From here off to Kisangani
This week we are with the United Nations in Geneva.
Or more specifically with UNHCR, or the UN High Commisioner on Refugees.
That’s the branch of the UN that deals with refugee crises all over the world.
The UNÂ has brought together all of their press and public information officers for a video bootcamp here at their HQ in Geneva.
We’re taking them through the ‘cut the carrots’ and the ‘fluffy the dog’ scenarios.
But when they leave, they’re going back to some of the most difficult and troubled parts of the world.
They’ll have access to stories that most networks just don’t have the resources to cover properly.
(And proper coverage means more than flying in a crew for a day or two).
These people live there all the time.
The irony is that while major networks can spend upwards of $1 million to cover the Chilean Miners story – it’s a story that impacts directly on about a dozen people.
The refugee crisis in Africa or central Eurasia impacts on tens of millions.
Yet you don’t see many crews from CNNÂ or ABC News – let alone fly-away dishes.
All the more reason we want to get video cameras into these folks’ hands.
So far, so good.
