
W|th fund|ng from the Oanad|an company Ouebecor,
Reporters W|thout Borders opened a 'Med|a Operat|ons
Oentre" |n Port-au-Pr|nce two days after the earthquake.
|ocated |n the d|str|ct of Bourdon, |t offers equ|pment, pro-
fess|ona| and psycho|og|ca| resources and a p|ace to work
for Ha|t|an journa||sts and v|s|t|ng fore|gn reporters. 'The
centre |s run |n coord|nat|on w|th the Ha|t|an commun|ca-
t|on m|n|stry and we may u|t|mate|y stand as|de and |et |oca|
NGOs take over the coord|nat|on," sa|d Frano|s Bug|ngo
of Reporters W|thout Borders Oanada, who he|ped set up
the centre. An average of 20 journa||sts use |t on a regu|ar
bas|s.
The Fondat|on de France made a key contr|but|on to the
centre by donat|ng 150,000 euros for 2010 and 2011. As the
months went by, the centre evo|ved from be|ng an emer-
gency project to one prov|d|ng more structura| support for
Ha|t|`s journa||sts and, thanks to the Fondat|on de France
donat|on, |t w||| be ab|e to keep go|ng. lt now p|ans to cont|-
nue operat|ng unt|| the end of 2011, emphas|z|ng tra|n|ng,
the pub||c`s access to |nformat|on about the human|tar|an
operat|ons and host|ng debates about the rea||t|es of wor-
k|ng as a journa||st |n Ha|t|. nderstand|ng the |mportance
of these needs, the Fondat|on de France agreed to become
a key partner |n th|s project.
The Ha|t| News Project was created by S journa||sts
organ|zat|ons w|th the a|m of he|p|ng the|r co||eagues |n the
Ha|t|an pr|nt med|a. ln|t|ated by the Amer|can Soc|ety of
News Ed|tors (ASNE} and the lnter-Amer|can Press Asso-
c|at|on (lAPA}, |t subsequent|y rece|ved support from other
organ|zat|ons such as the Nat|ona| Assoc|at|on of B|ack
Journa||sts (NABJ}, lnvest|gat|ve Reporters and Ed|tors
(lRE}, NlTY Journa||sts of Oo|or, Poder Magaz|ne and
>

III A - SUPPORT FOR THE MEDIA
lmmed|ate|y after the earthquake, |ead|ng med|a NGOs
lnternews and AMARO asked NESOO to a||ow |ts prem|ses
to be used for a short per|od to accommodate journa||sts
whose offces had been destroyed, espec|a||y commun|ty
rad|o journa||sts such as members of the Network of Ha|t|an
Oommun|ty Rad|o Women. By be|ng based at NESOO,
they cou|d have a more v|s|b|e ro|e |n the human|tar|an a|d
commun|cat|on network.
The NGOs recommended that, once the human|tar|an
emergency was over, the government and |ts partners wou|d
have to be he|ped to rev|ve the quake-h|t med|a, both |n the
cap|ta| and |n prov|nc|a| towns that were affected, such as
Pet|t-Gove, Grand-Gove and |eogne. Th|s wou|d have
to be a project w|th var|ous phases, one requ|r|ng susta|ned
and fex|b|e support, but one |ntended to |ead u|t|mate|y to a
med|a sector character|sed by |ndependence, d|vers|ty and
respect for free express|on
III B - MEDIA RECONSTRUCTION

Pres|dent Preva| announced that the d|sbursement of
2 m||||on do||ars of government funds to meet the urgent
needs of med|a that had been h|t by the earthquake. He
sa|d no str|ngs were attached to the fund|ng, to be chan-
ne||ed through cu|ture and commun|cat|on m|n|ster Mar|e
|aurence Joce|yn |assegue. W|th the agreement of the
|ead|ng med|a owners` assoc|at|ons - ANMH and the As-
soc|at|on of Ha|t|an lndependent Med|a (AMlH} - |assegue
chose veteran journa||st lves-Mar|e Ohane| to he|p prepare
app||cat|ons and manage the d|sbursement.
