Speaking of broadcasting

Opportunity for broadcast experience via an e-mail to Professor Cochran:

I am writing to you as the Volunteer Program Assistant at a growing news organisation called The Real News Network. The Real News Network is a non-profit news and documentary network focused on providing independent and uncompromising journalism. Critically,we are member supported and do not accept advertising, government or corporate funding.

We have been producing daily video news content since August 2007, and have an increasing number of people accessing our news pieces on our home site (approx 7,000 per day) and our robust YouTube channel. At the turn of the new year we were the Number 1 non-profit on YouTube, and have continued to dominate this category week to week. We have an impressive list of regular contributors to our service, including Pepe Escobar (Asia Times Online), Aijaz Ahmad (Frontline, India) and Phyllis Bennis (Institute for Policy Studies, Washington DC).

Our mission for the US Presidential Elections is to take on the candidates of both parties, the Bush administration and corporate news. We will listen to the voices, opinions and wisdom of Americans across the country and answer their questions.With facts and incisive analysis we will help Americans decide whom to vote for. We will help people decide what to demand from their candidates. And we will create a dialogue between Americans and the people of the world about the critical choice Americans are about to make.

Part of bringing this mission to life, is to regularly feature the voices of people on the street right around the United States. We would love to bring together a dedicated pool of volunteer shooters, who can take a camera to the streets with set questions, and upload the video to us to edit for web publication. We also may ask the volunteer team to visit interviewees we have lined up, in their places of work, and record an interview with them. The volunteer work will be managed with the newsroom back in our main studio in Toronto. The volunteers will need to have access to a camera, sometimes at short notice, and know how to upload video to an FTP server we administer.

If you think your students would be interested in this work and you want to find out more, please email me as soon as possible. Alternatively I would be happy to speak to any of you at your earliest convenience.

We think this would be an excellent opportunity to involve students in professional news production, utilising the latest online video techniques and covering the U.S. Presidential race for a worldwide audience.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

All the best,

Nina
Phone: +1 416 916 5202 Ext: 436

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Nina
Communications and Volunteer Program Assistant