FSN REPORTERS BLOG - NEWS COVERAGE AND ANALYSIS

Helping to make a little history on Monday

The stage is set for FSN to play its part in making a little bit of history at the White House on Monday. 

Over the last week, we've been planning, rehearsing and preparing for "Your Interview with President Obama" - a YouTube/Google+ project that we're extremely proud to be producing. 

For the first time ever, the President will participate in a Google+Hangout - a cutting-edge video conference, in which he'll be questioned directly by members of the public about a range of issues including the Economy, Foreign Affairs and Innovation.  The President will also answer taped questions submitted by the YouTube audience.  As with any interview, the questions have not  been shared with the White House, and they'll cover a very wide range of ground.

Production of the event presents enormously complex challenges.  We've had to create an environment in which the US President can comfortably feel like he's s participating in a Google+Hangout, while at the same time looking straight into a broadcast-quality camera in the Roosevelt Room of the White House.   We've got to create - in essence - two separate programs:  the one President Obama will see in the screen directly in front of him;  and the one you'll watch at home which, of course, will very heavily feature the answers of the US President himself.

As you can see from the rehearsal photographs, FSN's Technical Director Denis Levkovich will be creating the high-tech equivalent of a photo-booth at the White House, involving mirrors, 65" plasma screens, tinted glass and lots of dark curtains.

We've had plenty of help, from our friends at Pixelcorps, Jess3, LCTV and MobileVideo.  And huge amounts of absolutely-vital guidance from Google and YouTube.

When President Obama sits down for the interview at 5:30pm ET on Monday, you'll be able to watch the fruits of our labors live on YouTube.  It should be an interesting 45 minutes…and a moment in history, as the US President takes up residence on new media's cutting edge.

--Simon Marks, President and Chief Correspondent

Prepping for a major White House event

Those of us in FSN's Washington Bureau are bracing ourselves for another extremely busy week.  On Tuesday night, President Obama makes his State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress, and FSN will be providing full coverage of this annual set-piece event for our various radio and television clients worldwide. 

Some of our colleagues are heading to Florida, to cover the next primary contest in the Republican Party's battle for the Presidential nomination. 

The rest of us will be focussing on another big event:  on January 30th, we'll be producing a live interview with President Obama from the White House, for our friends at You Tube and Google.  It's going to be a truly ground-breaking event:  President Obama will answer questions submitted by the You Tube audience, but he'll also participate in a Google+ Hangout, talking live to a selection of people across the United States.

We're very excited to have been asked to work on this project, and you can keep monitoring the questions that get submitted here, and watch the live-stream of the event next Monday at 5:30pm ET, 2130 GMT.   Wish us luck!

--Simon Marks, President and Chief Correspondent

 

 

VIDEO: Italy races to prevent Giglio oil spill

Our correspondent Vanessa Mock is in Giglio with FSN videojournalist Sandra Gathmann. You can follow them on twitter here and here respectively.

Vanessa filed this piece on Italy's efforts to prevent an environmental disaster.

 

VIDEO: San Francisco students prepare for Lunar New Year celebrations

FSN California correspondent Rachel Silverman reports from San Francisco.

 

FSN covers a remarkable day in US politics

On the US campaign trail, Thursday was one of those days you just can't make up.  At the very moment Governor Rick Perry was dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination and endorsing Newt Gingrich for the Presidency, ABC News was releasing excerpts of its explosive interview with Mr. Gingrich's ex-wife.

At FSN, we covered every twist-and-turn in the story.  In our Washington Bureau, Priscilla Huff (@phuffdaddy) covered Rick Perry's withdrawal from the race:

FSN's Steve Mort (@mobilemort), on assignment in South Carolina with the PBS NewsHour, filmed then editing the program's exclusive newsmaker interview with Newt Gingrich.

Daniel Wryntjes (@danielryntjes) is now en route to South Carolina to cover Saturday's primary election…but only after he reported ABC's interview with Marianne Gingrich for our radio clients worldwide:

I covered the day's big events in several live-shots for pan-Asian broadcaster Channel News Asia, as well as Radio New Zealand:

And on Thursday night, FSN World News, heard on hundreds of radio stations worldwide, carried full coverage of the explosive confrontation between Newt Gingrich and CNN's John King at the start of the latest GOP debate:

As I said...one of those days you just can't make up.  Now, what on earth will tomorrow bring....?

--Simon Marks, President and Chief Correspondent