Med|acom, Ohane|`s commun|cat|on company, was put
|n charge of coord|nat|ng the project, under wh|ch 2 m||||on
do||ars |n subs|d|es were to be prov|ded over a per|od of s|x
months to around 100 med|a based |n Port-au-Pr|nce, |n
other bad|y-h|t towns and |n other areas that were exposed
to se|sm|c r|sks or that were accommodat|ng d|sp|aced
persons. Accord|ng to the records, around 30 med|a |n the
cap|ta| rece|ved between 200,000 and 1 m||||on gourdes
each. A source c|ose to the project sa|d prov|nc|a| med|a
had not rece|ved any subs|d|es and that |t was very un||ke|y
that further subs|d|es wou|d be prov|ded regu|ar|y over the
next fve months, as or|g|na||y p|anned. The commun|cat|on
m|n|ster prom|sed to prov|de ass|stance soon to med|a |n
other towns h|t by the earthquake.
>
the Poynter lnst|tute. Announc|ng the project, ASNE
execut|ve d|rector R|chard Karpe| sa|d: 'A|though rad|o |s by
far the most |mportant source of news for the Ha|t|an popu-
|at|on, the founders of the Ha|t| News Project dec|ded to
concentrate on he|p|ng pr|nt med|a journa||sts bas|ca||y for
two reasons: our co||ect|ve expert|se, wh|ch |s ma|n|y the
pr|nt med|a doma|n, and the fact that the lnternews network,
an |nternat|ona| med|a deve|opment NGO, was a|ready |n-
vo|ved |n Ha|t|an rad|o."
A|though re|at|ve|y few were k|||ed or |njured, the pr|nt
med|a have |ost a |ot of the emp|oyees they had before the
earthquake. ||ke other journa||sts |n quake-h|t areas, they
have had to abandon homes that were destroyed or bad|y
damaged wh||e confront|ng the d|ffcu|t|es of da||y ex|sten-
ce. The Ha|t| News Project was coord|nated by the M|am|
Hera|d`s former ed|tor|a| page ed|tor, Joe Oge|sby.
ln order to be |n a pos|t|on to p|ay a construct|ve ro|e |n Ha|-
t|`s recovery, the Ha|t|an med|a must frst reconstruct them-
se|ves, sa|d a report produced by NESOO after a debate
about the Ha|t|an med|a`s ro|e |n reconstruct|on. One of the
part|c|pants ca||ed for reconstruct|on 'not on|y |n terms of
the co||apsed or cracked bu||d|ngs but a|so |n the way they
|nvest|gate and report, and |n the way they recru|t staff, re-
construct|on |n wh|ch pr|or|ty w||| be g|ven to the qua||ty of
tra|n|ng rather than the quant|ty of journa||sts tra|ned." He
a|so advocated the creat|on of a comm|ss|on that wou|d
be charged w|th |ssu|ng press cards to journa||sts. Peop|e
who have worked as journa||sts for fve or s|x years or more
have been |eav|ng the profess|on |n droves because the pay
|s too |ow. The med|a are compet|ng for the best-tra|ned
journa||sts w|th pr|vate|y-owned commun|cat|on compan|es
and fore|gn NGOs work|ng |n Ha|t|.
