PHOTOS, PAGE 1

       Editor and prime reporter is Doug Terry, a veteran television and radio reporter in   Washington, DC, (details below)

The answer to the question contained in the above headline is this: watch carefully. Study the images and take as much of the whole picture into your mind as you can. Compare the scenes from Chile with those in Haiti just six weeks ago, where almost every building in some sections of town fell down. This was not the case in Chile.

Here is something to keep in mind as you watch reports and read about what is going on there: it looks worse on television than it really is. No one does a news report that says “11,000 buildings are standing in Santiago and have very little damage”. Instead, reporters concentrate on what has fallen down and what can’t be occupied because of damage.

Bear in mind, also, that television reporters and producers are not careful about tell you which video came from where. In fact, they mix and match scenes often as if it were all just a game. The 15 story building the collapsed in Conception has been shown repeatedly mixed in with video from Santiago.

Much of the video looks like no care was taken in matching the destruction to the words being read by the reporter. A lot of television outlets get so caught up in the “excitement” of a big story that they forget their responsibilities of keeping things in perspective and carefully reporting fact, not just impressions. The local stations in Chile seem to be particularly guilty of these kinds of loose practices, which then spills over on American networks.

Even in the coastal towns where the tsunami hit, the wave damage is limited to the zone near the beaches. Where the land rises toward the mountains, the waves stopped and returned to the sea. The largest wave was reported to be around 18 feet tall, but that was an unofficial report for waves that began to hit in the middle of the night, when judging size would be difficult for anyone.

The epicenter of the quake was off the coast of Conception and that area, and the tsunami area to the south, appear to be the hardest hit. Santiago, as reported during the first hours here on the TerryReport, was left largely intact. Most buildings in most of the cities we have seen so far remained standing. Some have serious damage and will never be occupied again, but because they stood, most people inside lived.

Here is a note from Chile published on the NY Times website complaining about the impression that the news coverage is giving to those outside Chile:

FROM THE NY TIMES ONLINE:

 I agree with what’s been said above by other users in Santiago. The images on TV depict the absolute worst devastation in the country, and that’s fine, but it’s not an accurate portrayal of what Santiago is like. My friends and family have been extremely worried, and god knows what they’ve been seeing on CNN. I keep trying to explain that Santiago has come out relatively unscathed, apart from a few museums and churches that have been ruined.

I’ve been very impressed with how fast and efficient the city has been in cleaning up the damage. Today (Monday) almost all the rubble and glass has been cleaned up, shops and restaurants are open, life seems to be back to normal.

Although the Chilean people themselves are a bit off, understandably. Everyone seems a bit tense, shaken, and yet they remain remarkably calm. Metros and buses are working again (although no buses seem to be going South) and the city seems to be finding it’s feet once more. The airport is supposed to open within the next couple days, and schools should begin next week, if all goes well.

All in all, the Chilean government has definitely impressed me, and I’m so thankful to be in Santiago. Now if only these aftershocks would stop

Aneya Fernando (from Santiago)

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