Coups and Gaffes

Interesting times at TRTWorld. The Turkish Radio and Television company is based in Ankara and Istanbul but in its wisdom has hired me to launch its London operation. This is now duly underway - if you have any interest in seeing what an English-speaking Turkish channel looks and sounds like, check out trtworld,com/live - it can only be watched online as it currently only broadcasts in Turkey.

Except it very nearly ended altogether a few weeks ago, when army rebels launched a coup attempt in Turkey. Armed men swarmed into the TRT headquarters in Ankara, held up my colleagues at gun-point and forced a fellow anchor to read a statement on air claiming they had taken control of the country.

As I said, interesting times.

Of course we now know the coup failed, and Turkish president Reccep Tayyipp Erdogan is busily and thoroughly cleansing every part of Turkey of those connected to the coup plotters. But as the situation unfolded, it was very unsettling to know my colleagues were going through this experience. Thankfully no-one was hurt.

Do you know who this man is? No, neither did I until recently. This is the Libertarian party's US presidential nominee, Gary Johnson. A man who made headlines with an astonishing gaffe during a live TV interview in which he asked the question "What is Aleppo?"

The MSNBC anchor gaped in disbelief and stuttered "You're kidding!" to which the hapless Mr Johnson replied, "No."

Needless to say, this quickly started trending on social media worldwide as #WhatIsAleppo, and Johnson is now doing some fancy footwork to limit the damage. Meanwhile his media advisor is off somewhere having a breakdown.

Johnson broke one of the cardinal rules of media training - something my company Aero Productions Ltd teaches to company directors and anyone else who has to deal with the media. And that is: Always Be Prepared. 

When you're asked to do an interview, you will almost certainly not be given the questions in advance. As a journalist, I know how much reporters hate doing that. But it's fine to ask what ground the interview will cover. And even if you're caught on the hop, a good media trainer will coach you on how to answer unexpected questions. Even better, you'll be taught how to deal with subjects you're genuinely unsure about. With practice, you'll be able to flip a question to your advantage, and look cool and polished while you do it.

My rates are very reasonable Mr Johnson, and I do like Washington at this time of year!

Paws for Thought

Hong Kong vet administers stem cell treatment

A busy couple of weeks. First, I was sent off to Hong Kong for ITN to film a piece about a new stem cell trial on dogs with osteoathritis. It never ceases to amaze me how expats living in hot and humid countries always seem to have big hairy pets. Still, it was sad to see them limping around because of their degenerating joints (the pets, not the expats), so it was good to do a report on pioneering company VetCell Therapeutics Asia, which sees stem cell therapy as the solution. 

My cameraman Mark (pictured above) filmed Swiss Mountain dog Roxie being injected directly into her hip joints. We'll know around September if stem cell therapy can cause cartilage and tissue to re-grow. It's already proved useful in human treatments, so fingers crossed it has the same effect on poor old Roxie.

I've also been asked to help Turkish broadcaster TRT World set up their London studio. Their news bulletins are not yet live from London, and when they are, they'll only be seen in Turkey. But it's an interesting project, and the new studio in Oxford Circus looks fab, as you can see below. TRT hopes to broadcast bulletins from there in a couple of weeks.

But by far the saddest job of this week was covering the murder of MP Jo Cox for ITV News. Jo was shot and stabbed outside her constituency surgery in West Yorkshire. It's a shocking story, and has inevitably led to a lot of debate about the motives of the killer, whether it was linked to the EU referendum (Jo was campaigning for the Remain camp) and how her death will affect the vote. But at the heart of it all is a tragic story of a vivacious, hard-working young mum who was cruelly taken from her friends and family.

I was at a memorial event held for Jo in Batley, part of her constituency. It was humbling to see how many lives she'd touched and how loved she was by everyone there, whatever their politics or religion. Again and again, people described her as caring, kind, compassionate, committed. I found myself thinking that if any of us could leave half the mark she did at the end of our lives, we should count ourselves lucky. 

And on that sombre note, I will just say Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there. May you never run out of socks and ties. 

Back To The Future

Reporting from Washington DC circa 2005 ITV News

Almost ten years since I left the ITV Newsroom, I walked back in. It's always slightly disorientating when you return to a place where you spent so many formative years, like going back to school.You marvel at how much has stayed the same, as well as how much has changed. 

A lot of the people I knew are still there, which is lovely. So many familiar, friendly faces, it felt like coming home. And within hours, I was doing a report for News At Ten with very few pictures and an overworked producer. So that's the same then. 

The technology has changed though. Reporters are now expected to be able to edit their own pieces - in other words, to physically cut pictures and sound, weaving in special effects and graphics where necessary. I try not to be a Luddite. No-one wants to end up like their grannies, for whom the TV remote control is still the height of technology.  So I'm happy to embrace new skills and learn how to operate Avid and Newscutter. But fair warning, ITV News bosses - I am very, very slow. Also my OCD kicks in, making it impossible for me to stop tinkering until I'm completely happy with an edit. There is a very real risk I will miss a deadline if left to my own devices. (Unless my punctuality OCD cancels out my perfectionism OCD. Let's not put it to the test.)

