SAJAforum

PAKISTAN: Swat valley's resilient girl students and an NYT video

“In the area where I live there are some people who want to stop educating girls through guns,” says Ziauddin, after 200 girls schools have been forced to close down in the Swat valley, Pakistan, over last year.

This is the theme of a moving online video by The New York Times' Adam Ellick and Irfan Ashraf, "Class Dismissed: Education in Swat Valley" [alternately subtitled "The Death of Female Education"]. SAJAforum interviewed Ellick about the making of the video.

The 14-minute story takes us through the region while narrating the story of Ziauddin, who runs a private school for girls, and his bright 11-year old daughter Malala, who is pursuing the seemingly futile goal of becoming a doctor.

The documentary opens with serene shots of the valley and, just as sounds of civilized society begin to filter in, gunmen open fire, bombs blast and insurgents take control. Images of burning houses, torn-down classrooms and deserted markets follow, as well as some gruesome scenes of Taliban-style justice. From the narration:

Since 2007 Swat has become Taliban territory. Those who defy the militant strict codes of Islam are publicly punished. And those are the lucky ones. Politicians and social activists are murdered and their corpses displayed in the center of the capital Mingora.

Last week the government signed a truce with the Swat Taliban agreeing on a form of Islamic law. Some people now fear that the Taliban are even more emboldened.

While boys school remain open, more than 200 girls schools have been blown up by the Taliban.
<snip>
There are 12,000 Pakistani troops in Swat. But since last summer, they have been unable to quell the 3,000 Taliban fighters and their guerrilla insurgency.

Perhaps the stars of the documentary are young Malala and the other girls in the valley who bravely make the case for female education, even giving stirring speeches, in English, out in the open:

"Swat Valley: the land of waterfalls. Lush green hills and other gifts bestowed upon it by the nature. But my dear friends, today, Swat, has in the past few years become a heartland for Pakistan Islamic militancy. Today, this idyllic valley of peace is burning. Why the peace of this valley is destroyed? <snip> Why our future is targeted? Schools are not places of learning but places of fear and violence. <snip> Our dreams are shattered. And let me say, we are destroyed."

SAJAforum spoke to Ellick about getting permissions, his general mobility as a foreign journalist and whether he was in fact endangering his subjects by interviewing them. Above are two images of Adam. One of him in New York and the other of him incognito in Pakistan. Apparently, his cover worked well: people spoke to him in Pashtu, the local language, and thought he was a local.

MUMBAI ATTACKS: NPR's comprehensive coverage

[See SAJAforum's full coverage of the Mumbai attacks]

During the Mumbai attacks we tried to highlight resources for journalists and others. Our goal now is to look at some of the coverage itself. We asked a few questions of Madhulika Sikka, the Deputy Executive Producer of NPR's Morning Edition (see below). The show (independent of other NPR programming) has an audience of about 13 million people, making it the most listened-to radio program in America, after the Rush Limbaugh show.

NPR's coverage was anchored by Philip Reeves, its New Delhi correspondent. Here are some of his reports from Mumbai and its aftermath (full list here), ending with his earliest reports:

• In India, Anger Grows At Response To Attacks (Dec. 2)
• India, Pakistan Relations Hurt By Mumbai Attack
  
• Security In Mumbai: An Impossible Task?
• India Reeling From Mumbai Rampage
• Mumbai Siege Ends With Gunmen's Deaths (Nov. 29)
• In Mumbai, Militant Violence Not Quelled
• Indian Commandos Try To Oust Gunmen
• Indian Forces Continue Battle With Mumbai Gunmen
• Toll In Mumbai Attacks Expected To Rise (Nov. 26)

But NPR also turned to a number of Mumbai writers and other commentators to round out its coverage:

• Suketu Mehta: "Mumbai is India's New York" 
• Filmmaker Smriti Mundra & Journalist Sara Rajan: "Witnesses describe attacks on Mumbai"
• Sandip Roy: "Mumbai Attacker's photo haunts commentator"
• Sree Sreenivasan: "Technology helps speed Mumbai web call-in show" (ie., SAJAforum's webcasts)
• Shobhaa De: "Columnist: Mumbai bigger than terror attack"
• Vikram Chandra "Mumbai terrorist attacks echo an Indian novel"
• Shashi Tharoor "Mumbai stands out from other terror attacks"
• Madhulika Sikka's written piece: "Why the location of the Mumbai attacks matters" 

In response to a few of our questions, Madhulika gave us a window into NPR's work, in coordinating its reporters and commentators from around the world:

On the overall coverage:

We approached this as we would any breaking news story, try and provide the most up-to-date information we could (on a major holiday I might add), but also provide some context.  This was complicated by the fact that it was an ongoing story that lasted three days and obviously it was
constantly changing.

VIDEO: The Economist's "Digital Nomad" - Abhishek Ashok Kumar

The Economist has this interesting video on Abhishek Ashok Kumar, who works as a podcaster in Mumbai. The magazine asked Kumar to document his life in pictures, video and audio.

The funny part is when he describes his two-minute word with the god in his kitchen asking him to reduce the costs of broadband he has to pay every month. And you get a good tour of Mumbai.

