NCME Executive Director Charles Meyer

What is the National Center for Media Engagement’s involvement within the Haiti relief effort?  How did you go about developing the tools available on your website?
NCME created a Haitian Relief Resources page that aggregates public media links and resources into one-stop shopping for stations that wanted to collaborate with their communities during the crisis. The page serves as an online hub with resources, tools, and tips for stations to use when working with their communities on the issue. And it was important for us to include a widget for stations to share what they are doing with others in the system. In our experience, sharing models of what works — and what doesn’t work – is one of the quickest ways to improve engagement across the system. This effort –– like our effort to aggregate H1N1 resources –– supports our mission to help public media discover, understand and address the needs of their local communities.

Have you received any feedback from public television stations?  How are they using the tools to communicate with each other?
Stations usually appreciate anything that makes it easier for them to locate resources and think about how to effectively serve their communities. And stations have shared information about their local activities in the online widget. That not only helps other stations spark ideas and identify smart practices –– it also helps us aggregate information and stories about the amazing impact public stations have at the local level. Telling our compelling collective story is good for everyone.

I noticed there are downloadable PSAs to donate money. How did you go about making these available for public television?
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) worked with the American Red Cross and the Ad Council to make the public service announcements available to stations. At NCME, we were happy to include the link to download the PSAs on our Haitian Relief Resources page. We also worked with the National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) to arrange a satellite feed for stations that preferred to record the spots.

Watch these public service announcements available on NCME’s Haiti relief effort resource page:

Social media tools are becoming an increasingly important way of communicating for stations and their local communities. How are you working with stations to reach a digitally connected audience?
Many stations already do a great job of reaching audiences in the digital space. We’re interested in how you help people move from online to in the community. There’s a growing body of research that suggests people who engage online are more likely to get involved in their communities than those who don’t engage online. That presents an incredible opportunity for public stations to become a kind of conduit –– a pathway of sorts –– to help people move from online participation to getting out and making a difference in their communities. But nobody knows for sure yet what works and why. We’re very, very interested in learning more about that so we can identify potential models for stations. We’re plugged into and learning a lot about social media tools (join us on Facebook and Twitter) and we’re interested in infusing engagement thinking into other initiatives in the digital space. I’m very excited about the potential.

Do you have plans to offer resources for other significant world events?
In general, yes.  We think part of our role is to help stations think about how to collaborate with and support their communities during a crisis. We’re also engaging with other organizations in the system to ensure that our efforts complement theirs and that, to the extent possible, we’re collaborating with each other rather than each trying to do it alone.

Learn more about NCME and the resources offered >>

Voleine Amilcar (right) with her cousin who survived the Haiti earthquake.

The library in Carrefour-Feuilles, a town outside the capital, before the earthquake.

The library after the earthquake.

It has been almost a month since the massive earthquake in Haiti and the glare of the media is dimming but for many Haitian Americans the shock and deadly impact of the earthquake still haunts us.

As a Haitian American, I was deeply affected by the massive earthquake in Haiti that occurred on January 12. I was in Los Angeles for work to manage a press conference for an upcoming Independent Lens program, Dirt! The Movie, when I received news of the 7.0 Earthquake. But I didn’t understand the enormity, the level of devastation the quake had caused until I was able to turn the TV to CNN.

The epicenter of the quake was situated about 20 minutes from where many of my relatives lived in Haiti. Immediately I called my parents who live 30 minutes outside of San Francisco to find out if they had heard from family members in Haiti. They had not been able to get through to anyone on their cell phones or house phones. Then the waiting game began and the agony set in as I watched endless images and footage of collapsed buildings and bodies being pulled out of those very familiar cinder block homes and buildings. My mind couldn’t stop racing with the awful possibilities. A wave of despair washed over me when I saw images of the partially collapsed presidential palace. Despite a myriad of corrupt inhabitants, the presidential palace was for many Haitians a source of pride. But the symbolism, a defeated government, could not be ignored. And I thought, Haiti has been brought to its knees.

Three days after the earthquake we received word that my cousins and uncles had survived the quake. One of my uncles lost his home and was transported to the Dominican Republic for an operation on his broken arm. Another cousin sustained a broken leg. Most of my relatives were now homeless. Everyone was accounted for except for a dear woman named Madame Alexi who helped raised me when I lived in Haiti. For days, a dark cloud hung over me as I waited to hear about Madame Alexi’s whereabouts. Was she alive? And how would we ever know if whether she was one of the thousands buried under the rubble? Ten days later we were able to connect with Madame Alexi to confirm that she was safe. Her dream house, which included the room she had prepared for me for my visits to Haiti, collapsed entirely. And now she is among the thousands who are homeless, living in her front yard with the rest of her family staying close to what remains of their house because bodies still litter the streets.