Speaking of technology, I gave a talk to Journalism graduates last week. They were studying at Teesside University, which was kind enough to give me an Honorary Degree several years ago. I am always keen to encourage the future guardians of truth, justice, and a free press so I attended their Journalism Awards evening and talked about how vastly the industry had changed. When I started out as a reporter back in 1990, I had a notepad and a pen. If I was really lucky, I had a pen that worked. Social media? That was everyone gathered round the telly on a Saturday night. 

The students I met in Middlesbrough are light years from that. They all seem to have YouTube channels or websites or a gazillion followers. They all blog and vlog and tweet. I came away feeling both impressed and exhausted by their energy.

 I wouldn't normally post a photo without asking everyone's permission, but since they've all already tweeted about it I suppose there's no problem. The future of journalism is in safe hands. If any of you has offspring keen to get into this mad business, I do recommend the media and journalism courses at Teesside University. 

By the way, if anyone under 20 is reading this, could you please enlighten me about Snapchat? I totally get Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc but the point of that yellow ghost thingy which is erased after a few seconds is lost on me. I have the uncomfortable feeling I sound like my mum. 

   

Head In The Clouds

Meet our Skyjib X4. Looks like something out of a sci-fi film, doesn't it? This is my new business partner - along with my husband, Simon. To be fair, the one is rarely seen without the other. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I say. So together we are now running a fabulous aerial filming company called Aero Productions Ltd. If you pop along to our website Aeroproductions.co.uk  you will see the kind of films we make.

I say 'we' but it's actually my husband who does the flying. While I was working in the desert all those months sans famille he was busy qualifying as a drone pilot with full accreditation from the Civil Aviation Authority. It all sounded like far too much fun for him to be having on his own, so I am now a co-Director of his company. Poor man.

Running a small business has really opened my eyes to the challenges for entrepreneurs in this country. The tax system for one. According to a Sunday Times investigation, six out of ten of Britain's biggest companies paid zero corporation tax in 2014. We'd barely registered at Companies House when we started getting stern warnings about about corporation tax through our door! Still, I'm sure it won't be a problem when we've made our first million.

So, what do Aero Productions do? We make amazing films using the best technology. We can offer aerial footage, inspiring photography and anything you require from short web videos to full-blown high-quality professional films to stun your competitors into submission. We also do media training, from handling friendly interviews to controlling the fall-out from an unfortunate incident. 

On top of all that, I'm also freelancing as a reporter. Viewers in the UK should start to see me popping up on ITV News every now and then. Got to keep my hand in. Reporters are only as good as their last story. It will be good to work with my former colleagues again: correspondents like Juliet Bremner, Paul Davies, Chris Choi. Anchors like Mark Austin and Mary Nightingale. Sorry to name-drop but I'm very happy to be back among them.

And last but not least, I am still honing my YA novel. It is now in the final stages of drafting. My agent, the fantastic London-based Sheil Land Associates, has said it is very nearly ready to be sent out to potential publishers. It just needs one more tweak. It's been like having a baby really. Lots of preparation and nervous waiting. To continue the analogy, I'm still in labour but hopefully the end game is in sight. 

So, company director, freelance reporter, nearly-author. Hmm. I may be rather busy in the forseeable....!

A Little Perspective

So I had lunch with a Hollywood film-maker the other day. As you do. Michael Singh is the Director of the epic Valentino's Ghost, a documentary looking at the portrayal of Arabs on film and in the media, and questioning whether the stereotyping of Muslims rises from the 'special relationship' between the US and Israel.

First released in 2012, it was re-released last year and includes heavyweight interviews with the likes of Robert Fisk, Gore Vidal, Anthony Shadid and Niall Ferguson among others. And a teeny tiny snippet of yours truly, to chronicle the rise of Aljazeera and other Middle East media trying to balance the anti-Arab ideology.

Whatever your take, and it's a difficult issue with the insidious shadow of ISIS now lurking everywhere, it's a fascinating tale. From the 1920's romantic hero (as played by Rudolph Valentino) to the hook-nosed embodiment of evil, the way Arabs and Muslims are portrayed on film, radio, TV and even cartoons has changed radically. (Remember Disney's Aladdin? The opening song features these lyrics: "Oh, I come from a land, from a faraway place, where the caravan camels roam. Where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face, it's barbaric, but hey, it's home." These lines were later changed.) 

The documentary seeks to question why these images persist,and how it links back to US foreign policy, but it's had a tough sell. 

It received a standing ovation in Venice, played successfully in Amsterdam, headlined at the Doha Tribeca film festival and was shown in several art-house venues in the US. But a wider US audience has been hard to come by - in one instance Michael was told it was "too politically hard-edged", in another "it would alienate their Jewish membership."

Michael is philosophical. He says the US like their documentaries safe, and that's the way to make money. But if you step out on a limb, like he has done, it is way more thrilling. You just need to have a tough skin. 

He's already working on his next documentary. I'm sure it will cause just as many ripples. Watch this space.

Happy Returns

There's a great hoax doing the rounds on Facebook at the moment. It's a good one because it rings true - but it's not. It's a fake news report about a mother who sends invitations to her son's seventh birthday party, and includes the caveat that gifts must be worth a minimum of £50 because "I'm tired of buying nice presents for his friends and getting happy meal gifts in return!"

