Miami Herald leading the way in Haiti earthquake coverage

Posted by Trafton Kenney on January 15, 2010 at 2:55 PM

As the latest news from Tuesday's earthquake outside of Port-au-Price trickles in to the mainland, newspapers have faced many of the same logistical challenges as rescue crews as they struggle to cover the scale of destruction wreaked on this poverty-stricken Caribbean nation.

With only one foreign correspondent based in Haiti, Jonathan M. Katz of the AP, many major newspapers like the Wall Street Journal struggled initially to get their journalists on the ground. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake had destroyed what little infrastructure Haiti already had, razing government buildings, hospitals, and homes. Telecommunications and power lines have been unreliable if present at all.

Limited transportation through the Dominican Republic and Haiti's reopened airport has improved as reporters and aid workers arrive en masse, often sharing rides. Tony Maddox, managing director of CNN International, called it the "biggest international deployment since the tsunami" in 2004, excepting military conflicts.

With official reports and estimates hard to come by, many newspapers turned to alternative news sources like Twitter and Facebook where Haitians and relief workers posted pictures and updates to contact loved ones. The Miami Herald in particular has offered some of the must comprehensive multimedia coverage in the area. Drawing from Miami's massive Haitian community, the Herald has benefited from its insight in the area, with its staff poring over Haitian-Creole websites to translate more news.

Through a new feature called "Haiti Connect," the Herald lets readers upload photos and details of missing loved ones to help gather information for rescue efforts. The newspaper's Facebook and Twitter pages have also served as discussion boards for people trying to contact relatives and friends in Haiti.

Nancy San Martin, the Herald's assistant world editor, told Poynter Online that "we really see ourselves as a gateway." "For our readers, it's important to try to determine what the future holds. How does Haiti get out of this? What's the next step, and what are the ways that people can help? What can Haiti expect from us?"

As of Wednesday night, seven staff members had taken the 90 minute flight to Haiti, including Patrick Farrell, winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the storms in Haiti. Jacqueline Charles, the Herald's Carribean correspondent who is also on location, landed the first interview with Haitian President René Préval, in which he detailed the destruction: "Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed." The New York Times has since linked the story.

El Nuevo Herald, the Spanish language sister publication of the Herald, has approached the news from a Latin-American perspective, focusing particularly on the efforts across Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic. According to the newspaper's executive editor, Manny Garcia, "Tragedies like the earthquake highlight the importance of news organizations and how key we are to helping folks who lack information."

In uncertain times like these, it's clear that concerned readers will turn back to trusted newspapers like the Miami Herald. With a comprehensive approach making full use of any multimedia available, the Herald is serving its community well.

Sources: New York Times, Miami Herald, Poynter