Journalism // Current TV

The Whole World Is Watching: Missionaries of Hate, Pt. 5

About a third of Uganda's domestic income relies on foreign aid, delivered by the... more

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Uganda as Ground Zero: Missionaries of Hate, Pt. 6

Whether the proposed Ugandan bill passes as originally proposed -- including a death... more

MarianaVanZeller
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Inside Vanguard's Missionaries of Hate: Mariana van Zeller Reflects

In a revealing and personal commentary, correspondent Mariana van Zeller goes behind... more

MarianaVanZeller
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Scott Lively, Father of Uganda's "Pro-Family" Movement: Vanguard Extended Interview

In this exclusive, extended interview with Defend the Family's president, Scott... more

MarianaVanZeller
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David Bahati, Uganda Parliament: Vanguard Extended Interview

An exclusive, extended interview with David Bahati, the Ugandan member of parliament... more

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DDoS Attack

Some of you may be experiencing trouble accessing our site. I wanted to post an... more

mario_a
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Obama Gets Applause at West Point, Fox Erases It? [videos]

President Obama addressed the graduates at West Point Academy on Saturday, saying,... more

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The natural healing power of nature

Have issues you cannot beat? Turn to the most powerful doctor of all..nature.

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Scientology President's Daughter Slams 'Toxic' Cult [video]

Scarlett Hanna, the daughter of the president of the Church of Scientology in... more

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NY Times Fails to Disclose Crucial Information About Conservation "Expert"

When the Times cited the "Gulf Of Mexico Foundation" for their story on the... more

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Changing reality

The day after the Euro-saving plan, all the Italian newspapers were writing about the... more

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ABC Nightline Twit(ter)cast: Should Marijuana Be Legalized? [video]

Let's kick off Silly Saturday with an interesting ABC twittercast debate about... more

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Join the GATC and reap the benefits of the Appalachian Trail

Have you ever wondered about what goes on behind the scenes of the AT? Heres your... more

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The basics of Feng Shui in Zen

I present to you, another how to article on feng shuing your home and life!

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The North Korea Nightmare: Inside Vanguard

When the phone rings at 1 a.m., I usually ignore it. But early the morning of March 19, 2009, I awoke to the sound of my cell phone buzzing on the nightstand. It was a call I never expected to get.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two of my colleagues at Current TV’s documentary series, Vanguard, had been apprehended by North Korean soldiers and taken somewhere inside that black hole of a country. I sat up in bed, trying to absorb and understand what I’d just heard.
This week, Laura is finally speaking at length about her experiences, first on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and then on Current in a special, very personal episode of Vanguard.
The story Laura and Euna were working on—about women from North Korea whose lives as refugees were still fraught with danger and fear—hadn't set off major alarms when they set out. Laura was my boss, an accomplished journalist who had reported on stories in some of the most dangerous areas of the world. She had just covered the drug trade in Juarez, Mexico—one of the most dangerous places in the world—and she’d worked extensively on sensitive stories in China.
Euna was an editor who normally worked only in the office, on her first trip as a field producer. Mitch Koss, the producer on the shoot, had an extensive career in journalism. He'd even previously reported on missionaries helping refugees out of North Korea—right in the same area that he, Laura and Euna had headed out to.
When you’re out in the field, you never know what may go down. Risk profiles change constantly, and what may at one moment be a perfectly "safe" story can suddenly become risky. Considering where our teams had been in the past, we’ve always exercised a high degree of caution on the field, constantly weighing the risks and rewards of our every move. Laura and her team were taking precautions, and it didn't seem like a story that required much risk. We had no idea that they would be in a situation where things would spiral out of control so quickly.
That early morning after first getting the news, I braced myself, then called Current’s CEO, Joel Hyatt, who quickly relayed the message to the network’s chairman, Vice President Al Gore. I then reached out to Laura’s and Euna’s families. It was frightening and surreal.
Telling the Vanguard team proved difficult in a different way. This is a group of intrepid journalists who regularly put themselves in harm’s way to report on stories they feel need to be shared with the world. As much as I couldn't stop thinking about how terrified Laura and Euna must be, I also worried what the implications would be for us—the team Laura had assembled herself. We were in the midst of production on our third season, each story dangerous and difficult in its own unique way.
Mariana van Zeller, another Vanguard correspondent, was on assignment in Sri Lanka, and my first impulse was to talk her into coming home. She was, after all, reporting about terrorists in a war zone. But—and I remember this so clearly—Mariana said that, in spite of the fact that she wanted to be close to us, she couldn’t. We had a job to do, an important one.
The weeks and months that Laura and Euna were held captive never became easy. While the pain couldn't compare with what they were suffering in North Korea, or what their families were enduring, everyone at Current was shaken. We had no idea how the North Korean regime would act, except unpredictably. Much of our time was spent gathering around televisions any time a piece of news would trickle out. We struggled through an emotional rollercoaster to maintain Laura's vision for the show and continue our work reporting around the world.
We knew negotiations were taking place far behind the scenes, but we had no idea when to expect a breakthrough. We were grateful to have the support of organizations such as Liberty in North Korea (LINK), which helps spirit North Koreans to freedom, as well as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters without Borders, who fight for journalists’ rights and safety around the world.
Occasionally, a glimmer of hope would surface. We attended candlelight vigils, sent care packages and wrote letters. Then we heard about President Bill Clinton’s mission to North Korea—and soon after Laura and Euna were finally home.
Vanguard is dedicated to responsible, fearless reporting. Our commitment to this mission is greater than ever before. As we’ve learned first hand, there are major dangers involved in investigative reporting. But we believe there’s an even greater risk in not going after the stories that most need to be told.
"Captive in North Korea," a special Vanguard episode with Laura Ling, will air on Current TV on May 19 at 10/9c.

