BOB GARFIELD: From WNYC in New York, this is NPR's On the Media. Brooke Gladstone is out this week. I'm Bob Garfield.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: And responding to disaster of this magnitude will require every element of our national capacity.

BOB GARFIELD: That was President Barack Obama pledging America’s support to Haiti in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake there late Tuesday afternoon. But before most relief agencies could get assistance to the island and before the U.S. military could fully mobilize, one element of our national capacity was on the ground in Port-au-Prince.

[CLIP]:

MALE CORRESPONDENT: The news of the hour from Port-au-Prince, Haiti is this:

[END CLIP]

BOB GARFIELD: Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News and Katie Couric of The CBS Evening News arrived within 24 hours of the quake. ABC’s Diane Sawyer was on her way. For all the cutbacks and bureau closings, there are some stories that are so large and so terrible that the anchor has to be photographed in front of them. This is, of course, a story that does require the media to go all in, despite having ignored the ongoing catastrophe that is Haiti for the past decade. But catastrophe journalism is always a grim reminder of basic journalism in ruins. In the case of Haiti, its local media was in literal ruins, impeding Haitians from getting the information that could be the difference between life and death. To address that problem, another organization is on the ground in Haiti. Internews, the nonprofit that cultivates journalism in the developing world, is bringing in the physical means for Haitian journalists to get the story to the island itself. Mark Frohardt is the group’s vice president for Health and Humanitarian Media. Mark, welcome to the show.

MARK FROHARDT: Thank you very much, Bob.

BOB GARFIELD: I'm assuming that most of the broadcast infrastructure in Haiti was lost along with most everything else. Do you have any specific details on that?

MARK FROHARDT: We have a person on the ground. He's been living there for about four years. We've found out from him that there is at least one radio station which is up on the air. Beyond that, we think there might be one or two television stations giving information out, but we don't know how much of that is really information about the response or the crisis.

BOB GARFIELD: What do you bring in with you? How do you set up a radio station in a country that has been flattened?

MARK FROHARDT: After the tsunami in 2004 we actually brought in a couple of suitcase radios. These are small, low-powered stations that can reach 20 to 30 kilometers, in some cases, and get those up and running in place of damaged infrastructure. But while these small suitcase stations are a stopgap measure, what’s most important is to get the existing stations back on the air. And so, as quickly as possible we bring in replacement equipment to rebuild the damaged infrastructure. Another problem that we've often encountered, and we've also heard that this was one of the things that affected journalists during the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, is that journalists that are working, because their families have been affected by the crisis, they have to stand in food lines, repair their house and take care of their family. And so, one of the things that we can do also, for example, we did in Aceh was actually had the capacity not only to provide cell phones and recorders to the journalists, but also some payment so that they could have other people stand in those food lines for them, so that they could spend more time actually developing and producing news for the broader population.

BOB GARFIELD: I was surprised to learn that Haiti had a fairly far-flung media infrastructure, at least broadcast media. A lot of radio stations had been built there in recent years. Had Internews had any connection with those stations ‘til now?

MARK FROHARDT: Absolutely. And you’re absolutely right with regard to the extent to which some stations have grown up around the country. The government opened up the licensing procedures, and there was a plethora of radio stations, community stations that were started up at all levels. We were working with a network of 41 community radio stations throughout the country. The network is called RAMAK, and they're the group that we had been working with for about three years before this devastation occurred. We're trying to reestablish contact with them right now. We've found out that a few of the stations are down, and we don't know much about those which are outside of Port-a- Prince, and we're in the process right now of really trying to figure out what is the status, both of the personnel, as well as the infrastructure.

BOB GARFIELD: At a time like this, the world coalesces and the amount of money that flows into disaster relief is really enormous. I wonder, as you stand in line for your organization for disaster relief whether, because you’re just media, you get short shrift?

MARK FROHARDT: That used to be the case. Media was always seen as an add-on; it was kind of a luxury. And then the 2005 World Disaster Report by the International Federation of Red Cross pointed out that information can actually save lives in these situations. We have found it a little bit easier more recently because donors are seeing how the media and information can really improve the response. It has a dramatic effect on the efficiency of a humanitarian response because these people know where the assistance is. They have a better understanding of who the humanitarian organizations are and what they're, they’re about. And that just really improves the ability for the affected population to be able to respond. And now more and more donors are actually starting to see that. So although we're not over the hump yet, things are getting a bit better.

BOB GARFIELD: All right, Mark. I know you’re trying to get out of Washington and get to Port-au-Prince. I very much appreciate your spending the time with us.

MARK FROHARDT: All right, thank you very much.

BOB GARFIELD: Mark Frohardt is vice president for Health and Humanitarian Media at Internews.

