Show and Tell -- Haiti Earthquake

Here is an amazing Haiti interactive map.

"This Crisis Map of Haiti represents the most comprehensive and up-to-date crisis map available to the humanitarian community. The information here is mapped in near real time and gathered from reports coming from inside Haiti via:

SMS, Web, Email, Radio, Phone, Twitter, Facebook, Television, List-serves, Live streams, Situation Reports"

With a click of the mouse, you can pinpoint where emergency help is needed; where collapsed buildings are located; where contaminated water is an issue; where there are security threats, etc. A graph shows the progress or lack of it in each category. At the bottom of the page are twitter comments and up-to-date links to stories, pictures and video. I think this is one of the easiest to maneuver and most comprehensive sites for information on almost every aspect of the Haiti earthquake story.

This interactive graphic created by AFP highlights the troubled history of the Caribbean nation.

The L.A. Times produced a simple, smart overview of earthquakes -- what causes them and why -- in this interactive earthquake primer.

I'm a fan of Lens. It's a mainstream media site that features great examples of creative multimedia storytelling.

"Lens is the photography blog of The New York Times, presenting the finest and most interesting visual and multimedia reporting — photographs, videos and slide shows. A showcase for Times photographers, it also seeks to highlight the best work of other newspapers, magazines and news and picture agencies; in print, in books, in galleries, in museums and on the Web."

Haitifeed features the latest pictures, video and information from dozens of blogs, international news sites, and mainstream media.

"Haitifeed is a website that gathers news, blog posts, videos and pictures relating to Haiti. On the site you’ll be able to get fresh up to date information on Haiti as it flows on the web. To better experience the site we recommend that you follow us on twitter ”@haitifeed” and retweet all our tweets that you would like to see on the site."

I'll end this post with a touching story by NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders blogging from Haiti.

What do I want out of MMP?

I want to embrace new technologies. I want to learn how to integrate multimedia platforms across all news formats – breaking news, features, investigative, profiles and analysis. The technological challenges and choices for storytelling are dizzying, fast-changing and often confusing. I’m looking for this class to help me get a handle on how to approach multimedia projects, harness the technology and work with a team to create top-notch productions.

After decades of toiling in the trenches of mainstream television, I’m ready to incorporate the new technology into all aspects of news operations. The old and the novel are quickly converging into a new paradigm. The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake is a vivid example. The Columbia Journalism Review in its online edition said, “new media platforms were critical to delivering early information about damage and relief efforts.”

The BBC noted in an online article with the headline Tech tools offer Haiti lifeline, “the very first images to escape from the region after Tuesday’s earthquake came from citizens, capturing video with mobile phones.” Twitter, Google and Facebook provided critical information about missing persons and were essential communications channels.

I'm looking forward to a challenging and rewarding semester with the MMP team.