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Alan Johnston
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Hey all,
I may have missed it, but it doesn’t seem like there has been much discussion about Alan Johnston, who was kidnapped in Gaza over a month ago. A somewhat unknown (and possibly made up—in Gaza at least) group just released a (hopefully false) statement that they had executed him.
While it seems likely that this is not true, as pretty much everyone assumes that he is being held for ransom by the huge Dagmoush clan, the statement is , to say the least, worrying.
I guess I am writing to see if there is anything we can do? He is a really wonderful guy; one of the sweetest, chillest people I have ever met, and I don’t like sitting on the sidelines watching this go on like a spectator. The BBC is holding a vigil of silence for him today, but can anyone think of people that we could write to? Anything proactive that we could do? I realize that this stuff usually doesn’t work, but we would at least be doing something, right?
by
Scout Tufankjian
at
Mon Apr 16 17:03:30 UTC 2007
(ed. Mar 12 2008)
Brooklyn,
United States
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Hi Scout, very worrying indeed. Been following the news myself, and truely hope it’s all wrong and he’s still alive out there.
Not sure what we can do right now.
There was a petition on the BBC site a while ago, which I signed, but I think it’s closed for now.
Any inititive that will be held, i’ll try to take part in. So if you hear anything that we can do, let me know.
I don’t know Alan myself, but just the fact that this is been so long, is worrying enough and calls for some kind of action.
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Extremely distressing indeed.
I hear BBC is truly working very hard and doing everything they can via many channels. Let’s hope these bear fruit asap..
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O…..Scout, thanks for the post and the update…..i;ve not been jumping into the ls pool the past last week very regularly, and consequentially, i’d missed this discussion…..as always, it is indeed profoundly distressing. I have signed both the BBC and ONLINEPETITION petitions….please keep me updated if there is anything further i can do in the way of support…..
bob
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May the Almighty give him and his family courage during these
stressful times, he is in our prayers.
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Dear Scout,
I was directed to the BBC.co.uk article below regarding what more you can do to help Alan. If I hear anything more regarding emailing letters of support to particular embassies, etc. I will be certain to post it here on your Alan Johnston thread.
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17 Apr 07
HOW YOU CAN HELP Alan
by Jon Williams
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Thanks for that bbc timeline blog link, I added it to my website
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Click on button below, for more information on how you can help support Alan Johnston.
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I’ve been watching this from the start. Fingers crossed he is still alive but can we really be sure? It is difficult to understand how this could happen in the Gaza Strip. Very troubling indeed.
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Dear Paul,
Sorry for the delay in answer but I was waiting for more confirmation to give you about Alan Johnston still being alive. I just received this encouraging link by email from Pete Jenkins at NUJ.
NUJ receives reassurances
Alan Johnston is still alive
"NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear joined MPs, London Mayor Ken Livingstone and community leaders last night to make a live TV appeal for the release of kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston as the union received further confirmation Alan is alive.
Broadcast live to the Middle East, the special 2-hour appeal on Al Hiwar TV was part of ongoing efforts to secure NUJ member Alan’s safe and speedy release.
The move came just hours after Jeremy had met with senior Palestinian officials and the government’s representative in the UK at which reassurances were given that the government had secured clear evidence Alan was still alive contrary to earlier claims he had been killed.
Jeremy Dear said: ‘We welcome these reassurances and the pledge to continue to do everything possible to secure Alan’s safe and unconditional release’.
The NUJ has organised a vigil to highlight Alan’s case on 25 April at 12.30pm outside the palestinian General Delegation Office in Galena Road, Hammersmith, London."
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WE ARE ASKING THOSE JOURNALISTS AND MEMBERS OF THE PRESS IN LONDON TO PLEASE ATTEND THIS VIGIL TOMORROW BETWEEN 12:30PM AND 1:30PM outside the Palestinian General Delegation office 5 Galena Road, Hammersmith, London, AND DEMAND FURTHER RESOURCES AND EFFORT FOR ALAN JOHNSTON’S IMMEDIATE AND SAFE RETURN.
Vigil for Alan Johnston:
show your solidarity
"The NUJ is calling on members to show their support at a vigil for kidnapped BBC correspondent and union member Alan Johnston tomorrow (25/4).
The union, with the support of the International Federation of Journalists, is to stage the vigil for Alan Johnston outside the Palestinian General Delegation office 5 Galena Road, Hammersmith, London, between 12.30pm and 1.30pm.
