Sunday, March 2, 2008

The story so far...

If you are a new reader to this blog, here's a recap:
I'm an American/ TV News talent coach, former TV news anchor and college professor consulting the government TV and radio stations in Maldives, a Muslim island nation in the Indian Ocean. Maldivians are in the process of conducting their first free election and allowing free press for the first time. Follow the adventures of my team as we try to teach the values of independent journalism in a country that was locking up journalists/opposition leaders only a few years ago. The average age of the TV journalists is 19 and some are as young as 15. Until now, they believed they were required to read government press releases word for word on the air, presenting these pronouncements as news. Many viewers perceived it as government propoganda read by children.
We're at the halfway point of our project and I'm delighted to report that both radio and TV are producing real news programs, interviewing real people and not just government officials. But every day brings a new challenge. Keep reading and feel free to comment.
(To follow the story from the beginning go back to the beginning of February and read from the bottom up.)

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