Radio Haiti-Inter was the first independent radio station in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. The station was notable for its use of the

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...

language, spoken by most Haitians, while most other media broadcast in French, and also for its broadcasting of international and local news.

History

The station was founded as Radio Haiti and was broadcast on both AM and FM and later renamed to Radio Haiti-Inter.

Jean Dominique Jean Léopold Dominique (31 July 1930 – 3 April 2000) was a Haitian journalist and noted activist for human rights and democracy in Haiti. His station, Radio Haiti-Inter, was the first to broadcast news, investigative reporting, and politic ...

, who started working at the station as a reporter, bought the lease to the station in 1968. The station was the target of various attacks by oppressive government regimes throughout its history, due to the democratic and anti-corruption stance of Dominique. In 1980 the Haitian regime closed the station and arrested some station journalists, and Dominique was forced into exile. The station resumed its activity in 1986 after the fall of Jean-Claude Duvalier, but closed again in 1991 after the coup d'état against

Jean-Bertrand Aristide Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in ...

. The station reopened in 1994 after Aristide's return. Jean Dominique was assassinated on April 3, 2000, upon attempting to enter the station. A station employee Jean-Claude Louissaint was also killed in the attack. The station continued to broadcast for 3 years after Dominique's death, helmed by his wife

Michèle Montas Michèle Montas (born 1946) is a journalist from Haiti and the former Spokesperson under UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (January 1, 2007 - January 1, 2010). Prior to her appointment, Montas headed the French unit of UN Radio. From 2003 to 2004 ...

. Radio Haiti-Inter ended broadcasting in 2003, due to threats against Montas and other employees. The station and the story of its founder was documented in Jonathan Demme's film ''

The Agronomist ''The Agronomist'' is a 2003 American documentary directed by Jonathan Demme about Jean Dominique. The documentary follows the life of Dominique, who ran Haiti's first independent radio station, Radio Haiti-Inter, during multiple repressive r ...

''.

References

1935 establishments in Haiti 2003 disestablishments in Haiti Defunct radio stations Haitian Creole-language mass media Radio in Haiti Radio stations established in 1935 Radio stations disestablished in 2003 {{NorthAm-radio-station-stub Defunct_mass_media_in_Haiti

History

See also

References