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2007-03-21lkjlkj

Frontline Video Training

Practical courses teaching all the skills you need to work as a video journalist

FRONTLINE FIXER'S FUND

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In response to the murder of Ajmal Naqshbandi in Afghanistan we have started a fund for the families of fixers killed or injured while working in international media. 100% of the money currently collected will go to Ajmal's family.

Please donate here >>

FRONTLINE CLUB MERCHANDISE

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Frontline Club organic cotton T-Shirts, mugs and notebooks

Click here to see the range and buy >>





Click here to read the Frontline blogs ++

Latest Articles

Africa's Dark Heart

Tim Butcher, 24 Apr 2008

An unnavigable river, barbarous treatment of the natives by Belgian colonists and despotic rule have

There are few place names as darkly tantalising as The Congo. It’s not just that the name wears an aura of mystery. It is much more portentous than that. more++

Congolese Cliches

Fred Robarts, 20 Apr 2008

Victorian era cliches about Africa are all-too-often the mainstay for reporters and writers

Always use the word ‘Africa or ‘Darkness’ or ‘Safari’ in your title. Subtitles may include the words ‘Zanzibar’, ‘Masai’, ‘Zulu’, ‘Zambezi’, ‘Congo’, ‘Nile’, ‘Big’, ‘Sky, ‘Shadow’, ‘Drum’, ‘Sun’ or ‘Bygone’. Also useful are words such as ‘Guerrillas’, ‘Timeless’, ‘Primordial’ and ‘Tribal’.  Binyavanga Wainaina, How to Write About Africa (Granta 92) more++
  • Far from over for FARC: Despite the killing of two top leaders, the Colombian revolutionary movement is still going strong - Phil Rees
  • Change? What change?: Diaries of pioneering Crimean War correspondent William Russell show how little the life has changed - Phillip Knightley
  • The Talib who turned: The tale of the Taliban turncoat underpinning British strategy in Helmand - Anthony Loyd
  • The new Falklands war: The discovery of huge mineral wealth in the south Atlantic has old enemies at odds again - Kim Sengupta
  • The Revolution Fades: With Fidel Castro's days coming to an end, the Cuban opposition is divided over what kind of future - Ed Vulliamy

tools and tips

Citizen Cameramen

Graham Holliday, 20 Apr 2008

Cheaper cameras and the power of the internet is driving a revolution in the world of video-journali

By the time the members of the original Frontline TV agency hit Grozny in the mid-90s to report on the Chechen war, it became clear that the market for pictures and video was changing. more++

Kitbag: John Coghill

John Coghill, 01 Jun 2007

Zimababwe and Uganda

John Coghill started the Radios for Africa charity in 2003 that distributes Freeplay Lifeline wind-up/solar-powered radios to Africa’s rural poor and has recently started operations in Northern Uganda. more++

Kitbag: Jane Kokan

Jane Kokan, 08 Mar 2007

Herat, Afghanistan

Jane Kokan is an independent news and documentary director/ reporter/ camera woman specialising in the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Iran, SE Asia and Africa working for a variety of international broadcasters. Often her films were made in extremely difficult circumstances and Jane often worked alone in the field doing her own camera work and sound. more++

inside out

Inside Out - January 2008

John Owen, 19 Dec 2007

When we began recruiting members to the Frontline Club, we were often told that it would never work. After all, the sceptics said, why would you want to become part of a club that catered to war journalists and ex-hacks who would bore you with their tales of near death experiences? more++

Inside Out - November 07

John Owen, 19 Nov 2007

One of the most important debates in journalism is far from over at the Frontline Club. It’s about whether the war in Iraq and the dangerous conflicts in Somalia and Gaza and elsewhere have made it nearly impossible for correspondents and news teams working for “western” news media to do their jobs. more++

Inside Out - October 07

John Owen, 19 Sep 2007

There’s something startling about passing by the most hallowed Serbian monument in Kosovo en route to a bold new journalism school in Kosovo. more++

reviews

Deception: Pakistan, the United States and the Global Nuclear Weapons Conspiracy

Tariq Ali, 19 Apr 2008

Book by Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark

Nuclear weapons and weapons-systems are never politically-neutral. Nor have they ever been developed openly or debated in democratically-elected parliaments. more++

Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism

Christopher Harper, 19 Apr 2008

Book by George Weigel

In this provocative analysis of the West and its relationship, or lack thereof, with Islam, George Weigel, the biographer of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, drafts what he describes  as  a  call to action to address jihadism. more++

The Age of Assassins: The Rise and Rise of Vladimir Putin

Alan Cowell, 19 Mar 2008

Book by Yuri Felshtinsky and Vladimir Pribylovsky

Since Dimitri Medvedev’s predictable triumph in Russia’s presidential elections, the future of the Kremlin’s internal power balance has fascinated those who scrutinize events in Moscow. As ever, questions outstrip answers. more++

new media

Reporting on the forbidden

Graham Holliday, 19 Mar 2008

RSS feeds and news aggregators are powerful new tools that offer journalists a way around news black

When Georg Blume of Germany and Kristin Kupfer of Austria left from Lhasa train station in the early hours of Thursday March 20 they were the last two foreign journalists to leave Tibet after being forced out by the Chinese authorities. more++

Public or Private?

Graham Holliday, 19 Feb 2008

Social networking sites have brought new opportunities for journalists, and new problems

Social networking sites like Facebook and Bebo are awash with video and pictures uploaded by the general public.
News organisations are grappling with what they can and can’t use from the sites, but there is no agreed standard and recent months have seen them make a litany of mistakes. more++

A new kind of foreign coverage?

Graham Holliday, 20 Jan 2008

Even as newspapers are closing foreign bureaux, some telelvision networks have announced plans for

A year ago the Boston Globe newspaper closed its last three foreign bureaux. The closures followed the axing of four foreign correspondents from the Daily Telegraph in September 2006. more++

Event Calendar

May 2008
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1

1st May

CANCELLED - Media Talk - Does the News Industry Value Fixers?

It is impossible to underestimate the importance of a good local fixer in getting to the heart of the story, especially in fast-moving and complex situations. Does the industry give them editorial credit for the role they play in getting the stories, do they compensate them financially and are they doing enough to ensure their safety and protection?All proceeds from this event will go towards the Frontline Fixers Fund.

13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ

2

2nd May

FULL - World Press Freedom Day Debate: New Media is Killing Journalism

As newspapers wrestle with declining circulation and the rise of the new media, is the profession behind the headlines in jeopardy?

13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ

2nd May

NEW Screening: India's Missing Girls

In the summer of 2007 a farmer in southern India found a two-day old baby girl who had been buried alive. Rushed to the local hospital, she miraculously survived. But in today’s India, many other baby girls are not so lucky...

13 Norfolk Place, London, W2 1QJ  

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6th May

Congo Season: Media Talk - Demystifying the Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has witnessed one of the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian crises, where as many as 5.4 million people may have died since 1998. We discuss why this country is beset by so many problems and if there are any forseeable solutions for it.

13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ

7

7th May

Congo Season: In the picture with Marcus Bleasdale -The Rape of a Nation

Marcus Bleasdale has now spent eight years covering the brutal conflict within the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the work was published in his book One Hundred Years of Darkness. Tonight he will present his work focusing on the people in Eastern Congo’s mining towns, where militia groups and government forces battle on a daily basis for control of the mineral-rich areas where they can exploit gold, coltan, cassiterite and diamonds.

13 Norfolk Place, London, W2 IQJ

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11

11th May

Congo Season Screening: The Greatest Silence - Rape in the Congo

In the DRC there are tens of thousands of women who have been systematically kidnapped, raped, mutilated and tortured by soldiers from both foreign militias and the Congolese army. The world knows nothing of these women. Their stories have never been told. They suffer and die in silence. In The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo these brave women finally speak.