Members who can are urged to attend to show your solidarity with Alan and efforts to secure his release.
The vigil will be addressed by Palestinian Head of Mission, Professor Manuel Hassassian and NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear will hand in a letter demanding further resources and effort be devoted to trying to secure Alan’s release and providing information to his family, friends and colleagues.
This latest move comes after meetings and correspondence between the union and UK and Palestinian government representatives over the past few weeks, as well as vital work with the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate to keep up the profile of Alan’s plight.
A report of the recent trade union meetings with the Palestinian Authorities over Alan’s kidnap will also be given.
Jeremy Dear said: ’*We will not cease until Alan is free to rejoin his friends and family and resume his life as a internationally respected BBC journalist.
‘All our efforts have been to bring pressure to bear on the authorities, not only to work hard to secure Alan’s safety and release but to address the threats to all journalists in the region and to enable them to work free from the threat of kidnap, intimidation and threats.’*
Alan was kidnapped in Gaza more than five weeks ago. The NUJ has strongly condemned the kidnapping and pledged at our annual conference to do all in the union’s power to help secure his release."
24/04/2007
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bumping Alan Vigil info to front page.
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Johnston is alive.
Please help maintain pressure for his safe release by adding the following banner to your website or Blog.
Here’s how:
CLICK HERE
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Hey guys its very important to keep up the pressure. There have been too many losses recently.
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Missing for 61 days
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not forgotten, not forgotten….
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A series of vigils has been held around the world to mark the 45th birthday of kidnapped BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston.
Lets hope that he’ll be home soon.
It’s like Bob says, not forgotten, not forgotten….
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER (IM TAURUS TOO!) alan
S DENOM RAZHDENIYA (THAT’S IN RUSSIAN)
YOU’RE IN OUR THOUGHTS! :)))))
bob
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may all your Birthday wishes come true..
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Apparently there are weekly vigils for Alan every Monday in London so he is not forgotten, although I have no other details on that or where specifically they are held. If anyone knows please post. Thanks.
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Please post Alan’s “button” on your blog, profile, website, etc.
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Today is Observed Memorial Day in the US.
Please remember Alan Johnston, and to say a prayer or send good thoughts his way for a safe release to freedom.
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We will keep the faith for you, Alan, until you are back safely with us in the world.
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He’s Alive and Well!
Propaganda video “is said to have been posted by the Army of Islam, the group that says it is holding the reporter.”
BBC VIDEO of Alan
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It’s very encouraging seeing him alive and seemingly well!
Shame there is no way to confirm date but still a cautious rejoice on my part nonetheless…Now get him out of there…
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Journalists are not to be used as bargaining tools! Shame on you, Army of Islam! Shame!
Absolutely right, Cavit….Now, let’s get him out of there.
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Hope is safe in this madness
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I think that once Hamas takes over and restore order one of the first thing they would do is release Alan Johnston.
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Abu Obieda Al_jarah , Qassam Brigades Spokesman(the military branch of hamas) has just anounced that today will be Crucial for the release of Alan Johnston , saying " we will not permit the kidnapping of Alan johnston any more"..
it is also worthy to remember that Alan is still kidnapped in the hands of a powerful family in Gaza (Dogmosh Family)..
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It is not only extremely distressing to everyone involved that Alan has been stolen from us and our lives for selfish and self-serving power play and personal opportunistic gain, but how many times must we repeat that journalists are not bargaining chips for personal political ambitions. They exist only to serve the people.
The worry that not only the Palestinian people have been put through, not even being given the consideration in knowing about Alan’s wherabouts or welfare for so long, but also his devoted family, friends, BBC, NUJ colleagues and literally the whole world has been made to wait, watch and expect he was to be returned safely to his readers, his subjects and his family’s loving arms long, long ago. 96 days! Shameful!
Try to consider for just a small moment out of your schedules, Alan’s feelings about how he is being treated by being locked away in someone’s bank account in exchange for all of his past social concerns that he has graciously given generously of. Alan certainly deserves to be not just treated like a King, but also to be treated fairly and kindly like the man that he is. It cannot be expressed enough… Shame on Alan Johnston’s kidnappers for stealing from the people. Return Alan safely and immediately through those good people of Gaza that appreciate him most.
