Amazingly, many of those newspapers directly damaged by the events somehow managed to get a publication out in the subsequent days. Even if they were four-pagers or one-page flyers, these reports served as a life line to the thousands of readers and families displaced across Japan, searching for any reliable information amid such a terrible tragedy.

We heard about many paid-for websites tearing down their paywall to allow people to see the latest news and serve as a platform to connect with each other.

And we heard similar stories from our colleagues in New Zealand after the 21 February earthquake in Christchurch, somewhat forgotten after the events that followed in Japan.

In both cases, newspapers and media companies across the region banded together to get valuable information to the public. And certainly, you can never truly prepare for such a disaster, but it is clear that most newspapers actually had anti-disaster plans in place, and when those didn’t work, they were cooperating with usual heated competitors.

The events showed me the emotional impact that both print and electronic media can have in times like these: I will never forget the images of stranded people lined up to get that four-pager the day after nor the reports of worried family members connecting with their lost loved ones through social media.

To our colleagues in those affected regions, our heartfelt wishes go to you and your families.