CNN stays solid amidst the rubble

One of the worst places to have an earthquake had not only an earthquake: a catastrophe. And while thousands died, and many official lines of communication were down, user-generated content played an import role in spreading news about the earthquake in Haiti.

Twitterfeeds included impressive pictures, and CNN had the most material on the quake of all of the news organisations, produced by seven reporters on the ground.

Despite communications being down in Haiti, in one day 218 quake iReports from Haiti were sent to CNN, with 17 being vetted by CNN, and 212 reports of missing loved ones, with 13 of them being verified.

This form of communication and ability to mass-publicize information was not only helpful for the earthquake, but will be helpful in the future. Despite my previous wrath let out about Twitter, in this situation, for some reason, people were able to send information quickly to the states, which helped to contact relatives in the States. And CNN gained a lot of publicity about its effectiveness with this horrific event. They didn't just give information: they were there; they told the story.