We are reminded everyday not only the heartache caused but what a waste of serious resources for the Palestinian people to yet again endure. When will Alan Johnston finally be safely returned to go about his needed job and personal life? The Whole World which includes the Palestinian people patiently wait for this simple task to finally be accomplished. Bring Alan home safely now!
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and on the 96th Day they promised
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Gayle, though for sorry, some of Fatah activist r trying their best to prevent or at least delay the release of Alan fearing this will be counted as accomplishment for Hamas, still i believe Dogmush family had no choice .. (see:http://www.lightstalkers.org/news_from_gaza___i_hope_it_is_not_true) yesterday, i witnessed also several of such efforts to corrupt the deal, such as releasing faked press releases in the name of hamas accusing some members of Dogmush family of killing some people recently, promising them to be sentenced to death..etc. trying to blue up the deal for the release of Alan..
still i believe these efforts will not affect the release of Alan..
waiting minute by minutes for Alan!!
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Thanks again, Amjed, for that update!
I have hope of typical negotiations for Alan’s final release… At least negotiations are open and ALAN’s rescue or release possibilities are not just beinig ignored as they were in Ajmal’s case! There would have been so much, much more to have been gained for safe release by BOTH opposing factions in Ajmal’s case by at least keeping negotiations alive rather than handing over the authority to some psychopath….I mean look what happened to Ajmal’s murderers.
I agree, Amjed, I also believe in Alan’s case that both sides will join together and remember humanity and simple decency this Father’s Day. That Alan will be released through successful mediation and the whole world’s demands for Alan’s safe release and freedom will be heard. It is Father’s Day here in America, and how great that would be in the kidnapper’s favor for the world to see them release Alan now into the arms of his father; to show some respect for life, for fatherhood, and for God’s miracles…
….At least the Hamas side shows us their humanity with working through negotiations and that will never be forgotten by the world as neither will the slaughter of an innocent man doing his job well for the people’s benefits and freedoms.
Thanks again for your alertness, Amjed! Please, if you have the time with all of your immediate press duties, and if you are still able, keep us informed with your LS updates, . If you can’t, we will know that you are still safe and working behind the scenes for the free and unbiased press. We will see your reporting come out in the most accurate and recent free press updates and release on the internet. We know you are out there working for the independent media and that you have to go wherever you have to go at the time… stay safe and hope to hear more good news soon.
Kind Regards, Gayle
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In God’s love for all of his miraculous creations upon this earth, God’s respect for family and decency will always and forever rise above the slaughter of his innocents. Never does God or his prophets accept the disrespect, disregard or destruction of HIS miracle of innocent human life by another selfishly and sinfully claiming God’s supreme will and abilities.
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Not one harm to one hair on Alan’s head will be acceptable to the world, or to God, now that we know, can see him, can feel his energy and his love for us, and we demand Alan’s safe release now by anyone out there who claims to be one of God’s creatures. You will be remembered by the world for your decency and love of God for helping Alan come
home safely.
According to God’s words and his true prophets the person who can right a wrong, and not cause a harm, is already closest to God. God holds the person that has humble respect for God’s creations constantly, forever and for always in his protection and grace on this earth and from those and Satan who would wish to do this same innocent person harm for their political advantage.
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Remember to send thoughts, prayers and wishes for Alan’s immediate safe release. Do this as a positive Take Action for him and do this for his father this important Father’s Day.
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Q&A on Islam
Q: How does Islam view terrorism?
A: Islam does not support terrorism under any circumstances. Terrorism goes against every principle in Islam. If a Muslim engages in terrorism, he is not following Islam. He may be wrongly using the name of Islam for political or financial gain.
Q: What does Islam say about Christianity?
A: Islam teaches that Christians and Muslims are both “people of the book.” By that it means that the two religions share the same basic beliefs articulated through the Bible and the Koran. The main difference between Christians and Muslims is that Muslims do not believe that Jesus was the son of God. Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet who was granted special powers by God to show people the power of God.
Q: Does Islam tolerate other beliefs?
A: Yes. It is one function of Islamic law to protect the privileged status of minorities. Islamic law also permits non-Muslims to set up their own courts, which implement family laws drawn up by the minorities themselves.
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Said for Alan and his precious father this Sunday, Father’s Day in America, 2007
The 23rd PSALM / A PSALM OF DAVID
The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
… and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.*
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David’s psalm is a joyful proclamation of God’s providence. Humankind can live free from fear because, like the good shepherd, God will always provide, protect, and guide this flock.
