BBC World Service has begun broadcasting special lifeline programming for listeners in Haiti in French, Spanish and English. Special programmes about the crisis arer being broadcast this weekend between 1200 and 1300 UTC on shortwave on 11860 and 9410 kHz. The BBC is expecting the programmes will also be available on the local FM network via the BBC’s partner station, Radio Lumière.
The special programmes will come from the BBC Afrique (French for Africa) and BBC Mundo (Spanish language) networks, as well as BBC World Service’s flagship English-language news programme, Newshour.
BBC World Service Director, Peter Horrocks, says: “This is a humanitarian crisis on a huge scale, and good quality information is a vital but scarce commodity there. So far, we’ve had lots of information from the country by Skype and Twitter. So we’ll be using the same tools to inform people that we are broadcasting these special services as well as the NGOs on the ground, websites and any other means possible.”
BBC Caribbean in English is also supporting its audiences in Haiti and the region with crucial information. The website bbccaribbean.com is running a Twitter site dedicated to Haiti, as well as its ongoing coverage of the wider Caribbean and Haitian diaspora reaction to the tragedy. Updates will also continue in its regular Caribbean Report.
(Source: BBC World Service Publicity/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)