Victoria's Zimbabwe trip in the media
| 16:08 UK time, Friday, 4 December 2009
Radio 4 followed up Victoria's appearance on Today with a long item about media access to Zimbabwe on Wednesday's Media Show. Presenter Ed Stourton (subbing for Steve Hewlett), started by saying: "...we're going to spend a good deal of this show discussing another show on another network because we think it's so interesting". Listen to the item here:
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Olly Grant in The Telegraph (under the headline 'The Ö÷²¥´óÐã and Zimbabwe: how the Corporation got back in') and focused on the shift in Zimbabwean Government policy that permitted the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's return. He quotes the programme's producer, with some fascinating insights:
"We were told they were keen to open up to the media because they want to capitalise on the World Cup in South Africa in June," says Louisa Compton, the editor of Derbyshire's show, who realised they could combine the show with an already-planned trip to Friday's World Cup draw in Cape Town. "A million phone calls and faxes" later, with negotiations channelled through the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's Johannesburg Bureau, Compton finally got the green light from Zanu-PF, who retain control of the country's publicity department. "It was the most difficult project I've ever organised," Compton says.
Camilla Redmond in The Guardian . She thought the show got off to 'a bumpy start' but concluded positively:
...the show had done a great job of bringing to life what life in Zimbabwe is now like.
Voice of America added a line about 5 live's visit to Harare to the end of an article from outside the country.
Victoria's own diary piece is about the Ö÷²¥´óÐã's preparations for the trip, which involved the kind of 'hazardous environments' training course that war correspondents are required to take. She wrote:
When I first met up with my course compatriots - from the World Service, Newsnight, Radio 4, Millbank - there was a teeny competitive thing going on - not so much name dropping as conflict dropping. "When I was in Somalia/Iraq/Afghanistan/Liberia..." I kept quiet about the sperm washing item we did on last Tuesday's programme.
Victoria has uploaded some photos from Zimbabwe and to her programme page (including the one I've used to illustrate this post, which shows women working on a Harare street) and she's been sending regular updates from her trip and on her blog.
Steve Bowbrick is Editor of the 5 live blog
- Listen to Victoria's programme from Harare on the 5 live web site.
Comment number 1.
At 15th Dec 2009, Gavin Corder wrote:Hardly anyone else but you and Ed Stourton appears to have found it interesting or worth it the money though do they? Certainly not enough to comment here.
And let's face it the Five Live listeners have been very vocal in their disapproval as evidenced by comments on VD's blogs:
/blogs/victoriaderbyshire/2009/11/next_week_zimbabwe.shtml?dnafrom=0&dnato=20#dnaacs
/blogs/victoriaderbyshire/2009/11/victorias_week.shtml?dnafrom=0&dnato=20#dnaacs
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Comment number 2.
At 23rd Dec 2009, dennisjunior1 wrote:Steve--I am glad that Victoria's trip to Zimbabwe went off great and, I hope that all had a great working experience in the country....
=Dennis Junior=
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