HAITIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA IN MIAMI: Transnational Audiences, Journalists and Radio Programmers Sallie Hughes, Yves Colon, Tsitsi Wakhisi & Lilia Santiague A Community Media Working Paper The Journalism Program at The University of Miami, with support from The McCormick Foundation ABOUT THE AUTHORS YVES COLON Yves Colon, professional journalist and lecturer at the University of Miami, oversaw the field work for the audience study interviews, reported and wrote the case studies of radio programmer Jean-Claude Cantave and newspaper publisher Ferdinand Dessalines, and contributed to the section on media in Haiti and the report’s recommendations for strengthening Miami’s Haitian media sector. Before joining UM, Colon was an award- winning journalist working in the Caribbean and Central America for The Miami Herald. He was awarded the Medal of Valor from the U.S. State Department for rescuing 13 American journalists trapped under fire during the botched 1987 presidential elections in Haiti. He has received awards from the Inter-American Press Association and the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, among others. Immediately prior to joining UM, Colon spent three years in Haiti managing a media program funded by the United States Agency for International Development to strengthen civil society in Haiti. After the January 2010 earthquake, Colon took a two-month leave of absence to work in Port-au-Prince with a non-governmental organization producing emergency radio broadcasts that reached refugees living in tents and makeshift housing throughout the capital city. Colon has his an MA in journalism from the University of Missouri and co-founded The Haitian Times, the only English-language newspaper in the United States serving Haitian communities. At UM, Colon is also the past director of the Peace Sullivan/James Ansin High School Summer Journalism and New Media Workshop at the School of Communication. SALLIE HUGHES Sallie Hughes, associate professor in the Journalism Program, at the University of Miami, was responsible for the design and analysis of the audience study and the working paper findings and recommendations. She was also the lead author on the writing of the working paper. Hughes earned her Ph.D. in Latin American Studies (Tulane University, 2001) after a career in domestic and international journalism. Trained as an inter-disciplinary social scientist specializing in journalism studies, comparative political communication, and Diasporic media production and reception, she is the author of Newsrooms in conflict: Journalism and the democratization of Mexico (University of Pittsburgh Latin America Series, 2006), re-published in Spanish in 2009 by the University of Guadalajara/M.A. Porrua. She is also the author of numerous peer-reviewed academic articles and book chapters on media, citizenship and politics in Latin America and the Caribbean. She is currently finishing the co-authored book Multiethnic Miami: Inclusion and exclusion in a global city, which is under contract from Lynne Rienner Publishers, Latino Studies series. Her co-authored article “Barriers to media opening in Latin America” was selected a “Benchmark” in political communication by Sage Publications (2008). 2 LILIA SANTIAGUE Lilia Santiague, an instructor at Indiana State University, conducted the majority of interviews for the audience study and the media sector analysis, and acted as peer checker of the results of the audience study. She earned her Ph.D. in higher education administration (Indiana University, 2007). Her research focuses on the college experience of Haitian and Haitian-American students, as well as equity issues in higher education, which were a major focus of her collaboration with colleagues in the book, Standing on the outside looking in: Underrepresented students’ experiences in advanced degree programs (Stylus Publishing, 2009). TSITSI D. WAKHISI Tsitsi D. Wakhisi is an associate professor, professional practice, in the Journalism Program at the University of Miami. For 20 years she served as the managing editor of The Miami News Service, a professional news organization operated by the UM Graduate Program in Journalism. She also is the former director of the Peace Sullivan/James Ansin High School Summer Journalism and New Media Workshop, which takes place annually at the School of Communication. She is the two-time winner of the University’s Excellence in Teaching Award, which she received in 1996 and 2006. Wakhisi received an MS in Journalism from Northwestern University. Her professional background includes serving as a reporter and editor for several daily newspapers, including The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, The Kansas City Star, and The Miami Herald. She also participated in a U.S. State Department grant project in which she was a co-presenter at training workshops on coverage of social issues in Hyderabad, India, and Colombo, Sri Lanka in March 2010, and in Multan, Pakistan, and Lahore, Pakistan in July 2010. A former contributor and occasional “Letters Editor” at The Miami Herald, Wakhisi is now a regular contributor to The South Florida Times, a weekly newspaper that focuses on the black communities of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. 3 * The authors gratefully acknowledge Melissa Moonves, Solange Reyner, and University of Miami journalism lecturer Ileana Oroza for editing support, and Florida International University student Rosalie Telfort and University of Miami students Gerard Olivier Mathelier, Steve Pierre, and Jennifer Augustin for research assistance. Layout and design by Liliana M. Oyarzun This document is covered by the Creative Commons License allowing for limited use of this publication provided the work is properly credited to the authors and the University of Miami School of Communication. You do not need to request permission from the authors or the university before using or sharing the publication. Before copying or downloading this publication, please carefully review our Creative Commons License by visiting this link http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ . By downloading and sharing this publication, you agree to adhere to the terms presented in the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 007 In English An Kreyól II. INTRODUCTION 012 Haitian reception in Miami – challenges and contrasts Miami’s multiethnic population Political and media power in Miami Study justification and methodology III. FRAMEWORKS FOR UNDERSTANDING 025 Uses and gratifications from media Emotions, immigrant adaptation and transnational communities Public interest, development and community approaches to media IV. MEDIA AND SOCIETY IN HAITI 033 Uses, norms and the environment for media in Haiti The impact of the January 2010 earthquake Principles for rebuilding V. TRANSNATIONAL HAITIAN MEDIA IN MIAMI 042 Origins and development of Haitian community media What Haitian audiences in Miami think of their media Newspapers - An elite medium A closer look at Le Floridien Radio - Medium for the mass audience A closer look at WSRF owners Jean and Manny Cherubin A closer look at programmer Jean-Claude Cantave The challenge of the earthquake Television - Growing, but expensive A closer look at “Island TV” Socially oriented websites and Sakapfet.com VI. EVIDENCE FROM THE AUDIENCE STUDY 076 What media are available? What media do they actually use? Why do they use media? What do they seek from information content? What do they get from the content? What needs are not met? Are they satisfied with what they get? What do they suggest for improvement? 5 VII. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 092 Roles of the Haitian media: Transnationalism, emotional regulation, identity construction, political participation, daily life Needs of journalists and media producers: Financial sustainability, Content variety and quality, Technical production standards, Public service ethics Recommendations – Perspectives of participants Proposal - A Haitian Press Association VIII. APPENDICES 099 Journalist and media interviews Haitian-oriented media outlets in greater Miami Audience Media-use grids IX. REFERENCES 117 X. FORM FOR FEEDBACK 125 6 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This working paper analyzes the uses and practices of Haitian media in greater Miami -- the newspapers, radio shows, television programs and websites that serve people missed, ignored or neglected by the area’s mainstream media in English and Spanish. These Creole- and French-language media are playing important roles fostering societal cohesion and immigrant incorporation among the newest and largest Haitian community in the United States. At the same time, they are a key resource that helps Haitians in Miami keep informed about and participate in what is happening in Haiti. In this way, they have a dual function in the community, supporting a transnational mindset and lifestyle that locate Haitians and Haitian Americans simultaneously within the homeland, new land, and the ethnic community. Rather than confuse or confound, Haitian participants found that the simultaneity of homeland-new land experience facilitated by Haitian community media is emotionally soothing and supporting. The working paper is based on qualitative interviews and focus groups with a purposeful sample of 91 audience members and 16 journalists, publishers and media producers in greater Miami.1