Take a look:

I think this is a good example of new media - using very easy devices to tell stories (and then get it on the Economist website.)

Also, note the phone number of the guy who can fix your tire punctures, just in case you need one someday.

What do you think? Please post your thoughts below.

PAKISTAN: Benazir Bhutto's Appearance at CFR

The hottest ticket among South Asia watchers on the day after Pakistan's Independence Day was the appearance at the Council on Foreign Affairs by former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto. CFR.org has published the transcript and audio from her conversation with CFR president Richard Haass is on the site. After an opening statement, here's the first question:

HAASS: Let me begin with a -- in some ways it's a question that to me was implicit in everything you said. You talk about the history of your country over the last 60 years. What is it about Pakistan or Pakistanis that accounts for the fact that, probably a majority of its history, democracy has not prevailed. What's wrong?

BHUTTO: Well, we feel that the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, died very quickly, a year after Pakistan was founded, and so we didn't have a national leader with the authority, the respect to help us develop our democratic political institutions, whereas Nehru, in nearby India, provided the leadership that could help a new nation strengthen its democratic institutions.

Secondly, we also feel that Pakistan's geostrategic position as a country -- you know, we -- Afghanistan was the buffer state during the Cold War, and Pakistan was one side of the buffer state -- so our geostrategic position as the bastion for the free world also led to the international community dealing with whoever was in power. So in a sense, the military dictatorships were able to milk international support for suppressing democratic rights for short-term strategic goals. But I am concerned that that policy is now backfiring.

HAASS: Do you therefore actually wish that the United States and others were putting more pressure on your government to reinstall democracy?

Read her answer and the rest of the transcript here. Listen to the audio here.

These photos are provided for SAJAforum by Jay Mandal/On Assignment. Contact Jay: jaymandal[at]yahoo.com

EARLIER ON SAJAforum:

• Benazir Bhutto and husband Asif break up
• Read all the items on Pakistan.

BOLLYWOOD: A Book on Shah Rukh Khan En Route

On Friday, I received a galley copy of a brand-new book entitled "King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema" by Anupama Chopra (click to magnify the cover on the left). She's a well-known Mumbai-based film journalist - she writes for India Today, has a movie show on NDTV and wrote  "Sholay: The Making of a Classic." The book is coming out in August and SAJA is going to co-host an event with the Indo-American Arts Council.

As someone who doesn't watch a lot of recent Bollywood movies (I prefer pre-"Sholay" Hindi movies and Malayalam movies of every vintage), I realized I don't know enough about SRK and today's Bollywood. So I am looking forward to reading this book. The two most recent books to feature Bollywood that I have read are Suketu Mehta's nonfiction  "Maximum City: Bombay Lost & Found" and Vikram Chandra's fictional "Sacred Games." 

If you are a journalist interested in the book, you can contact publicist Sri Kaushal at sri[at]mypeepul.com - the publication date is Aug. 27, 2007.

[There are a couple of SAJA connections to this book: among the acknowledgments is TV producer and filmmaker Raeshem Nijhon. Chopra also thanks Suketu Mehta as well as Anna Ghosh, her literary agent (who has worked with several SAJA members). And she thanks Vikram Chandra, her brother.]

Comments welcome below.

See SAJAforum's Bollywood category and the new Bollywood Briefing video series.

GENDER: PBS Frontline/World on "The Missing Girls" of India

The photos above are stills from a powerful video that airing on PBS.org - it's part of the web presence of "Frontline/World" the popular and successful documentary series. "The Missing Girls: A Society Out of Balance" is by Neil Katz, a Frontline/World Fellow and his wife, Marisa Sherry:

In 2006, when my wife and I traveled to India to live and work, the one issue that kept grabbing our attention was northern India's deep cultural preference for sons over daughters. The desire for sons can be so great, that some families, after having a girl or two, will abort female fetuses until they bear a son. The practice is called female feticide or sex selection.

See the 14-minute video here and see several comments, too. See links and resources about female sex selection here. Read more about the Frontline/World Fellows program and see videos from around the world.

Reax? Post your comments below.

 

SAJA-DC: Coverage of "Navigating the Labyrinth" Conference

Some of Washington D.C.'s best-known journalists, including Leonard Downie, executive editor of The Washington Post (right), were among the speakers at SAJA's first ever day-long conference outside New York. In fact, within the first two hours, five Pulitzer Prize-winners had already shared their ideas with the audience of more than 130 journalists. The theme of the conference, which was hosted by the National Press Club: "Journalism in the Nation's Capital: Navigating the Labyrinth."

Below you will find text and/or audio clips from several of the sessions and you can see 80+ photos by Preston Merchant here. You can see a video story in Urdu/Hindi by VOA's Imran Siddiqui here (.mov file). Additional reports from the conference are coming soon. Lots of tips and story ideas, so do take a look.

• Opening Keynote: Len Downie, executive editor of The Washington Post, kicked off the conference with a conversation about the news industry's future, the 2008 elections and covering the war and national security.
  Read a report on the session by Shefali Kulkarni.
  Download the mp3 (31MB) and listen to the whole session.
  

