ABC Mourns Loss of Newsmen

Tributes are coming in for three veteran ABC newsmen who are believed to have been killed in a helicopter crash in remote South Australia.

Journalist Paul Lockyer, pilot Gary Ticehurst, and cameraman John Bean are feared dead after their chopper apparently crashed near Lake Eyre yesterday evening.

The experienced news crew had been working on news and feature projects in the Lake Eyre region and it is believed their Sydney-based helicopter went down in a remote area about 150 kilometres north-west of Marree about 7:30pm.

This morning police said they had found two bodies at the scene of the crash but said did they did not expect to find any survivors. They said the names of those who had died may not be officially released until later in the day.

Police investigators reached the site overnight but the journey took many hours due to the remote location and bad weather.

It is not known what caused the crash, but there have been reports of bad weather in the area at the time.

This morning ABC managing director Mark Scott said the ABC feared the worst and paid tribute to the men, who he called "three news gatherers at the peak of their craft".


"This has been the longest of nights and we fear it will be the saddest of days," he said.

"I think this is going to be devastating for the ABC. We have been going for nearly 80 years. I don't think we have ever had a day like the day we might be facing, with news of the loss of three distinguished colleagues out reporting a story.

"Paul, Gary and John have each given decades of service to the ABC. They are passionate about their work and finding great stories from all over Australia to bring to the public.

"Our love, thoughts and prayers go out to family and friends of Paul, Gary and John at this terrible time.

As a Melbourne cameraman, I knew and worked with John when he was based in Melbourne and worked many times with his wife, a Journalist for the ABC.

I worked with Paul on assignments overseas and could never have worked with anyone better.

The most recent I flew with Gary was in our 2009 bushfires when he came to Victoria to assist.

All three were professionals who will be greatly missed.

You can read more of this ABC article by following this link.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-18/abc-helicopter-crashes-at-lake-eyre/2845962

Dignity in Death

The morning sun starts to break the early mist; drops gently fall from frosted wire fences. Rays of golden light make their way across the fields, growing longer and reaching further towards the house as the sun gets higher.

Inside, gathered solemnly around a bed, a family are united and pay respects as the life of one slips further from their grasp. It’s been a long night of loving and tender farewells and a quiet respect from people beyond the family circle who come to visit. As the early morning draws closer, the last faint breaths of life are taken and expelled and one passes gracefully into another world.

But, it’s not 1879, its 0850 am in Melbourne in 2011 and a 37 year old young woman has just been struck by a tram in peak hour. She has fallen under the tram, suffering terrible abdominal and head injuries and the tram needs to be jacked up in order to free her.

Paramedics at the scene work on her in front of pedestrians and peak hour traffic. Police, tram workers and the media watch as she is freed and attempts to resuscitate her are made. Various IV drips are deployed, her clothes are cut from her exposing her breasts, and CPR is applied, all the while, Melbourne continues to go to work.

Her final dignity in death, as she lay bare chested on the cold roadway, is to have a sheet pulled up over her still body, where she lay for some time after as investigators went about their task of finding answers.

Dignity in Death? Not really. That will come later at her funeral when family and friends gather to mourn her loss and celebrate a life cut short. The tram stop will never be the same, and for some, they may never use it again, having been witness to a shocking and tragic death.

In reality, very few of us may enjoy a dignified death. As media, we don’t film dignified deaths. Only once did I think I had, but in retrospect, by my mere presence, I violated that dignity. A farmer, who suffered great trauma from a fall, was taken off life support. I was filming a documentary on an Emergency Ward and we were given permission by the family to document his accident and the family’s grief and plight at the decision to terminate.

I filmed with great consideration for the family, but being in the room alone was difficult. It was over very quickly and little more was said that night about it. I filmed two more after that, attesting to a long and challenging night. I saw great care and compassion from hospital staff who endure this suffering on many more occasions than I do.

But I saw no dignity.

Don't get out of bed.

The alarm went off………snooze………

2nd Alarm ten minutes later woke me from a place far away from waking, far away from children and even further away from work.

Standing in the shower watching the water swirl around my toes and down the drain, a level of consciousness faded by the warmth, I soon realised the time and a need to hasten my son off to the train for school.

As per usual, our morning time was cut short by the usual banter between brother and sister which had ended the night before in……..”Get @&*#, get yourself to school, and don’t *&%#&@*# ask me for a lift again.”

Raining and cold and a need to feel like a responsible and compassionate parent, I abandoned my coffee ritual and drove him to school with the ever self-assured concept I could get back home in time to catch my train.

The glance across to him in the car, school blazer MIA should have alerted me to the fact; I should have stayed in bed. The day never got better.

