Signal FM is the only Haitian radio station to continuously broadcast during and after the powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake that ravaged the capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding areas on January 12. Signal’s online news service kept operating as well. The station’s equipment, located in Petionville (east of Port-au-Prince) remained in service, withstanding, remarkably, tremors to the building and broadcasting aerials. But the true credit goes to the station’s staff members, who made extraordinary efforts and great sacrifices to inform the public during a period of chaos, the station’s managing director, Mario Viau, told CPJ.
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In an interview with us on Wednesday, Viau recounted the professionalism of his staffers and their commitment to fulfilling their duties. The station’s 12 staff journalists are working extended shifts, he said, to ensure continuous operations at 90.5 FM. Although his team suffered no direct casualties, he noted that Signal FM staffers and their families suffered greatly, as did most of the Haitian population. He cited the case of reporter Makenzie Simon, whose daughter was killed and wife seriously injured following the collapse of their home. Veteran reporter Jean Luckenson also lost close family members.
Viau reported a number of significant challenges in operating the station: a shortage of gasoline for the movement of vehicles taking reporters across affected areas, poor phone lines hindering telephone interviews from the station’s studios, the lack of electric power or a fuel supply for generators, and difficult access to bank accounts to pay journalists. In addition, the daily search for food and drinking water for the staff has been a struggle to manage because supermarkets and restaurants were destroyed. Viau stressed that people of goodwill on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince showed great generosity to the station by supplying gasoline for news broadcasting.
In addition, contact with correspondents in provincial cities most affected by the earthquake, such as Leogane, Petit-Goave, Grand Goave ou Jacmel, remains difficult. It is easier to communicate with the outside world from an international line placed directly in the newsroom, Viau noted. Phone contact between journalists in the metropolitan area is still poor.
Signal FM played a considerable role during and after the January earthquake, serving as a primary conduit between victims and relief services and between victims themselves, the station’s director said. In the midst of personal loss and faced with the demands of rebuilding their own lives, Viau said, his staff members have met a great professional challenge.
Signal FM : exemple de Solidarité dans la détresse
Mario Viau indique qu’aucune perte en vie humaine n’a été enregistrée dans son équipe. Cependant, souligne-t-il, la majorité des journalistes de Signal FM ont été victimes, comme d’ailleurs le reste de la population, des effets monstrueux du tremblement de terre. Il cite en exemple le cas du reporter Makenzie Simon dont la fille a été tuée et la femme gravement blessée suite à l’effondrement de leur maison. Il mentionne également les cas de certains journalistes qui ont perdu des membres important dans leur famille comme c’est le cas du reporter de longue date Jean Luckenson.
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