Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Sudan: PBS Frontline World & BBC Panorama programmes

I was having an online conversation with Ingrid Jones over at Sudan Watch yesterday that prompted me to look at another blog she works on named Sudan: The Passion of the Present. Both blogs focus almost exclusively on Sudan and the crisis in Darfur. There is a January 10, 2005 posting on Passion of the Present about a new PBS Frontline World special report titled “SUDAN: The Quick and The Terrible”.

The PBS Frontline World crew has put together an excellent combination of electronic journalism formats for this program including multimedia web content with streaming video of the aired TV programs. You may also note that PBS Frontline World’s Jessica Smith contacted the blog authors directly to let them know about the airing of the show and the website. Any questions (readers) re: bloggers showing up on the radar screens of international media companies?

SUDAN The Quick and The Terrible features award-winning journalist Amy Costello at her best: on the ground and in your face. There is a lot of
in-depth information on the website as well as brief summaries of Who’s Who in Darfur – The Geopolitics of Tragedy. There is also an online comments and forum feature for visitors to the website. Excellent work PBS and I must thank Ingrid and the Sudan: The Passion of the Present team for this tip via their blog.

And while we are on the subject of great special reports on the Crisis in Darfur I must mention the excellent work by one of my favorite journalists Hilary Andersson of the BBC World News team. The BBC Panorama Programme team did an excellent video report back in November 2004 titled “
The New Killing Fields” with riveting interviews with both survivors of the genocide and perpetrators of the conflict including the murderous Janjaweed Militia leader Musa Hilal who now lives openly in Khartoum. A program transcript is available via the Panorama website as well as links to program highlights.


UPDATE January 13th:Ingrid Jones of Sudan Watch has also written a very good article about the BBC Panorama feature "The New Killing Fields" last year. Her article dated November 15, 2004 was posted the next day following the P.M. airing of the programme in the U.K. and Ingrid provides lots of extra details and an excellent review of Hilary Andersson's work in the Sudan. Thanks again Ingrid.

Hilary has done some of the best reporting on issues and news out of Africa available anywhere, and she’s one of the bravest and best journalists in the business today. “Eat your heart out, Christiane Ammanpour. You cain’t touch this young reporter even in your heyday!”

UPDATE January 13th during a call from CNN European HQ in London: "Yes Mamm, Mrs. Amanpour! Oh no Mamm, I didn't really mean what I said (er) wrote about you on my blog. Yes Mamm, you still the Best in the Business! Everybody knows that. Yes Mamm, I'm gonna put a link to your CNN bio on my blog right away so everybody knows EXACTLY who you are and I'm gonna learn how to spell your name correctly too. Yes Mamm, that's Amanpour with 1 N not 2 N's......er, 1 M not N's, M like in Monkey. Yes Mamm..."

Hilary has been on the ground over in Darfur, Khartoum, and in Chad practically since the story really broke back in Spring 2004 and she has been doggedly going after the truth and facts behind the genocide and the conflict between warring parties. The President of Sudan Omar al-Beshir and his Foreign Minister Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail just LOVE Hilary to death___ so she has to watch her step while working in Sudan. I’m crazy about her myself and can’t get enough of her good reporting.

I particularly liked the way Hilary Andersson ended the excellent feature on Darfur and I have provided an excerpt from the November 2004 BBC Panorama programme transcript below:

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ANDERSSON: "But for Darfur's African people, Sudan is already in anarchy. As we were leaving, women began descending on the African union observers. The Janjaweed had raped another group of women that morning. They wanted someone to do something about it."

WOMAN: "They humiliate us all the time. Our blood is boiling and our hearts are broken."

ANDERSSON: "How do you feel about the African Union, do you think they're helping the people of this town?"

WOMAN: "We just went there and we were told there was no way they could do anything."

ANDERSSON: "The African Union told the women to come back the next day. For all the horrors, this is the best the world can do. The protestors lined up to watch us as we flew away. "

"Genocide, the ultimate crime against humanity may be occurring in Darfur but despite the lessons of history, we all allow it to continue. This is the world we live in. The people of Darfur, like Miriam, can only count their dead and pray."

-----End of programme transcript-----

(Bold typeface highlighting added by blog author)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...
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BRE said...
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Anonymous said...

Hilary Andersson is a special person and a delight to be around. Her grandfather Alfred Andersson was a reporter and managing editor for the old Memphis Press-Scimitar. He was a real character himself and saw, but was not allowed to report on, the killing of Bonnie and Clyde. She appears to be following in grandfather's footsteps. Her aunt worked for the Times Picayune and her great uncle for the Memphis paper as well.

BRE said...

Wow! Thank you for commenting on this ancient post re: the excellent journalism of Hilary Andersson and her grandfather Alfred. Bonnie and Clyde huh? That could mean that Alfred Andersson was also familiar with some of my famous outlaw ancestors in the American Midwest and South during the Depression Years. Just kidding, I think?

Nonetheless, I haven't seen Hilary Andersson reporting on BBC News here in Europe for quite a while now? What's the deal, has she moved on to another network? If so, where? I remain one of her most avid admirers and fans. She is a top professional journalist with real brains and grit.