• Was late for train and had to run to catch it. Hate sitting on the train looking like I need an oxygen bottle.
• Got to work to find office needed me out the door ASAP. Who ever said anything about having time to scratch yourself?
• Found someone had removed some audio gear and was now MIA. Both the gear and them!
• Went to plan B to cover the job as was told it was a quick press conference, and would not need audio gear. Really? Hmmmm……anyway, was it a Press Conference?
• No it was not……..was filming kids dying of cancer. Just a tad different one would think!
• Found someone had spent all my parking money change. That added to the point below.
• Had to bolt to the next job without refuelling with coffee! This is normally a big NO NO!
• Had numerous audio issues, overcame all, now feel like I could part the Red Sea but it’s not the point really.
• Went to Airport to film players of a sport I know nothing about……….Soccer. They all look the same to me, so I filmed them all.
• Was set upon by Airport Media attack dog………she told me I had no permissions to film………OMG we done this hunny, in fact we have this same conversation every time we go to the Airport.
• I tell you, someone has a better chance of shooting the Prime Minister than I do of shooting Soccer players!

Apart from my customary and insignificant grumblings about the rest of the day and how it all panned out………..I would have to say it ended rather better than it started, only now that it’s a few days and a few reds ago………..I’m sure it ended as it started……….asleep.

Farewell to Bill Hunter

William John "Bill" Hunter, 27th February 1940 – 21 May 2011 was an Australian actor of film, stage and television. He appeared in more than 60 films and won two Australian Film Institute Awards.

Hunter made his film debut as an extra in 1957 film The Shiralee. An introduction to Ava Gardner saw him gain a job as an extra and swimming double in the Hollywood film On the Beach which was filming in Melbourne. Hunter claimed that he was inspired to take up acting after watching one of the leads (variously claimed to be either Gregory Peck or Fred Astaire) do 27 takes of a scene, and thinking he could do better.

In the 1960s, Hunter started out in Australian television, and became a prolific performer in television and feature films, in which he often played the strong, opinionated, archetypal gruff Australian whose exterior belies a softer heart.

Some of his most notable movie roles include Newsfront(1978), Gallipoli (1981), Scales of Justice (1983), Strictly Ballroom (1992), Muriel's Wedding (1994), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) and Australia (2008).

In 2007, he reprised the role of Bob in the Australian touring stage production of Priscilla. He also provided the voice of the dentist in Finding Nemo (2003) and the voice of Bubo in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010). He portrayed United Nations Secretary General Spencer Chartwell in the American science fiction series Space: Above and Beyond. His last film role was in The Cup.

But it’s the movie, Newsfront made in 1978, which is about photographers and cameramen who will do anything to get their footage, which makes this movie of note for this blog. Set in a time post war and pre the excitement of TV in Australian homes, people would go to the movies and view Cinetone reels of events nationally and internationally.

Bill Hunter plays the role of Len Maguire, the Senior Cameraman. Set between the years 1949 and 1956, the film tracks the destinies of two brothers, their adventures and misadventures placed in the context of sweeping social and political changes in their native Australia. Len Maguire is constitutionally resistant to change, while his younger brother Frank Maguire welcomes any alterations in his own life and in the world around him.

This film is considered to be one of Australia’s finest. I have included some links to clips for the movie. One here at Australian Screen and one below at Youtube.

Margaret Moth: Admirable, Heroic, Courageous Woman

Article taken from womenofyesteryear.com

Margaret Moth, nee Wilson, (Aug. 21, 1951--March 21, 2010) was born in New Zealand but became a citizen of the world, traveling to remote and dangerous destinations as if compelled to see and document history as it happened.

Margaret was, first and foremost, her own person. Flaunting convention, she decided that she should have a last name of her own choosing; not one belonging to her father, or at some time perhaps, her husband. So she became Margaret Gipsy Moth, chosen for the Tiger Moth airplane she often sky dived from. It would also seem to allude to her lifestyle which might find her in any corner of the world on a moment’s notice.

Reported to be the first camerawoman in New Zealand, Margaret became a photojournalist for CNN in 1990.

Margaret stared down danger and went into life-threatening situations with a disregard for her own safety that often startled her traveling companions. It is reported that she never viewed herself as heroic. She was so totally focused on recording the story around her, as it was taking place, she often stepped directly into harm’s way. Even after being shot in the face by a sniper’s bullet and losing most of her teeth and part of her jaw and tongue in July of 1993, she returned to the Sarejevo war zone in 1994.

She did not consider herself especially courageous but her colleagues did and proved it by bestowing numerous awards on her for her work.

Margaret Moth never cared what the establishment thought was proper behavior or ‘women’s work’. She just went after what she wanted with intellect and wit. She pursued her passions and never whined.

Though she lost the battle with colon cancer, she faced it with her own style and flair and never wavered in her bravery. Margaret Gipsy Moth represents the strong, confident women of all ages who give us hope and inspire our future.

Britain's oldest working television.

Britain's oldest working television has been dusted off for auction . The machine was bought for almost £100 three weeks after television transmissions began. But Mr GB Davis of Dulwich, south–east London would have only been able to able to watch it for a few hours.