• Unearthing the Big Story: A discussion of some of Washington's biggest stories of the last year, from warrantless wiretapping to congressional scandals, featuring ABC News senior producer Rhonda Schwartz, Jerry Kammer and Marcus Stern of Copley News Service, and Eric Lichtblau and James Risen of The New York Times. Moderated by Chitra Ragavan of US News & World Report
  Download the mp3 (41MB) and listen to the full session.


• The New Wave of New Media: John Harris, editor-in-chief of the brand-new The Politico (and former WP reporter), and Wall Street Journal deputy bureau chief Nikhil Deogun talk with Washington Post assistant managing editor Rajiv Chandrasekaran about blogging, online video and the challenges of feeding new platforms.
  Read a report on the session by Priyanka Dayal.
  Download the mp3 (38MB) and listen to the full session.

• Breaking into Washington Media: What does it take to make it in the nation's capital? Who will give you a shot when you are starting out? What are editors looking for in young journalists? Speakers: Dipka Bhambhani, Platts; Ed Foster-Simeon, USA TODAY; Amanda Long, Washington Business Journal; Amna Nawaz, NBC News. Moderator: Vandana Sinha, Washington Business Journal.
  Read a report on the session by Priyanka Dayal.
• South Asia's Imprint on Washington: Leading journalists representing South Asian and U.S. news outlets discuss how coverage of the region is evolving. Featuring Aziz Haniffa, India Abroad; Selig Harrison, Center for International Policy; Anwar Iqbal, Dawn;   Moderated by Patti Tripathi, Tripath Media.
  Download the mp3 (19MB) and listen to the full session. 

 

Don't forget: This year's SAJA Convention and Job Fair will take place over four days in New York City - July 12-15, 2007. Please mark your calendars and keep an eye on SAJA.org for details.

AUTHOR Q&A: Geeta Anand, author of "The Cure"

SAJA Author Q&A with Geeta Anand, WSJ reporter & author of "The Cure" via Skypecast

[ Listen to a recording of the Q&A here. Below you can read a report on the Q&A, written by Shurjendu Dutt-Mazumdar, a NY-based freelance writer.]

On Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006, SAJA held a Q&A with  Geeta Anand, Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street Journal reporter and author of "The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million--And Bucked the Medical Establishment--In a Quest to Save His Children." It was her first major interview about the book. Anand, a investigative medical writer at the WSJ, discussed how she pulled together the book, her life at the WSJ and shared her investigative reporting techniques. She was oined by the book's lead character, John Crowley, the father who fought the medical establishment. More on the book here (including an excerpt); here is the Amazon link. The WSJ ran a major excerpt on Aug. 30.

Read Shurjendu Dutt-Mazumdar report below and post your comments...

NEWSMAKER Q&A: Shashi Tharoor

SAJA Newsmaker Q&A with Shashi Tharoor
via Skypecast  - (basically a conference call using free Skype software)

On Aug. 17, 2006, Shashi Tharoor, UN Under Secretary General for Communications and distinguished author, participated in a global SAJA web event. He was interviewed by SAJA Board members Sree Sreenivasan & Vikas Bajaj and took questions from listeners around the world. They discussed the race for Secretary General; Tharoor's chances and the role of the UN in a changing world.

It was an on-the-record interview and, and as Tharoor said: "I hope any and all of you will free to use my responses in this interview in your stories for what I think is turning out to be the most transparent race there ever has been for the Secretary Generalship". He also gave out his e-mail address for possible interviews.

You can download the interview, which is MP3 format (or add it to your iTunes, iPod, etc): the mp3 interview (about 45 minutes) - or you can listen to a streaming copy at DesiYou.com.

Read highlights and analysis of the interview by Tony Fleming, who runs UNSG.org, a blog that's the best source of reporting on the UNSG race.

This is the part of the SAJA Newsmaker Q&A series. Please listen to a similar interview with Jayantha Dhanapala, Sri Lanka's candidate for UNSG. Yes, we are seeking similar interviews with the other major candidates.

 

BACKGROUND READING:

• ShashiTharoor's UNSG race site - official Tharoor site
• Jayantha Dhanapala's race site - official site of Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka
• Ban Ki-Moon's race site - official site of Ban Ki-Moon of South Korea
• UNSG: Who Will Be The Next SG - blog covering the race
• UNSGselection.org - site by several NGOs
• Chapter 15 - site about the race for SG
• Race for the UN Top Job - Hindustan Times section on the race

If you have suggestions for future Newsmaker Q&As, please let us know via e-mail: sajaHQ@gmail.com. Yes, we have extended a similar invitation to the other South Asian candidate, Jayantha Dhanapala.

[Our thanks to ResolutionSeven.com for technical help.]

Video of Brian Williams keynote

Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams was the Friday morning keynote at the SAJA Convention on Friday, July 14, 2006.

• See a video of his appearance, courtesy of ScribeStudio.com (or click on photo below)
• Listen to an audio recording, courtesy of DesiYou.com
• Read a report by Archana Ram and see photos by Preston Merchant here (below, he shows off his new SAJA hat, given to him by SAJA President Deepti Hajela)