[MUSIC UP AND UNDER]

BOB GARFIELD: From WNYC in New York, this is NPR's On the Media. Brooke Gladstone is out this week. I'm Bob Garfield.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: And responding to disaster of this magnitude will require every element of our national capacity.

BOB GARFIELD: That was President Barack Obama pledging America’s support to Haiti in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake there late Tuesday afternoon. But before most relief agencies could get assistance to the island and before the U.S. military could fully mobilize, one element of our national capacity was on the ground in Port-au-Prince.

[CLIP]:

MALE CORRESPONDENT: The news of the hour from Port-au-Prince, Haiti is this:

[END CLIP]

BOB GARFIELD: Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News and Katie Couric of The CBS Evening News arrived within 24 hours of the quake. ABC’s Diane Sawyer was on her way. For all the cutbacks and bureau closings, there are some stories that are so large and so terrible that the anchor has to be photographed in front of them. This is, of course, a story that does require the media to go all in, despite having ignored the ongoing catastrophe that is Haiti for the past decade. But catastrophe journalism is always a grim reminder of basic journalism in ruins. In the case of Haiti, its local media was in literal ruins, impeding Haitians from getting the information that could be the difference between life and death. To address that problem, another organization is on the ground in Haiti. Internews, the nonprofit that cultivates journalism in the developing world, is bringing in the physical means for Haitian journalists to get the story to the island itself. Mark Frohardt is the group’s vice president for Health and Humanitarian Media. Mark, welcome to the show.

MARK FROHARDT: Thank you very much, Bob.

BOB GARFIELD: I'm assuming that most of the broadcast infrastructure in Haiti was lost along with most everything else. Do you have any specific details on that?

MARK FROHARDT: We have a person on the ground. He's been living there for about four years. We've found out from him that there is at least one radio station which is up on the air. Beyond that, we think there might be one or two television stations giving information out, but we don't know how much of that is really information about the response or the crisis.

BOB GARFIELD: What do you bring in with you? How do you set up a radio station in a country that has been flattened?

MARK FROHARDT: After the tsunami in 2004 we actually brought in a couple of suitcase radios. These are small, low-powered stations that can reach 20 to 30 kilometers, in some cases, and get those up and running in place of damaged infrastructure. But while these small suitcase stations are a stopgap measure, what’s most important is to get the existing stations back on the air. And so, as quickly as possible we bring in replacement equipment to rebuild the damaged infrastructure. Another problem that we've often encountered, and we've also heard that this was one of the things that affected journalists during the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, is that journalists that are working, because their families have been affected by the crisis, they have to stand in food lines, repair their house and take care of their family. And so, one of the things that we can do also, for example, we did in Aceh was actually had the capacity not only to provide cell phones and recorders to the journalists, but also some payment so that they could have other people stand in those food lines for them, so that they could spend more time actually developing and producing news for the broader population.

BOB GARFIELD: I was surprised to learn that Haiti had a fairly far-flung media infrastructure, at least broadcast media. A lot of radio stations had been built there in recent years. Had Internews had any connection with those stations ‘til now?

MARK FROHARDT: Absolutely. And you’re absolutely right with regard to the extent to which some stations have grown up around the country. The government opened up the licensing procedures, and there was a plethora of radio stations, community stations that were started up at all levels. We were working with a network of 41 community radio stations throughout the country. The network is called RAMAK, and they're the group that we had been working with for about three years before this devastation occurred. We're trying to reestablish contact with them right now. We've found out that a few of the stations are down, and we don't know much about those which are outside of Port-a- Prince, and we're in the process right now of really trying to figure out what is the status, both of the personnel, as well as the infrastructure.

BOB GARFIELD: At a time like this, the world coalesces and the amount of money that flows into disaster relief is really enormous. I wonder, as you stand in line for your organization for disaster relief whether, because you’re just media, you get short shrift?

MARK FROHARDT: That used to be the case. Media was always seen as an add-on; it was kind of a luxury. And then the 2005 World Disaster Report by the International Federation of Red Cross pointed out that information can actually save lives in these situations. We have found it a little bit easier more recently because donors are seeing how the media and information can really improve the response. It has a dramatic effect on the efficiency of a humanitarian response because these people know where the assistance is. They have a better understanding of who the humanitarian organizations are and what they're, they’re about. And that just really improves the ability for the affected population to be able to respond. And now more and more donors are actually starting to see that. So although we're not over the hump yet, things are getting a bit better.

BOB GARFIELD: All right, Mark. I know you’re trying to get out of Washington and get to Port-au-Prince. I very much appreciate your spending the time with us.

MARK FROHARDT: All right, thank you very much.

BOB GARFIELD: Mark Frohardt is vice president for Health and Humanitarian Media at Internews.

