Jeremy Bowen - nutter?
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Discussion

titiany

Original Poster:

2,122 posts

254 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
Did anyone watch it last night? I was starkly reminded of just how much these journos/'special correspondents' put themselves out there.

I guess (from the comforts of our living rooms) we forget sometimes how much goes into broadcasting from a war zone. Some of the footage was eye opening. I hadn't thought before about the possible psychological problems they may have.

On the one hand I think these guys are brave and a bit nuts, but on the other hand I challenge anyone to watch this programme and then NOT want their job! I'd like to think I would do it!

obiwonkeyblokey

5,400 posts

262 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
A family member of ours has recently retired from over 30 years front line reporting with the BBC and SKY News.

Ive seen some of the tapes of things that dont get shown on normal TV, explosions, people being killed mercilessly, crews being shot at.

trust me ....its not nice, last night was only a sampler of what could happen.

Hats off to these guys + gals, this goes beyond being pasionate about your work.

titiany

Original Poster:

2,122 posts

254 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
obiwonkeyblokey said:
A family member of ours has recently retired from over 30 years front line reporting with the BBC and SKY News.

Hats off to these guys + gals, this goes beyond being pasionate about your work.


Seconded. Too right.

He/she must be a very interesting person, Obi. Any stories would be welcome.



granville

18,764 posts

283 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
What a desperate indictment of man's barbary that as Bowen stood outside the Sarajevo Holiday Inn, he reflected that less than a decade earlier, he would have been shot by sniper fire.

Also, his mate, the Lebanese driver being blown up by tank shell, hellish.

The whole thing was a strong argument in favour of ecologically unsound hippydom.

TeamD

5,060 posts

254 months

Monday 17th January 2005
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My current customer lost 3 correspondents last year, these people must have industrial strength underwear to keep their balls in. What can I say? Incredibly brave or insanely stupid, either way I couldn't do it!

rugbyfiend

65 posts

254 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
titiany said:


Seconded. Too right.

He/she must be a very interesting person, Obi. Any stories would be welcome.




He is a really nice guy, i had the privilege of driving him back home one night (and he gave me minstrels ). He was saying that when he was there in these scary situations, you didn't really think about it, it was more of a case of when you got home, you sat down with a drink and though "feck me, that was close".

He was also saying that now he's got a family he's understandably not so keen to get into those kind of situations anymore.

Obviously very knowledgable guy and spent ages trying to explain all the different issues in the west bank/gaza strip to me, some of which i understood and others that i didn't.

All together gets a good bloke award from me!

Andy M

3,755 posts

281 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
I really enjoyed the programme and how it explained the emotional battering these guys take, and how they become addicted to the danger etc, but at the same time I felt in parts that it was becoming a bit of an ego trip for Bowen - that he was acting out bits to try to make it more dramatic (which wasn't needed).

fonoq35

285 posts

270 months

Monday 17th January 2005
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[redacted]

shirley temple

2,232 posts

254 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
These guys and girls show bravery bordering on lunacy, not only do they go into these situations but they go in unarmed.

Not sure I'd be too keen defending my self against high velocity lead with a microphone or camera.

PetrolTed

34,464 posts

325 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
Brilliant programme - one of the most thought provoking I've seen for a long time. Certainly brought home the horror of conflict in a way that regular news reports don't.

chim_knee

12,689 posts

279 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
Sorry but probably a silly question: What was the name of the programme and does anyone know whether it will be reapeated on any channel?

Appetite whetted!

TIA

chim_girl

6,268 posts

281 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
DOCUMENTARY: Jeremy Bowen on the Frontline
Channel: BBC 1 Date: Sunday 16th January 2005
Time: 22:15 to 23:15
Jeremy Bowen, the BBC's award-winning correspondent looks at the lives of war reporters, a job that carries great risks with 62 dying in combat zones in the past four years. He explores the motivations of those whose work revolves around death and destruction, how they operate in dangerous working conditions, and what the psychological costs of constantly bearing witness to man's inhumanity can be.

Just checking to see if it is repeated. Brb

chim_girl

6,268 posts

281 months

Monday 17th January 2005
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Can't find any details of a repeat showing.

chim_knee

12,689 posts

279 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
chim_girl said:
Can't find any details of a repeat showing.
Never mind! Thanks for looking anyways

I'll keep an eye out.

wolosp

2,337 posts

287 months

Monday 17th January 2005
quotequote all
Forget footballers, celebs and business chiefs, these guys should be on the Queen's birthday list as they not only do a very good job, but put themselves in danger and bring this to the attention of the world's public.

Brilliant programme.

jonscz

1,208 posts

259 months

Monday 17th January 2005
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Hi obiwonkeyblokey, what's your relative's name as I might know them? I can vouch for the accuracy of the programme as I've been a television news cameraman for Sky News for the last 16 years and have gone to quite a few war zones and they are VERY scary places . Being directly shot at is the most frightening experience and I've seen some horrible sights and have lost a few friends, the most recent being the cameraman Simon Cumbers from the BBC who was murdered in Saudi last year when he was covering a story with reporter, Frank Gardener....the story of his murder was horrific and involved him being chased, knowing he was going to be shot any minute. The one issue that the programme did deal with is giving some praise to the camera crews who often take more risks than the reporters. I don't specialise in was zones but I know cameramen who do including the ones interviewed on the programme and their bravery (and sometimes, stupidity!) is amazing to witness and I have a huge respect to those that do it day in day out.