It's a spoof, of course. I was thinking about this because my daughter is turning thirteen. Thirteen! How did that happen? One minute they're chewing on a dummy, the next they're chewing you out for forgetting to wash their favourite shirt.

I've decided this is the last birthday party I'm ever organising for her. Trying to get her to decide how she wanted to celebrate was a monumental task. I presented several ideas, the response to which ranged from "Ugh," to "So-and-so's already done that," to a contemptuous raising of the eyebrows. Finally, my daughter graciously accepted my suggestion of a 'Pamper Party'.

There are various companies that will organise a pamper party for you in your own home. They vary widely in cost, but they do the same kind of thing; face masks, mani-pedis, nail art, head massage and make-up. The company I've hired is also bringing spa robes and a non-alcoholic cocktail fountain. They sound very efficient, and I have high hopes that while the girls are getting their nails done, I can spend the entire two hours upstairs in my bedroom with Netflix and a glass of wine.

The curious thing is how regulated birthday parties are becoming. The company I've hired, for instance, insists that all parents complete an online waiver  before they will carry out any treatments. I suppose this is to absolve them of responsibility if one of the kids goes into anaphylactic shock from the face cream. But it's not the first time I've been asked to sign a parental waiver for a birthday party. It seems this kind of red tape is becoming the norm.

Then there's the question of party gifts. I absolutely HATE party bags. I know they're seen as a nice gesture, and many parents do them as a thank you to the children who've come to their parties. But why? Are we really so achingly polite that we have to organise, host, cater and pay for a party, and then feel obliged to present gifts to people just for turning up? It's barking mad. So I don't do party bags.

But I'm far too much of a wimp to just brazen it out completely and send the kids home empty-handed. So I cheat, and buy them a single chocolate rabbit or small chocolate egg. Not a party gift, you see, but an Easter gift.

Next year I might add a caveat of my own to my daughter's birthday invitations. No presents required for the birthday girl. But her mother likes bath salts and oatmeal cookies.

Well, it's worth a try.

Tired Of Caring?

Seeing the images of riot police clearing away tents in so-called Jungle City made me think. How must those families have felt, having fled war and tyranny, only to end up in some miserable tent in the winter? Unable to go forward or back, desperately trying to reassure their children that everything was going to be okay, wondering what would become of them, and then suddenly finding themselves facing helmeted security officers tearing down their makeshift homes? Any parent would shudder at this scenario, suddenly being alone and helpless, with nowhere to go and no safety for their kids. And what they've left behind - endless bombardment, starvation, the terror of ISIS - doesn't bear thinking about.

But here's the thing. You talk about it long enough, think about it long enough, you start to lose compassion. In the TV News business, we call it 'care fatigue'. There's only so much sympathy you can have for the sad tide of refugees fleeing the Syrian War before you start switching the channel to another rerun of Friends. 

The problem is that this whole thing is unprecedented. Of course, all right-minded people want to help people in their hour of need. And Europe, by and large, has a good track record in giving aid and succour. But when the numbers become alarmingly huge, when there seems no end to the human wave arriving on her shores, even decent people start asking their governments 'what is being done about this?'

The answer appears to be, stop them getting to Europe in the first place. A solution anyone can see is too simplistic. The only way to stop people leaving Syria is to make Syria a place they want to stay. 

That's why the international community has to work harder to make the ceasefire stick. That's why all sides have to support the political transition that was part of the negotiated deal last December. Of course, the main superpowers US and Russia are both deeply suspicious of each other. But if they were the ones dealing with the unprecedented numbers of migrants, the Syrian War would very possibly be over by now (cynical hack alert). In the meantime, we mustn't lose sight of the fact that this is a human tragedy, and the vast majority of these people are deserving of our compassion.

On the subject of caring, I've found myself involved with two charities this week. Both are hoping for more publicity for their causes, and both are extremely worthwhile. The first is the charity of which I am a Patron, and have been for some time. Build Africa (www.build-africa.org) is working on a project in an area in Kenya badly hit by Al Shabab. The group has successfully ruined the local tourist economy, leaving hotels empty. With no jobs, many young women and girls are leaving school to go into prostitution to make ends meet. It's a grim tale, but one which can be ended through initiatives improving education and entrepreneurial skills.  

The second is a grass-roots project in Bangladesh to save the Bengal Tiger. (www.wild-team.org) Originally, ecology experts thought there were 400 of them left in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, now they've revised that to a mere 100. They could disappear altogether, and all because stupid people think tiger bones can cure illnesses or make your willy large. I'm talking to you, Mr Chinese Idiot. Tiger populations have been massacred because of demand from China. Get with the program: tigers cannot cure rheumatism or meningitis or malaria. Making wine out of powdered tiger bone will not help your ulcers or your erection. It merely confirms what a complete and utter moron you are. Sorry if this isn't politically correct, but then killing tigers isn't morally, ethically or environmentally correct.

So there you have it. Migrants, forced prostitution and tigers. My list of what we should be caring about. What are the causes close to your heart?