“Australian network/s” rescue Haitian baby
As this dramatic footage shows, both 9's Robert Penfold and 7's Mike Amor witnessed the rescue of a Haitian baby. And both were hot for the story.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
Even in the tragedy of Haiti, Australian news crews are racing for stories.
According to The Australian, both Seven and Nine witnessed the rescue a child from the rubble …and some media would suggest helped in her rescue too.
Both news crews were on site when a local interpreter, Deiby Celestino, pulled the baby girl from the crushed building after she had endured days in the dark, surrounded by dead bodies.
Celestino is the local “fixer” for Nine News -who assists crews in access, transport, languages etc.
When she emerged, Seven’s Mike Amor reached forward to take the little girl, pouring water over her head to clear away dust, and giving her something to drink. His photo appears in British newspapers at the magic moment.
“That moment, it was beyond news,” he tells The Australian.
“The focus of everybody on that hill was the little girl, and as any of us will tell you, it was Deiby who went into that hole, and dug, and dug, until he got that little girl out. He’s the hero.”
Nine’s US correspondent Robert Penfold, who was also there, tells The Australian, “We had to walk over sheets of tin, and then climb up over concrete, and then jump down, on to another slab of concrete, to where four men were standing, pointing, and you could hear crying, from somewhere underneath.”
In this dramatic footage, both Amor and Penfold are both visible at the scene, sometimes separated only by another local.
Both hold the baby girl at separate times, and both follow her to the local Save the Children office to see she gets medical attention.
Or to follow the story. Or both.
This shorter clip with a Seven watermark only shows Amor at the scene, while Nine’s only showed Penfold.
The Australian also notes footage was filmed by the only Australian TV cameraman ever to win the Gold Walkley for journalism, Richard Moran. Update: This story in news.com.au says Moran put down his camera to assist in her recovery: “Nine did not get the footage because of Moran’s heroics – and he later rang his head of news Mark Calvert in Sydney to explain why.”
A happy ending, in any case.
Source: The Australian
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- Tagged with Nine News, Seven News
21 Responses
I’m glad she’s safe, but this is all a bit … yucky.
I think Wah-Wah should be sent over for special commentary.
I’m just waiting for Channel 7 to fly her to Australia so she can appear on Sunrise with Mel and Kochie
And Seven already has a promo out exploiting this little girl’s suffering in an attempt to boost their ratings. How abhorrent.
One shot in Seven’s version showed Nine’s Penfold behind the Seven guy holding the water. Not a good move to try pumping a bottle of water into her all in one go. What dod I immediately think of? 1. Naomi Robson in PNG and 2. “Frontline”.
My heart is joyful over this miracle. And I am very happy that there were reporters on the scene to broadcast to the world the rescue of this little child trapped under the rubble of what used to be her home. After days of reporting stories about devastation and despair in Haiti, I sure would like to hear some good news from there. The only thing that disturbed me as I was watching the video was when the reporter abruptly doused the little girl with water on her head. I wish that they had brought with them a clean piece of cloth or a soft tissue to gently brush off and wipe away the dust and dirt from the baby’s face before dousing her with water. Dust and dirt when mixed with water, we all know, becomes mud; this could have gone through her eyes or she could have accidentally drank it. But overall, I’m just happy this little girl is alive and that there are miracles happening in Haiti.
I saw the 7 News coverage on Sky News and kept going “oh he looks like the hero in this all” though it was good story and a bit emotional they did well in Saving this young girl…. even if they just helped a little it just shows what people Are doing there and what they are Doing there.
and that why I watch AlJazeera English
@knowfirst. yes it’s great that the baby survived. but the media especially these 2 netowrks, they weren’t there too help and you can see that. they were there for a story and too look like they’re hero when they aren’t
You’re all missing the point here – the child survived.
And for that we should all be thankful.
Mike A Moore from Frontline……..whoops Mike Amor from Seven News certainly made sure he was the centre of attention in that story.
I think 7 and 9 are missing the point here, they have just witnessed someone being given a second chance and all they can do is try and fight over who was the real hero. and no, I watched it on nine news and it think it was the interpreter who was the real hero, not penfold or the other channel 7 dude
some how in the end i would be betting they didn’t do anything too help the rescue. both networks are just trying too look good
Typical 7. They tried to claim they rescued the poor girl when the truth is they just stood there watching others do the hard yards. Disgraceful.
I think I’ve seen all this on Frontline……!
I’m all for reporters rescuing people if its legit and without the publicity of tv cameras, but if they’re doing it just for the show – what a disgrace.
After viewing the reports of both I would put those in the latter category…..
I wasn’t happy watching Mike Amor. He clearly didn’t know how to assist the girl, and yet at the same time wanted to hold onto her for as long as possible for film purposes, while he asked ‘who’s girl is this?’, and almost seemed ready to challenge the man who claimed to be the girl’s uncle. Shameful.
Bring back Media Watch ASAP! This is a discrace by the commercial networks! 200,000+ dead and yet all they care about is getting an exclusive story before the other network gets it.
True a happy ending for that lucky little girl,but again channels seven and nine fighting to get the story.
It’s good the child is save but I hate how the networks use stories like this. No wonder shows like Taking the Flak on ABC do so well…
It’s nice to know even if such awful circumstances, the networks still care…about getting a good story and plugging their own network as saviors.
Correct me if I’m wrong but did Robert Penfold hold Mike Amor’s 7 News microphone?
I saw both 9 and 7 story versions and the editors have done thier best to remove the other respective journalist out of video reports as best as possible. I dont know why they need to pretend they were somehow working independently.