We make the most progress here when we teach by example, so the first order of business was to head out to the streets with the Kulhudhuffushi bureau reporter, Aroona, to do a story about the new produce marketplace that is under construction. Above picture shows her setting up the camera in front of a place where a native boat called a "dhoni" is being built by hand.
Aroona had attended our two-day reporter training program in the capital city of Male, but with typical Maldivian shyness was having trouble doing standups and asking tough questions of government officials and total strangers. She can normally get one of her colleagues from the radio side to help her run camera, but Bob also pitched in to show them how to get the right shots for a news story. 
We interviewed island people who bring their bananas, coconuts and mangoes to the main island for sale. They just camp out near the waterfront and display their wares on the ground or a bench. Some have wheeled carts.
We also interviewed people who buy the fruit and a few shopkeepers who buy wholesale and sell retail on more distant parts of the island. They aren't happy about the new marketplace. Look at these island faces. The kids tore into the fresh mangoes as if they were candy.
More hands-on training in the editing room, where Aroona put her piece together and fed it into Male for the 8 pm newscast.
Update: with the training team out of town, the TVM crew in Male did an outstanding program on their own, using the debate soundbites from the floor of Parliament for the first time in Maldives history. Other firsts: Giving the opposition MDP party a five-minute spot on the nightly 8:30 interview program, a Nightline-type show that follows the news. Good job Heena, Rilwan and the entire team!
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