When the phone rings at 1 a.m., I usually ignore it. But early the morning of March... more

Adam_Yamaguchi
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3 years ago
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Obama Signs "Freedom of Press Act;" Refuses to Answer Questions

CBS' Chip Reid attempts to ask Barry Soetoro, the Indonesian citizen, Kenyan-born... more

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Sacred Journal part XXI- Hiking the Appalachian Trail Georgia section

Hiking the trail you can burn upwards of 5000 calories a day as a man, slightly less... more

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3 years ago
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An overview of Buddhism

Learn what Buddhism is and what it is not, most people don't know what Buddhism... more

Merlyn_Seeley
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Non-Profit Investigative Journalism to the Rescue? | | AlterNet

Nonprofit investigative journalism outfits are breaking new ground. Can they sustain themselves?

May 14, 2010 |

At a story meeting for California Watch, the nonprofit investigative news startup, employees sit around a conference table as Robert Salladay, the organization’s senior editor, begins to describe the findings of a six-month investigation by one of his state capital reporters. “It gives me chills,” Salladay tells the group. “Each paragraph could be its own story.” Robert Rosenthal, the founder of California Watch, peers over his glasses at an open laptop, then nods in agreement. “The reporting is so amazing,” he says.

This is a sweet moment in any investigation, a charmed time that used to feel familiar in newsrooms, back when editors could afford to detach reporters for a few months of digging. Corey G. Johnson had used his shovel well. The California Watch reporter amassed twenty boxes of documents—so many that one government agency he’s probing set up a private office for him to go through the material. Now Johnson was laying it all out for his editors, certain he had uncovered something important.

The editors agreed; this was big. But then the conversation veered in a direction unfamiliar to traditional newsrooms. Instead of planning how to get the story published before word of it leaked, the excited editors started throwing out ideas for how they could share Johnson’s reporting with a large array of competitive news outlets across the state and around the country. No one would get a scoop; rather, every outlet would run the story at around the same time, customized to resonate with its audience, be they newspaper subscribers, Web readers, television viewers, or radio listeners. California Watch’s donors—at this point, a handful of high-powered foundations—expect it to publish high-impact investigative journalism about California as widely as possible.

“If we do six hundred schools [in a mapped database] . . . could we get KQED to come work with us?” Rosenthal asked.

“Maybe The Sacramento Bee or The Orange County Register could help with graphics,” suggested Louis Freedberg, California Watch director.

“Could we ask Long Beach to do the history . . . pull some stories and photos from their files?” asked Rosenthal, adding that perhaps they should enlist a few college students to help with on-site interviews. pbs was interested in the story, as were each of the television networks, Rosenthal said, ticking off a list of colleagues he’d already contacted to share the story’s gist.

“Okay. There are a lot of balls in the air here,” warned Mark Katches, California Watch’s editorial director. “How are we going to keep track of all this?”

California Watch is one piece of what Charles Lewis, the well-known founder of the Center for Public Integrity, calls “an emerging ecosystem of investigative reporting.” Nonprofit investigative news centers aren’t new; Lewis founded the Center for Public Integrity back in 1989. The Center for Investigative Reporting was launched even earlier, in 1977; it is the parent of California Watch and shares its offices in Berkeley. Rosenthal is CIR’s executive director and has overall responsibility for both it and California Watch.

More at the link:Nonprofit investigative journalism outfits are breaking new ground. Can they sustain... more

Monkey_Films
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3 years ago
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Vanguard Season 4: A No-Limits Documentary Series

On the new season of Vanguard, there are stories that must be told. Stories that... more

Prav
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3 years ago
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