'Tra|n|ng needs to be a permanent quest for the med|a sec-
tor, wh|ch must take account of the cha||enges and new
deve|opments to wh|ch |t needs to respond," sa|d Robert
Shaw of lMS. Jacques Desros|ers of AJH a|so favours on-
the-job tra|n|ng for Ha|t|an med|a emp|oyees. s|ng AJH
(the o|dest Ha|t|an journa||sts` organ|zat|on}, NESOO pro-
v|ded ass|stance to around 20 journa||sts who |ost the|r job
after the earthquake, Desros|ers sa|d. NESOO a|so funded
tra|n|ng about r|sk and d|saster management for 250 jour-
na||sts. 'lMS funded the creat|on of Baz |anb|, a p|ace used
by AJH, SOS Journa||stes and the Med|a|ternat|f group, and
he|ped other reg|ona| journa||sts` assoc|at|ons, wh||e Oom-
mun|cat|ng w|th D|saster-Affected Oommun|t|es (ODAO},
work|ng through journa||sts` assoc|at|ons, pa|d for the pur-
chase of profess|ona| equ|pment," Desros|ers added.
IV A - HOW MANY MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS
HAVE BENEFITED FROM THIS AID?
Through AJH: NESOO he|ped around 20 journa||sts who
were out of work after the earthquake; the cu|ture and com-
mun|cat|on m|n|stry d|str|buted about 50 tents to journa||sts;
and 15 journa||sts rece|ved profess|ona| equ|pment from
ODAO. Desros|ers |s happy to report, near|y a year after the
earthquake, that th|ngs are |mprov|ng. W|thout g|v|ng any
fgures, he says many journa||sts have gone back to work
for the med|a or have found jobs |n other sectors.
NESOO has a|so ass|sted the SAKS commun|ty rad|o
network. NESOO commun|cat|on offcer Mehd| Benche-
|ah ||sted |ts act|ons:
- Equ|pment for SAKS, whose prem|ses were destroyed
by the earthquake
- ICT tra|n|ng for 30 young peop|e
- Together w|th IMS, pay|ng the rent for Baz |anb|, wh|ch
houses three Ha|t|an journa||sts` assoc|at|ons (AJH, Med|a|-
ternat|f and SOS Journa||stes}
- Emergency fund|ng for out-of-work journa||sts to pro-
duce reports for var|ous med|a |nc|ud|ng Rad|o Nat|ona|e
d`Ha|t| (RNH}. The project was carr|ed out by AJH.
At |east 300 journa||sts have benefted from NESOO`s pro-
grammes. 'Around 20 reg|stered for the support program-
me for unemp|oyed journa||sts," Benche|ah sa|d. 'Some
have probab|y a|ready found work because they no |onger
part|c|pate |n the programme." Asked about the future for
Ha|t|`s med|a, he |n|t|a||y responded w|th just two words:
'B|g quest|on." He fna||y summar|zed h|s recommendat|ons
as fo||ows: 'Tra|n|ng for journa||sts, state advert|s|ng to en-
sure regu|ar |ncome, and market|ng serv|ces to estab||sh
partnersh|ps." AJH does not d|sagree. Desros|ers po|nts to
AJH`s attempts to set up a work|ng group to harmon|ze the
var|ous journa||sm and commun|cat|on courses ava||ab|e |n
Ha|t| |n order to estab||sh a proper 9 to 12-month curr|cu-
|um.
ln partnersh|p w|th the European n|on, the Journa||sts
Tra|n|ng and lmprovement Oentre (OFPJ} and the French
embassy, Ou|squeya n|vers|ty |aunched a master`s degree
course |n journa||sm three months ago. A group of 15 jour-
na||sts began the course |n September. lt a|ms not on|y to
|mprove the sk|||s of Ha|t|an journa||sts (|nc|ud|ng journa||st|c
methods, med|a eth|cs and genera| educat|on} but a|so to
produce journa||sts who are capab|e of tra|n|ng other jour-
na||sts. Some of the students w||| get grants to study abroad
under the programme. Those who comp|ete the course
successfu||y w||| get a 'Master 1" degree |ssued jo|nt|y by
Ou|squeya n|vers|ty (for the academ|c s|de} and OFPJ (for
the pract|ca| s|de}.