Just five days before the earthquake my husband, an IT professional, returned from a volunteer trip in Haiti after setting up a computer lab in Carrefour-Feuilles, a town right outside the capital. He made it back safely but the library where he had set up the computer lab is now partially collapsed. And we have since received updates that some of the children that frequented the library have not survived.  Most people are relieved for me when they discover that my family survived the quake as if that’s the end of it. But the grief and trauma is not any less for me or for my family here in the states. While we have lost nothing, we still walk on shaky ground.

The Haitian community is grateful of the enormous generosity of the global community to bring relief to Haiti. But even with the steady stream of aid coming into the country, food distribution is slow and medical aid is still scarce if not non-existent. The devastation is widespread and the devastation is enormous and unimaginable.

Haitians since ousting the French in 1803, resulting in the only successful slave insurrection in history, have shown remarkable capacity to prevail and survive. The country has withstood endless natural disasters, political instability, and even major acts of exploitation by other more powerful nations. But nothing seems to manage to kill the spirit and resiliency of the people. I have a belief –– and have to maintain this belief –– that the country will spring back even stronger and better than before. But we will need strong acts of will, resolve, and resources to prosper and to become independent.

In Creole, (the indigenous language of Haiti), we have a proverb that says “Men anpil, chay pa lou,” many hands, make the load lighter. The Haitian people have a heavy load and we will indeed need many hands to rise up again. ?

- Voliene Amilcar
ITVS Publicity Manager

Toussaint Louverture of Haiti.

Since the massive earthquake devastated Haiti two weeks ago, volunteers and organizations from around the world have rallied together in support. Recently, the Hope for Haiti Now telethon, which aired on public television stations and other media outlets, raised more than $58 million in donations.

Despite the massive worldwide effort, the news coverage continues to grow dire –– with rising death toll numbers and reports of missing children and families.

But how much does the world really know about Haiti? While most media coverage mentions Haiti’s severe poverty, little has been told about its revolutionary past and leading role in the human rights movement.

In the clip below of the ITVS film Egalité for All: Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution, learn more about how Toussaint Louverture led the only successful slave insurrection in history. His thoughts transformed the way people thought during the nineteenth century and inspired slaves and abolitionist worldwide.

Everyone at ITVS would like to express our deepest sympathy to all those impacted by this tragedy as well as thank everyone who has supported the rebuilding efforts. The National Center for Media Engagement has also been active in supporting the nationwide public station response in the Haitian relief effort.

Learn more about NCME and their impact >>

Looking to lend your support in the form of a donation? Here are some options:

• Make your donation online at www.hopeforhaitinow.org
• Phone: 877-99-HAITI
• Text: Text “GIVE” to 50555 to donate $10.
• Mail: Hope For Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Justin Timberlake. Exclusive behind-the-scenes photos by Jeff Kravitz/Film Magic, http://insidecelebpics.com

Last Friday night, public television stations, along with other networks, online broadcasters, and cable television stations across the nation and around the world joined together to air the commercial-free broadcast of the global telethon, Hope For Haiti Now.

So far, more than $58 million has been raised –– and this figure is expected to grow since corporate donations and iTunes purchases have yet to be tallied.

Hosted by actor George Clooney in Los Angeles, musician Wyclef Jean in New York City, and journalist Anderson Cooper in Haiti, the two-hour telethon included performances by Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Coldplay, Jennifer Hudson, Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Madonna, Bono, and others.

Check out the moving performance below of Mary J. Blige singing Hard Times Come Again No More:

Songs from the telethon are available for purchase on iTunes for 99 cents each or the full album for $7.99.

Download now on iTunes >>

Proceeds from all purchases will go to a number of relief organizations, including the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the United Nations World Food Program, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the American Red Cross, UNICEF, and Wyclef’s Yéle Haiti Foundation.

Looking to lend your support in the form of a donation? Here are some options:
• Make your donation online at www.hopeforhaitinow.org
• Phone: 877-99-HAITI
• Text: Text “GIVE” to 50555 to donate $10.
• Mail: Hope For Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, 1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Check out more exclusive, behind-the-scenes photos below from Jeff Kravitz/Film Magic

Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, and Keith Urban perform on stage.

Cindy Crawford, Reese Witherspoon, Drew Barrymore, and Julia Roberts are ready to answer the phones.

George Clooney having fun on set with John Krasinski, Helen Mirren, Jack Nicholson, and other stars.

Jack Nicholson trying to break Robert DeNiro’s concentration with Leonardo DiCaprio.