13 Norfolk Place, London, W2 1QJ  

12

12th May

Congo Season Double Bill Screening: The UN in Congo

As part of Frontline’s Congo Season, we present two reports that focus on the role that the UN plays in the DRC and discuss with the filmmakers whether its mission is still a valid one.The UN's Dirty War (Unreported World)Unreported World travels to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, and uncovers evidence that UN troops are supporting Congolese government forces even as they carry out indiscriminate attacks, sometimes against civilian targets.Mission Impossible (BBC Panorama)The UN polices conflicts around the world. But is it up to policing itself? Documents leaked to a joint Panorama/BBC World Service investigation reveal why the UN's department tasked with rooting out corruption has been called a "combat zone" and found not fit for purpose.

13 Norfolk Place, London, W2 1QJ  

13

13th May

NEW - Frontline Confidential with Ray Fitzwalter: the rise and fall of ITV

Ray Fitzwalter, executive producer of World in Action and author of The Dream that Died - the rise and fall of ITV - talks about his forthcoming book.

13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ

14

14th May

Insight with Professor Shai Feldman: Israel at Sixty - What Chance for Peace?

May 14th marks the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel. We talk to Professor Shai Feldman, one of the world's leading experts on the Middle East, who talks about the political and ideological challenges that face Israel in its 60th year.

13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ

15

15th May

Congo Season: Media Talk - Lifting the Curse

Are Congo’s natural resources to be found at the root of the nations problems or do they offer a key to its future development?

13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ

16

16th May

Frontline Club Spring Party

Please come and join us for a Spring Party at the Club. We will be serving food and drinks on the house from 6.30pm until 8.30pm, and we hope the party will continue until late. Come and share the experience of spring lamb and vegetables fresh from the Frontline Farm in Norfolk.  The farm already provides our restaurant with game, eggs, seasonal fruit, vegetables and herbs. We encourage you to bring along a guest to join in the festivities. As well as a celebration, it will also be a great opportunity for members to introduce friends or colleagues who might be interested in applying to join.

13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ

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20th May

Talk and Screening: Anybody Here Been Raped and Speaks English?

On the eve of the first anniversary of his death, a unique evening is being held to celebrate Edward Behr’s life and work.  Featuring a series of clips and excerpts from his work it will also include contributions from a number of people who knew and worked with him. Among those taking part will be journalists John Simpson (World Affairs Editor BBC), Marie Colvin (The Sunday Times), photographer Don McCullin (taped), journalist Christopher Dickey (Newsweek), film director Roman Polanski (taped), journalist Olivier Todd (former BBC Paris Correspondent), film producer Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor) and journalist Jonathan Randall (former Washington Post)

13 Norfolk Place, London, W2 1QJ  

21

21st May

Insight with Matt Frei: US Elections special - FULLY BOOKED

As the race for the US elections continues to attract world attention, Matt Frei, BBC Washington correspondent, explains the intricacies of the election process and gives us his views on the remaining candidates.

13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ

22

22nd May

Insight with Alex de Waal: the Crisis in Darfur

Alex de Waal, author of Darfur: a Short History of a Long War, talks about the history of Darfur, its conflicts, and what the future holds in store.

13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJ

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25

25th May

Screening: In Prison My Whole Life

In Prison My Whole Life follows 25-year-old William Francome’s investigation into the arrest of Mumia Abu Jamal, famed death-row prisoner and award-winning Black Panther journalist.

13 Norfolk Place, London, W2 1QJ

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27th May

Preview Screening and Discussion: Russia – A Journey, with Jonathan Dimbleby

To coincide with the landmark BBC series, Frontline Club presents a unique opportunity to preview Episode Four and hear the people behind the programme talk about the challenges of undertaking such a big project.

13 Norfolk Place, London, W2 1QJ  

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Event News

2007-04-04

COMING SOON

Frontline Club is planning a 'Forgotten Conflicts' screening season for August. We're looking for new or old documentaries on the subject of the world's forgotten wars and humanitarian issues. If you can make suggestions or send in films for the selection please contact: phil.brown@frontlineclub.com
Send in entries to: Phil Brown, Frontline Club, 7 Southwick Mews, London, W2 1JG

INTERNS WANTED

We are looking for interns to start in mid-May for a period of 6-8 weeks. Anyone interested please email deborah.dwek@frontlineclub.com for more information.