>
IV - MEDIA AND RECONSTRUCTION
At a donors conference |n New York, the |nternat|ona| com-
mun|ty p|edged more than 10 b||||on do||ars to he|p set Ha|t|
back on |ts feet. 'These funds must be spent |n a trans-
parent and construct|ve manner that benefts the Ha|t|an
popu|at|on," donors sa|d. As there |s no hea|thy democracy
w|thout a free and respons|b|e press, |t |s fundamenta| that
the med|a shou|d p|ay the|r ro|e not on|y |n Ha|t|an soc|ety
but a|so |n the debate about the reconstruct|on process.
To be ab|e to do th|s, the Ha|t|an press needs to rebu||d
|tse|f. Th|s |s the ro|e that certa|n |oca| and |nternat|ona| or-
gan|zat|ons are seek|ng from Ha|t|an journa||sm - wh|ch |s
current|y hard put even to est|mate the number of work|ng
journa||sts or set up a press lD comm|ss|on - so that |t can
enhance |ts status.
FOR FUTURE DISCUSSION, IT IS WORTH
RECALLING SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS
THAT WERE MADE AT LAST MAY'S WORKSHOP:
- Re|nforce the capac|t|es of Ha|t|`s journa||sts`
assoc|at|ons
- lmprove re|at|ons between the journa||sts` assoc|at|ons
and the med|a owners` assoc|at|ons
- Re|nforce journa||sts` report|ng and wr|t|ng sk|||s
- Oreate a comm|ss|on that w||| |ssue press cards
to journa||sts
- Oonduct a thorough debate about the pro||ferat|on of
rad|o and Tv stat|ons.
V - CONCLUSIONS AND PERSPECTIVES
>
Gotson P|erre of the Med|a|ternat|f group |s a|so concer-
ned about tra|n|ng journa||sts. He advocates re|nforc|ng the
Mass Oommun|cat|on bache|or`s course at the State n|-
vers|ty of Ha|t|`s Human Sc|ences Facu|ty. He has proposed
that more resources be ass|gned to the facu|ty and that an
upgrad|ng of |ts |nsta||at|ons shou|d |nc|ude the creat|on of
a product|on stud|o w|th broadcast|ng capac|ty.
DOCUMENTS AND WEBSITES CONSULTED
- |e Ro|e des Med|as Ha|t|ens dans |a Reconstruct|on - summary of a workshop he|d on 3 May 2010; 23p
- http://www.|maj-|nfoha|t|.com/2010/03/|a-presse-ha|t|enne-entre-surv|e-et-agon|e/
- http://sur|esondes.b|ogspot.com/2010/04/rad|o-te|e-so|e||-100-jours-apres_19.htm|
- AMARO (Wor|d Assoc|at|on of Oommun|ty Rad|o Broadcasters} www.amarc.org
- DART Oenter for Journa||sm & Trauma www.dartcenter.org
- Foka| (Know|edge and Freedom Fondat|on} www.foka|.org
- Ha|t| Med|a www.ha|t|med|a.com
- lMS (lnternat|ona| Med|a Support} www.|-m-s.dk
- lnternews www.|nternews.org
- OOHA (n|ted Nat|ons Offce for the Ooord|nat|on of Human|tar|an Affa|rs} http://ochaon||ne.un.org/
- SAKS (Assoc|at|on for Soc|a| |eadersh|p and Oommun|cat|on} www.saks-ha|t|.org
CONTACTS
Reporters Without Borders (France)
47, rue v|v|enne, 75002 Par|s
Ema|| : amer|cas@rsf.org
Phone : +33 1 44 83 84 84
Reporters Without Borders (USA)
1500 K street NW = 600
Wash|ngton, DO, 20009
Ema|| : c|c@rsf.org
Phone : +1 202 379 9295
Media Operations Centre for journalists (Port-au-Prince)
O|aude G|||es (d|rector}
8A, Rue Butte, Port-au-Pr|nce, Ha|t|
Ema|| : gona|bo73@yahoo.fr
Phone : 509.3662.8409

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