As weeks have passed, we’ve been able to see the global response to the eco-humanitarian crisis in Haiti in a post-katrina world. US media efforts to cover the crisis have left me with the impression that lessons were learned. In the immediate afternmath of Katrina, we saw an American media quickly adopt a racist response as dark skinned folks ‘looted’ and light skinned folks ’struggled valiantly to protect their families.’ After the waters abated, many were able to critique the narrative that guided the American response. Distinguished newscasters openly apologized, and attempted to revise that storyline. Whether that attempt to re-write their role in the events as they unfolded really matters is questionable.

My general impression (and I openly admit that I didn’t go searching for people writing to the Pat Robertson crowd) is that the media has done more things right than wrong. Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta have produced a narrative that seems honest, and accurate, finding plenty of drama for the American audience in the true human elements, without needing to spin one of fiction. The reporter as hero is a seems a natural evolution for American journalism. Cooper’s chiseled features rescuing children would smack of big budget hollywood but the danger seems real. I’m happier to see the story become Anderson Cooper in Haiti instead of a fictional account derived from helicopter footage.  Additionally, much of the reporting on the current affairs and condition of Haiti has been informative without trying to sell us on a myth of sad but ‘noble savages.’

We saw the beginning of gotcha journalism in the critique of Wyclef Jean and Yele Haiti’s finances, only to see the media quickly course correct itself after the issue was disproven.

NPR Correspondant Jason Beaubien’s emotional breakdown was one of the most compelling pieces of journalism that I’ve ever experienced. It is truly an example of kind of raw emotional honesty that can accompany today’s journalism  without corrupting it. (Imagine if Glen Beck’s tears, and Olbermann’s outrage were backed by an ounce of Beaubien’s honesty). [LINK]

Photo: Jonathan Torgovnik