Sunset on Maldives

This picture of the sunset through the presidential dock at Male airport seems a fitting note on which to end my blog from Maldives. Now that I'm back in Southern California, I'll be posting less frequently, next time from RTNDA/NAB/BEA in Las Vegas.

Parting Thoughts

You have no idea how important freedom of the press can be until you experience life in a country that doesn't have a tradition of it. The young reporters at TV Maldives have no role models to look up to. They will be the pioneers defining the role of the professional journalist in their country. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have played a small role in their history.

Book Deal

In this picture you see the ink drying on my book deal to write a manual on disaster and emergency response coverage for the Maldives Ministry of Information. Not an insignificant task in a country that is still recovering from the December 2004 tsunami and could experience another damaging tidal surge at any time.

This book is part of a series of journalism "how-to" books being published by the Ministry of Information and my colleague Bob Andresen will be writing the book on election coverage. Other contributors to the series include reporters from AFP (on business reporting), CNN and the BBC (broadcast journalsim.

The Last Training Session

But before returning home, a few final images and thoughts from Maldives. Our last training session in the TV newsroom focused on memorable standups, voice quality and ethical decisions. A good turnout of people who asked some great questions.

Singapore Sling

Not many Americans are aware of the Maldives because it is literally on the other side of the world. It takes three days to get there, each way, so almost a week of travel is involved on a round trip. My eight-hour layover in Singapore went quickly because of the free tour that is offered by Singapore Air. After two months of close quarters in Male it was quite a culture shock to see some of the tallest buildings in the world, wide streets and lush greenery. There's even a boat ride for a close-up view of the symbol of Singapore, the merlion (half fish, half lion).

But the strange thing is the total lack of people in the streets, not counting tourists. Perhaps it's because our tour was during the noon hour and only "mad dogs and Englishmen" go out in the noonday sun. Whatever, the free tour is a smart marketing tool and makes me want to stay a bit longer on my next trip.

Class party

But the most heartfelt thanks came from "Terry's kids," the young journalists at TV Maldives. Each is unforgettable in his or her own way, but Afra summed it up best when he said, "You encouraged us to do things that we never thought we could do." Actually, they had the talent, they just didn't know it.

Heena, the single mom who may be remembered in the history books as the face of editorial freedom at TVM Maldives. Shifla, with the sunny personality that a whole nation can wake up to. She said, "I've been with TV Maldives for ten years but never had job satisfaction until now."
Sports producer Hafsee and "the girls." Waseem, Huzam, so many others.The kids spent their own money to throw this party, complete with a fancy buffet. This was just as rowdy as an end of semester "Impact" party with my college students at USC. We've adopted the song "Rehab" as our theme, with choruses that include, "They wanted me to read a press release and I said, 'No, no, no!"

We were our own paparazzi and the digital cameras got quite a workout. More pictures to follow.

The Thank You Thing

An interesting aspect of Maldivian culture is that people don't expect to be thanked. In fact, there are situations where you can actually insult someone by thanking them. It can imply that you think the person is below your station. Your colleague or friend doesn't expect to be thanked for doing something that they are expected to do. Our American way of thanking everyone for everything seemed strange to them.But when Maldivians thanked us for the training, they did it in a big way. News Director Rameez invited us to his home for tea, with treats handmade by his wife. They were the most delicious short eats we had in Maldives. So... thanks!
TV CEO Ali treated us to an elegant lunch at Salsa Royale, one of the most exclusive restaurants in Maldives. The table was buzzing with ideas for the NEXT coaching visit. So... thanks again!

Class picture

Looking back on the two months of TV and radio training, we've come a long way together. For the first time, broadcast journalists are free to make decisions about what is newsworthy.
No longer do they have to read press releases as dictated by the government or air "official" videos that are boring or uninformative. Opposition parties and candidates have appeared on the news -- and even as the lead story -- for the first time. Reporters use compelling pictures and natural sound. But the big test will come when the nation's first election is scheduled, perhaps as early as August. Stay tuned.

