Media should play a vital role in the face of a major humanitarian disaster

The horrifying 7.0-magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti, on 12 January 2010, will obviously require an enormous reconstruction effort which will also involve media hit by the tremor. Reporters Without Borders, in solidarity with Haitian journalists who already work in challenging conditions, will play its part in this process. International and national media that are still able to operate will have a key role to play in a major humanitarian catastrophe such as this. This role should not be confined to mobilising public opinion and appeals for assistance, the media can and should be full actors in the response to the humanitarian crisis, contributing for example to the search for survivors and the assessment of the most urgent needs of the disaster-hit population. The vital need for the involvement of the media in dealing with a humanitarian disaster like the one that has just struck Haiti is covered in a chapter of the Handbook for Journalists published in French and English by Reporters Without Borders and UNESCO, with the backing of the news and communications delegation of the French defence ministry.