Press: Caution, Danger!

May 3rd marked World Press Freedom Day. What is the current situation in Haiti? What progress has been made? What threats weigh on press freedom?

The advent of New Information and Communication Technologies (NICT) has revolutionized the production and dissemination of information, given birth to new media, and reinvented journalism over the past thirty years.

This rapid progress has disrupted everything and posed several challenges to the media world. Haiti is no exception. The development of NICT has radically transformed Haitian journalism. The number of media outlets (radio, television, online media) has exploded since the end of the Duvalier dictatorship in 1986. This proliferation has allowed for a liberation of speech, but also an invasion of the media space without adequate regulation.

Too much freedom kills freedom

From the 19th century, Haiti had a burgeoning press (885 titles recorded from 1804 to 1949). At the turn of the 1960s-70s, Haiti transitioned from amplitude modulation (AM) broadcasting on short and medium waves to frequency modulation (FM) broadcasting. At the time, there were a few radio stations in the country, in the midst of dictatorship. Then things rapidly accelerated. Initially, the end of the Duvalier reign liberated speech and lifted threats and restrictions on independent media. Journalists who returned from exile after 1986 could pick up their pens and microphones again and resume working freely. The number of radio stations broadcasting in the capital quickly doubled. Mélodie FM (Marcus Garcia), Kiskeya (Liliane+/Sony+/Marvel), Tropic FM (Guy Jean), Radio Solidarité (Vénel Remarais), Jacques Sampeur (Radio Antilles), Felix Lamy/Dadou Jean Bart (Galaxie), Albert Chancy (Radio Super Star) launched their broadcasts during the 1990-2000 period. Radio Caraïbes, Radio Soleil, Haiti Inter, Lumière, Métropole, Nationale already occupied the airwaves (1960-1990). These were the golden years of radio broadcasting and journalism in Haiti. During this period, dozens of newspapers, weeklies, and magazines were printed, widely distributed, and read in the country and in Haitian communities abroad.

From the 1990s, radio broadcasting saw rapid growth. The same would happen a decade later with new television channels. Until then, the country only had two TV stations (the cable channel Télé Haiti and the state-owned Télé Nationale). This evolution in the media sector occurred as the country embarked on the long and difficult march towards democracy. However, the training of personnel working in these media outlets did not keep pace with the creation of new communication tools.

Professionals vs. Amateurs

Many media outlets are run by amateurs without journalistic training. The quality of information has significantly decreased: little rigor, lack of verification, sensationalist language. Professional journalism is thus drowned in a mass of mediocre, even harmful, content.