[MUSIC UP AND UNDER]

BOB GARFIELD: From WNYC in New York, this is NPR's On the Media. Brooke Gladstone is out this week. I'm Bob Garfield.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: And responding to disaster of this magnitude will require every element of our national capacity.

BOB GARFIELD: That was President Barack Obama pledging America’s support to Haiti in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake there late Tuesday afternoon. But before most relief agencies could get assistance to the island and before the U.S. military could fully mobilize, one element of our national capacity was on the ground in Port-au-Prince.

[CLIP]:

MALE CORRESPONDENT: The news of the hour from Port-au-Prince, Haiti is this:

[END CLIP]

BOB GARFIELD: Brian Williams of NBC Nightly News and Katie Couric of The CBS Evening News arrived within 24 hours of the quake. ABC’s Diane Sawyer was on her way. For all the cutbacks and bureau closings, there are some stories that are so large and so terrible that the anchor has to be photographed in front of them. This is, of course, a story that does require the media to go all in, despite having ignored the ongoing catastrophe that is Haiti for the past decade. But catastrophe journalism is always a grim reminder of basic journalism in ruins. In the case of Haiti, its local media was in literal ruins, impeding Haitians from getting the information that could be the difference between life and death. To address that problem, another organization is on the ground in Haiti. Internews, the nonprofit that cultivates journalism in the developing world, is bringing in the physical means for Haitian journalists to get the story to the island itself. Mark Frohardt is the group’s vice president for Health and Humanitarian Media. Mark, welcome to the show.

MARK FROHARDT: Thank you very much, Bob.

BOB GARFIELD: I'm assuming that most of the broadcast infrastructure in Haiti was lost along with most everything else. Do you have any specific details on that?

MARK FROHARDT: We have a person on the ground. He's been living there for about four years. We've found out from him that there is at least one radio station which is up on the air. Beyond that, we think there might be one or two television stations giving information out, but we don't know how much of that is really information about the response or the crisis.

BOB GARFIELD: What do you bring in with you? How do you set up a radio station in a country that has been flattened?

MARK FROHARDT: After the tsunami in 2004 we actually brought in a couple of suitcase radios. These are small, low-powered stations that can reach 20 to 30 kilometers, in some cases, and get those up and running in place of damaged infrastructure. But while these small suitcase stations are a stopgap measure, what’s most important is to get the existing stations back on the air. And so, as quickly as possible we bring in replacement equipment to rebuild the damaged infrastructure. Another problem that we've often encountered, and we've also heard that this was one of the things that affected journalists during the Hurricane Katrina aftermath, is that journalists that are working, because their families have been affected by the crisis, they have to stand in food lines, repair their house and take care of their family. And so, one of the things that we can do also, for example, we did in Aceh was actually had the capacity not only to provide cell phones and recorders to the journalists, but also some payment so that they could have other people stand in those food lines for them, so that they could spend more time actually developing and producing news for the broader population.

BOB GARFIELD: I was surprised to learn that Haiti had a fairly far-flung media infrastructure, at least broadcast media. A lot of radio stations had been built there in recent years. Had Internews had any connection with those stations ‘til now?

MARK FROHARDT: Absolutely. And you’re absolutely right with regard to the extent to which some stations have grown up around the country. The government opened up the licensing procedures, and there was a plethora of radio stations, community stations that were started up at all levels. We were working with a network of 41 community radio stations throughout the country. The network is called RAMAK, and they're the group that we had been working with for about three years before this devastation occurred. We're trying to reestablish contact with them right now. We've found out that a few of the stations are down, and we don't know much about those which are outside of Port-a- Prince, and we're in the process right now of really trying to figure out what is the status, both of the personnel, as well as the infrastructure.

BOB GARFIELD: At a time like this, the world coalesces and the amount of money that flows into disaster relief is really enormous. I wonder, as you stand in line for your organization for disaster relief whether, because you’re just media, you get short shrift?

MARK FROHARDT: That used to be the case. Media was always seen as an add-on; it was kind of a luxury. And then the 2005 World Disaster Report by the International Federation of Red Cross pointed out that information can actually save lives in these situations. We have found it a little bit easier more recently because donors are seeing how the media and information can really improve the response. It has a dramatic effect on the efficiency of a humanitarian response because these people know where the assistance is. They have a better understanding of who the humanitarian organizations are and what they're, they’re about. And that just really improves the ability for the affected population to be able to respond. And now more and more donors are actually starting to see that. So although we're not over the hump yet, things are getting a bit better.

BOB GARFIELD: All right, Mark. I know you’re trying to get out of Washington and get to Port-au-Prince. I very much appreciate your spending the time with us.

MARK FROHARDT: All right, thank you very much.

BOB GARFIELD: Mark Frohardt is vice president for Health and Humanitarian Media at Internews.