“You anoint my head with oil” – When a king made a covenant with a vassal, he often sealed it by holding a banquet. During the festivities, it was customary to anoint the head of his guests with oil as a sign of friendship and protection.
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Write and pressure anyone you can think of to help with Alan’s negotiations and keep him in the whole world’s eyes UNTIL HIS SAFE RELEASE..
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Another prayer sent and said for Alan and his father for Alan’s immediate and safe release, Sunday, June 17, 2007, Father’s Day.
*46 The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
Exalted be God my Savior!
47 He is the God who avenges me,
who subdues nations under me,
48 who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
from violent men you rescued me.
49 Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O LORD;
I will sing praises to your name.*
from Psalm 18, Holy Bible
FREE ALAN JOHNSTON NOW
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The Q&A on Islam is interesting.
I have always admired the optimism of those who try to educate in English: Teach Muslims about Islam, tell Jews about the Tora and explain the Vedas to the Hindus. Such a wealth of knowledge the west has and it is good to spread it around.
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Eyal said
“The Q&A on Islam is interesting. I have always admired the optimism of those who try to educate in English: Teach Muslims about Islam, tell Jews about the Tora and explain the Vedas to the Hindus. Such a wealth of knowledge the west has and it is good to spread it around.”
Eyal,
This particular Q & A instance was done intentionally by USAToday to inform and protect the innocent Arab-Americans who were being threatened, harrassed and detained in America by their own government and their neighbors, directly after 9-11.
You will notice that the date of this USAToday World was published is 9/30/2001. If you are not aware of this fact, Arab-Americans continue to be harrassed to this very day due to the misconception, that is inflared by incidents such as these, that all of Islam are fundamental extremists who are terrorists as many Non-Americans have the misconception that all Americans are right-wing fundamental extremists due to the unpopularity of Bush and his war policy.
Eyal, I don’t believe this is the place nor time to be trolling for another fight over religion or freedom of the press. I never implied that I or USAToday are trying to teach anyone let alone Muslims about their own religion. ………
Eyal replied:
"Gayle,
This thread is not about you not about Islam it is about Alan.
Let’s keep it this way and hope for his safe return."
Well, obviously the thread is not about your agendas either, Eyal, since you have shown no interest in this post before now. ….and so, now I’m curious, who do you think kidnapped Alan? Because according to reports and videos released, “The Army of Islam” did. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=466273&in_page_id=1770
Also, now that Alan has finally been released, you may want to read some of the interviews and articles written regarding his captivity and his captors, since you are under the impression that Alan’s kidnapping had nothing to do with Islam.
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Gayle,
This thread is not about you not about Islam it is about Alan.
Let’s keep it this way and hope for his safe return.
Best,
Eyal
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The best way of getting the thread back to its original purpose would be to read this from today’s Guardian:
‘Try to see the world through their eyes’
Vin Ray uncovers a previously unpublished piece by captive BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston that underlines his mastery of the art of storytelling
Monday June 18, 2007
The Guardian
A few days ago I was searching through old emails for an address I had lost. I eventually found what I wanted and was just about to move on when something caught my eye. Parked next to the email I was looking for was an old message from March last year. I remembered immediately what it was. “God knows, what I’m about to say isn’t anything remotely new,” it began modestly and in a tone typical of the writer. It was from Alan Johnston.
I was establishing the BBC College of Journalism at the time and we had asked reporters for their thoughts about the craft of radio reporting. We had plenty of replies, but none as humbling as Alan’s thoughts about the role of a reporter.
He does not attend the “look at me” school of reporting: as much emphasis is given to listening as telling. He knows that behind all the politics, policy and diplomacy it is real people and the tiny details that matter and that will engage us, often in stories we might otherwise ignore. If you haven’t considered it before, you might think that radio reporting is merely a matter of talking vaguely intelligibly into a microphone. It is not. At its heart, it is a craft like any other. On the face of it the toolkit is simple: sounds and words. It takes a while to use them effectively; when you get good at it you can paint a picture in the listener’s mind. But the very best reporters achieve a kind of alchemy that can stop you in your tracks. A listener in their kitchen will smell the dust and sense the tension in an crowded alleyway thousands of miles away.
