Karl Penhaul

Former CNN international correspondent Karl Penhaul has landed at Spanish-language broadcaster Univision. Penhaul–who left CNN in January–will serve as a foreign correspondent for the network. In addition, Univision has named Carlos Villalon a foreign correspondent. Both men will report for all Univision News platforms.

“The addition of these two world-class journalists speaks to Univision’s commitment to invest in its in-house news operations and expand its news franchise to better serve our audiences,” said Isaac Lee, president of News, Univision Communications in a statement. “Their insights and keen understanding of world hot spots will provide Hispanic America with compelling, unparalleled news reports like never before.”

More information, after the jump.

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“Today” show national correspondent Natalie Morales left New York for Chile on Friday and began reporting today for NBC News and The Weather Channel. NBC News Miami-based correspondent Kerry Sanders, (with Morales, right) who has been in Chile since Sept. 28, has been reporting for several NBCU channels, including MSNBC and CNBC.

ABC’s Jeffrey Kofman who was one of the first American news correspondents on the scene in August, remains on site. John Quinones is also there working on a report for “20/20″ to air this Friday and Diana Alvear is reporting for NewsOne and ABC News Radio.

For CBS News, Seth Doane is in place. Fox News Channel’s Steve Harrigan has been in-country since last Tuesday reporting for the cable news channel and CNN has a team of 14 people on the ground including Karl Penhaul who’s been on the ground since August 23 for both CNN/U.S. and CNNI. All-platform journalist Patrick Oppmann is also reporting for the network and Gary Tuchman will be on air soon as he just arrived this morning.

BBC World News America’s Matt Frei will anchor tonight’s show from the scene in Copiago and will remain until the miners are freed.

TV News crews in position near the mine site in Chile’s Atacama Desert where rescuers finished drilling 566 meters underground Sunday in an effort to free 33 trapped miners.

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The U.S. cable news networks are providing coverage this morning of an 8.8 earthquake that struck central Chile overnight, along the Pacific coast. This is the most powerful earthquake to hit the region in 50 years — since 1960′s 9.5 quake, the biggest in recorded history.

FNC, CNN and MSNBC are relying on images from TV Chile as well as from that network’s news channel 24 Horas. CNN is also relying on information from CNN Chile, and CNN en Espanol. MSNBC is using the resources of NBCU’s Spanish-language network Telemundo. That network, as well as Univision, have been airing uninterrupted coverage from Chile this morning.

Reporting times: Fox News – 2:35amEST, CNN/U.S. – 2:59am, MSNBC – 3:25am. The quake struck at 3:34am. Santiago is two hours ahead of EST.

> More: I received an email from Todd Ogasawara, editor of mediabistro.com site MobileContentToday, a short time ago. Todd lives in Honolulu:

We’re under an ocean-wide tsunami warning (first in decades) caused by the massive earthquake in Chile. Whatever hits will hit around 11:19am HST (4:19pm Eastern) Saturday Feb. 27.

Just got back from Safeway where foot traffic was starting to build by the time I left at 2:25am.

> More: Fox News will preempt Journal Editorial Report, FOX News Watch and Glenn Beck and instead stay live from 2-4pmET with Kelly Wright and Juliet Huddy.

> Related: CNN Relays Most News About Crisis

> More: CNN correspondents/anchors heading to the region: John Zarella, Soledad O’Brien, Ted Rowlands, Ed Lavandera, Elizabeth Cohen, Gary Tuchman. (h/t: ICN)

> More: FNC’s Phil Keating is en route to Chile.

> 1pmET Update: CNN/U.S. is simulcasting CNN International. MSNBC is preempting docs for continuing coverage. CNN has also updated who they are sending to the region: It is Soledad O’Brien, Dan Simon, John Zarella, Hala Gorani, Sara Sidner, and Karl Penhaul.

> More: Pres. Barack Obama addressed the situation from the White House at 1:48pmET. CNN, FNC, FBN, and MSNBC, carried the statement on cable, and ABC carried it in a special report anchored by Sharyn Alfonsi. NBC was in Olympic coverage and CBS was broadcasting NCAA basketball.

> NBC’s Lester Holt delivers a special report during Olympic coverage at 2:30pmET with video and an excerpt from the president’s remarks.

> More: Ann Curry, Mike Taibbi, and Mark Potter headed to Chile to cover for NBC News. CNN’s Larry King will air a live show tonight at 9pmET.

> More: For ABC, Jeffrey Kofman and David Wright are on their way to Chile. “Nightline” producer Malia Patria is in Chile on assignment and was having dinner when the quake struck. She did a live report for “World News” Saturday.

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On Wednesday, the blog Legal Insurrection wrote:

Reuters ran a staged photo of a bloodied Honduran protester. Contrary to the clear implication of the Reuters story, the protester was not bloodied from the protests, but as reported by Hunter Smith at Honduras Abandoned, the protester deliberately wiped blood on his shirt from the ground in order to get photographed.

Now this same protester, identified as Juan Angel Atunez, has appeared in a CNN news report by Karl Penhaul in a bloodied shirt claiming that a child died in his arms.

It is unclear if a child died at the protests, as most reports state only one adult died. Regardless, Hunter’s first hand observation of Atunez wiping blood on himself prior to being photographed and videotaped shows that Atunez staged his appearance and story for dramatic effect, which both Reuters and CNN buying into it.

Today, a CNN spokesperson responded to TVNewser:

CNN had two teams on the ground. We were present throughout the march. CNN staff saw and heard the shooting. The blogger says he was not present at the time the shooting took place. We interviewed a bystander who said he had held a child who was dying. At no point in our interview did the witness allege he saw more than one victim. At the time there was confusion about the age of the victim, who was passed through the crowd, bleeding profusely from his fatal head wound. Many bystanders and journalists initially believed from the size and appearance of the body that the victim was quite young, consistent with the witness’s story.

CNN regrets that our report did not point out that we could not independently verify the man’s account. Note that CNN carefully reported the official Red Cross death tally of one, but included the assertions from protestors that the death toll may have been higher, as did the blogger.

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The Dignity was carrying 16 passengers — mostly physicians and human rights activists, but also former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney and Penhaul.

Penhaul said two Israeli patrol boats had shadowed the Dignity for about a half hour before the collision. One of the patrol boats shined its spotlight on the Dignity while the other, with its lights off, “very severely rammed” the boat, Penhaul said.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the military had radioed the vessel to warn them against proceeding to Gaza because it is a closed military area.

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