Rewarding Radio

On the radio side, the unsung heroes are the men and women from the atoll bureaus who had to spend two months in the capital of Male during the training. They had to gather their stories over the phone, but we saw a lot of growth and some outstanding individual achievements.The biggest difference from the TV side was that radio managers never really bought into the training. They thought the reporter sessions were "too basic" for them and they never adopted any of our suggestions beause they think they are doing just fine. While the TV managers came to the podium to accept their awards, radio managers just watched, although Jina (on the right) made a gracious welcoming speech. VOM also awarded us some beautiful Maldivian lacquerware trophies.

Yes Minister!

Bob did an awesome job of thanking Nasheed. Throughout the training, we have been awarding small gifts for individual effort, and the room when crazy when Bob awarded the minister a Worldwide Media Associates pen. Without his commitment to press freedom, this project would never have had the impact that it did. So when he asks us if we will return to continue the training, I can only say, "Yes, minister!"

I presented our official report to Nasheed, 50 pages of recommendations from our team regarding the transition to public service broadcasting, fair election coverage and competition from private broadcasters. The whirlwind's comments were uncharacteristically subdued but appropriate for the occasion. He spoke in a serious tone about the responsibility now given to broadcast journalists in the Maldives.
TV CEO Ali had the best explanation of why the training succeeded. He quoted the famous story about the Spanish explorer Cortez ordering his men to burn their boats so that they would not have the option to retreat. "We have to go forward," Ali said, "because we have burned the boats." Gary will stay here for another two weeks working on the network schedule with Ali and the programming department.

Lights and Wires in a Box

The big question is whether the TVM journalists will continue to exercise their new-found editorial freedom after we're gone. And that was also the theme of the graduation ceremony.My job at the podium was to thank the radio and TV journalists for the opportunity to be part of the history of press freedom in Maldives over the past two months. I shared a little bit of our American media history: Edward R. Murrow's famous quote from his speech 50 years ago to RTNDA regarding the power of television news:
"This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box."

Before and After

These before and after pictures don't tell the whole story of Heena Waleed. On the inside she is a true journalist with the courage to ask tough questions and tell compelling stories.

It has been a pleasure watching her grow into a true managing editor of the prime time 8 pm news and 8:30 interview program. She's had to withstand some jealousy from others who wanted the job, but at the end of the day everyone agrees that no one works harder or deserves it more.

Heena has achieved all of this with only a 10th grade education and at this point in her career this 28 year old would benefit from some higher level education in journalism. She has risen to the top anchor position on a national broadcast through her own initiative. Is there an American j-school out there that would be willing to invite her as a visiting scholar? I hope so.
Today is the last time on this trip that we will make the rundown together, but I hope we'll be friends and colleagues for life.

Basket of News

Afra has done a great job establishing the TV side of the National Broadcast News Center. He is making the conference calls to the reporters in the 20 atoll bureaus the night before and presenting the morning assignment meeting with a full basket of stories at 8 am the next day. The problem is that the radio side has failed to send an assignment editor. Someone was appointed, but declined to attend the training sessions because he claimed he didn't have orders from the head of radio to do so. By contrast, TV was so eager to get started that at one point they appointed two assignment editors. But TV's staff shortage makes it impossible to spare both of these capable individuals.Reassigning Afra has worsened the staff shortage on the foreign desk, which translates Reuters news stories into Dhivehi and produces the 9 pm news bulletin in English. Only Zihu and Jadlow will be left on the English desk, due to the departure of one editor for studies overseas and the fact that 15 year old Toofah has to leave in a couple of months to finish 11th and 12th grade. One of my goals on the next coaching visit will be to strengthen the English program so that the many English speakers observing the election will have a nightly source of reliable information on TVM.

Unfinished Business

Some action is being taken to give the TVM newsroom a fighting chance at independence after we leave. Here's a picture of the team meeting with exective producer Mustafa to redesign the newsroom. It groups everyone in teams and has no room for the VIP crew. There is also a policy being drafted so that press releases that are not breaking news will have to arrive at least one hour before airtime to be used. This should eliminate the problem of propaganda being force-fed into the show at the last minute. Everyone will benefit since complete coverage of the newsworthy announcements can be planned and given the prominence it deserves.