Of course, there are more reporters toiling away in the dust on our behalf in remote and often dangerous places. But re-reading Alan’s email, I doubt many will have so thoroughly mastered the art of storytelling. So as you read his note, allow in to your head the voice of Alan Johnston. And listen to the quiet words of a master craftsman. Vin Ray
Alan Johnston on the craft of radio reporting
What I’m about to say isn’t anything remotely new. Anybody who goes near the new BBC college of journalism will surely already know all this. But for me, so much of this job is about how well you work the human element into any given story.
I normally never tell war stories “… when I was in Jalalabad with the mortars coming down … blah, blah, blah.” But, on this one occasion, there is something I can remember from Grozny that illustrates the point. I was with a journalist, not a BBC bloke, who very much liked being in a war zone, and during the battle for the city, we were in an abandoned block of flats. We went into an apartment where a shell had come through the living-room wall. And I remember hearing this guy immediately start talking about whether it had been a bazooka shell or a rocket-propelled grenade that had done the damage, and where the soldier who fired it must have been standing on the street outside.
But if you looked around the room for a minute, you could see the life that used to go on in it. You could see the books that the family used to read, and the sort of pictures that they liked to hang on the walls, and, from photographs, you could see that they had three kids and that the oldest girl had graduated from university. Of course, their story, what had happened to them – what they were, and what they had lost – was what the war was all about. It did not really matter whether it was a bazooka or a rocket that had turned their world upside down.
So much of the job is about trying to find the imagination within yourself to try to see, to really see, the world through the eyes of the people in the story. Not just through the eyes of the Palestinian who has just had his home smashed. But also through the eyes of the three young Israelis in a tank who smashed it. Why did they see that as a reasonable thing to do? What was going through their minds as their tank went through the house? If you can come close to answering questions like that, then you’ll be giving the whole picture, which is what the BBC must do. And when you are with one side from the conflict, you have got to put to them the very best arguments of the other side – the toughest questions. But the aim is absolutely not to smother the story with a search for some sort of formulaic, 50-50-style balance. If the truth is that the Israelis, or the Palestinians, have simply acted appallingly, then of course that is exactly what the piece must end up saying.
And that business of putting yourself in the shoes of the people in the story can only be done if you listen and listen to them. If the people involved are willing to put up with your endless presence, then the details start to emerge. And it is often the details that make it work – images, or turns of phrase, or ways of seeing that become key parts of the way you tell the story. That is what can bring the thing alive.
How do you structure the piece? I guess that the answer is that once you have got the whole, powerful, human story, you have got to put yourself in the shoes of a listener in Lagos, or Lima, or Luton who has not had to know much about Gaza at all. If you were in his position, how much background would you need? What would be the easiest way to have the flow of events put before you? That is surely mostly what the structure is all about.
Finally, as you well know, you have got to try to put the whole thing together in a way that makes the very most of what radio can do. You’ve got to try to put the listener right there in the alleyways with the kids and the donkey carts – or on Gaza beach with the surf and the wind. The best pieces ride along on sounds and stand-ups and atmosphere that are always building a sense of place and setting for the story. And that does mean that you need to have thought about the structure well in advance. You need to know where your stand-ups are going to sit – what they follow, and what they will lead into.
But you know all this. There are no secrets left under the sun, least of all in journalism. And it goes without saying that so very often, for one reason or another, you do not end up doing half of the above things. There are all kinds of limitations, and often the piece is not nearly as good as you wanted it to be. But you always know what you would like to have done, given the time and the right contributors … and a bit of luck.
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mike: indeed, indeed….thanks for posting Alan’s words…..
hope still….
bob
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Hello every body,
actually there has been some bad news yesterday, telling that Hamas formal Governement executive forces where about to invade the Dogmush Clan trying to release Alan by force.. Thanx to God this didn’t happen. actually , i was much worried about his safety…
i think the release of Alan will take much more time than we all expected .. for several resons .today i had news that the military branch extended the limit for releasing Alan for next monday, allowing more time for more negotiations..
actually , the major trouble , i may refered to before, is that this clan has much trouble with hamas and other families killing and committing several crimes in the last year.. so,now, they r using Alan as an armour to protect themself , trying to have garantees for amensty from hamas not to account them on their formal actions..
still the hope for allan very near exist.. but it will take some much more time than we expected before.. we still need to pray God more for his safety!!
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