The nearby Crystal Palace and its transmitter burned down three days after Mr Davis bought the Marconi type–702 set on November 26. The area could not receive pictures again until 1946.

The 75-year-old set comes with a 12-inch screen and is contained in a walnut and mahogany case with the picture being reflected onto a mirror that opens from the top.

There are more 18th century Stradivarius violins in existence that pre-war TVs and this set has only had two owners.

Television pioneer John Logie Baird and the Marconi company were responsible for the set which was created using Britain's secret radar research.

Only 30 per cent of the components in this set have been replaced – all with identical parts – and it works perfectly.

It has a pre-sale estimate of 5,000 pounds, but experts at Bonhams, which is selling it, expect it to sell for much more.

For 5,000 pounds today you could buy a top-of-the-range set with high definition, 3D, surround sound and more channels than you could ever watch.

The set cost Mr Davis 99 pounds. 15 shillings. 0d – over half the annual average wage of the day and equivalent to almost 4,000 pounds today.

Its number is H1007, and it is thought the numbers began at 1,000 meaning this is 007, the James Bond of TVs.

Bonhams specialist Laurence Fisher said: "This is being sold by the late owner's family and is the oldest working TV set in Britain.

"These sets were really a side effect of our secret radar research and they are very similar inside to the radar.

"Logie Baird and Marconi had separate companies but used the same people to make the sets, but Marconi became the most popular maker.

"Baird made the first mechanical television in 1926 and this was the first electronic version.

"I've handled 38 pre-war tells and this is the finest and even comes with the original invoice.

"It cost a huge amount and the owner must have had wealth and means.

"Its case is made from walnut and mahogany to give a two-tone effect and doesn't have wheels and is quite a big lump.

"The picture is reflected onto its lid and at the time it was bought there was only one hour of television a day. And only one channel.

"Unfortunately for the original owner he would have been able to only watch three hours of programmes on it.

"This was because three days after he bought it the Crystal Palace burned down and that was where the transmitter was.

"And his area did not receive pictures again until after the war. But at least people who visited him would know he had one, even if he couldn't use it.

"Programmes at the time would have all be live and there were plays which were grand productions like you would have at the theatre.

"It was the first time people could see the faces of those whose voices they knew so well from the radio.

"It is a very rare thing and there are collectors who would love to have it."

Aussie wins in USA

ABC Cameraman Louie Eroglu has won the top prize in the prestigious White House News Photographers’ Association video awards, being named the 2011 Video Photographer of the Year.

Based in the ABC’s Washington bureau, Eroglu was awarded for his camerawork on two Foreign Correspondent programs filmed last year. One for the feature on the Go Go music scene in Washington DC and the other a program examining the reintroduction of the wolf in Idaho, both with ABC journalist Michael Brissenden.

The judges said, “Louie’s work demonstrates a talent and commitment that is the hallmark of top photographers throughout the world, and the people of Australia should be thankful for his insightful storytelling as his skills serve to enlighten them.”

Eroglu said, “This is a huge honour for me to be recognised by the WHMPA. I have thoroughly enjoyed my experiences filming across the United States, especially the opportunity I’ve had to film longer form current affairs features. I am constantly inspired by the calibre of video photographers at work today in Washington D.C.”

Louie has been based in Washington since January 2008 – his third overseas posting with the ABC. He has travelled extensively throughout the United States covering the Presidential Election and Inauguration, the Louisiana oil spill, Hurricane Gustav and Hurricane Katrina. He has also covered disasters including the Chilean Miners rescue and the Haiti earthquake. As well as shooting for news, Louie has enjoyed the opportunity to film across the US for Australia’s leading international current affairs program Foreign Correspondent.

Prior to the US posting Louie was based in Moscow for the ABC from August 2005. He filmed extensively in Russia, from Siberia to St Petersburg, filming in temperatures as low as minus 37C. Louie covered the Winter Olympics in Italy and spent six weeks in Germany for the 2006 World Cup.

Louie’s first overseas posting was to the ABC’s Middle East bureau, based in Jerusalem. During his four years there, he covered the war in Afghanistan in 2001 and the Iraq War in 2003. In total he completed 10 trips to Iraq. Along with ABC journalist Mark Willacy, he broke the ABC record for the longest off-base assignment, spending 93 days straight, on the road in and around Iraq covering the war.

Louie has won multiple awards for his camerawork. Last year he won a Gold Award for Documentary and a Silver Award for News Feature from the White House News Photographer’s Association. In 2005, he won a Walkley Award for the filming of an ABC News story, ‘Baghdad Bomb’. Louie has won 7 Golden Tripods in the Australian Cinematographer’s Society (ACS) National Awards, as well as 13 Gold and 12 Silver Awards in the ACS State Awards.

In 2005, Louie was granted ACS accreditation.

(Taken from ABC News Publicity and Promotions)