Signing Ceremony

We signed certificates today that will be awarded to those who have completed the journalism training. We are also giving out pins for "special recognition," since participation ranges from those who attended one or two meetings to those who put their jobs on the line to test the boundaries of editorial freedom.

It was like that episode they always have near the end of the show "Survivor" where the remaining contestants remember everyone who played the game. We discussed the contributions of each of the fine people we met. When we first came here two months ago we could hardly pronounce their names, now we will never forget their faces.

The Ministry of Information team did a great job of planning the certificates and the ceremony, especially Nasiha, who put a lot of miles on her motorcycle getting everything together.

Worst Restaurant Name in Maldives

Apparently I'm not the only person who was a little put off by the name. The restaurant is out of business. Testy food must not be very tasty food.

BOPSA on Vilingili

We have a TV term for boring video of people sitting around in meetings: BOPSA, for Bunch Of People Sitting Around. I had a little free time on Saturday to visit Vilingili, an island suburb of the capital city of Male. Here, BOPSA is a way of life. There are paved streets here, but cars and motorcycles are not allowed. It was a hot weekend afternoon and the whole place was quiet and moving in slow motion, except for the ever-present broom patrol of ladies sweeping the shady streets and parks while the beaches remain littered with trash.

I had hoped to go on a local dive trip today with Faso from the Information Ministry, who also dives. But after a week of stormy weather the dive operation hadn't filled up its tanks. So we headed out on the ferry to Viligili for another look at island life and a nice lunch in a garden restaruant.

The most impressive buildings were the new apartments for the police force and an orphanage for children of drug abusers. They are building even more highrise apartment blocks.

There was a beautiful view looking back toward the city.

A few people did go swimming. Otherwise, it was plenty of BOPSA. So, when in Vilingili...

Covering the opposition

Here's a picture of Heena interviewing the former Attorney General of the Maldives who is now running for president as an independent. In a normal democracy this interview would not be unusual. But in this country it's historic. And for that reason the interview almost didn't get on the air.

The candidate, Hassan Saeed, is campaigning on a promise to attack the drug problems in the Maldives. This campaign event brought together former drug users, who risk prison for appearing on camera because it's a crime here just to admit that you used drugs. Saeed is charging that the current regime is covering up the true extent of the drug problems here.
When we sat down to write the package, the news director busted the story down to a vo and soundbite. Why? Because President Gayoom's party held a rally the same night and didn't make much news. Besides, the president didn't talk, only the DRP party spokesman. So it really wasn't worth more than a vosot. The drug event, plus the newsmaking soundbites and exclusive interview from Saeed were worth a package. But we are still overcoming the old rule that the opposition is not allowed to appear on TVM.
After a lot of arguing back and forth the package did air. But someone misplaced the Gayoom tape and they aired in reverse order with the president second after the Saeed package. Later I was told the news director was pressured for putting an opposition candidate ahead of the president.

Later that evening my team met with the Opposition Alliance. It was like something out of a James Bond movie as we took a van to a street corner and then waited for someone to tell us the exact location of the meeting. The assembled opposition leaders clearly view us as naive Americans who have been brought in to whitewash the regime's attempts to control the media, and therefore the outcome of the election. Well, we can't change the history of the past 30 years, but we might be able to get them a soundbite on the evening news. First they have to send a press release so that TVM will know what events to cover. Both sides have to learn how to wage a campaign in the media.
Update: We are still getting orders from the President's VIP crew. (See earlier posts: VIP Crew Problems and More Propaganda.) Today's press release concerned the president's departure on a foreign trip. At the last minute, Waseem was ordered to read it on the 2 pm news, but the tape was not there, so when the tape showed up he was forced to read the entire press release AGAIN. The official video was even longer than the press release, so they just let it run without narration or sound.
A lot of people have asked if I think TVM will go back to its old way of covering news when my team goes back to the US. Until today, I was optimistic that the changes would stick. Now I am not so sure.