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Soda Soda Everywhere but not a Drop to Drink

March 25, 2008 11:52 AM

Producer Ely Brown blogs from her Middle East trip with Vice President Dick Cheney and ABC News Correspondent Martha Raddatz. See some behind the scenes pictures from the trip here.

It’s the final morning of Martha Raddatz’s trip with the Vice President.  The sun is rising in Istanbul.  As predicted in my last blog from Saudi Arabia, the last few days have been back to a rather packed schedule.

We flew from Riyadh to Israel Saturday evening.  After posting my last blog, the cameraman traveling with me peer pressured me into doing some exploring of Riyadh, if only to get some lunch.  The US embassy that assists us at each stop along these trips, had provided us with habayas, the black robes women wear in public.  I put one on - -a simple black flowing robe that reached to the floor -- and “disappeared” as an embassy staffer put it.  We found a driver to take us around Riyadh and show us some of the local neighborhoods.  While some of the folks who were traveling with the Vice President had gone to Kingdom Towers – the tallest building in Riyadh with a reportedly excellent restaurant on top – ABC cameraman Hank Disselkamp, an AFP photographer, and I opted for a lower-end option:  McDonald’s.  It’s embarrassing to admit, but I actually do like to try out McDonald’s or Burger King’s or Pizza Huts around the world.  I like to see how they are the same, how they are different from the ones back home. 

In this case, the first indication of not being in Washington, DC was that we entered in through the “family section” entrance.  This is where the women can enter, almost always in the company of their families.  The “singles” entrance was strictly men.  Once inside, it was pretty much like any McDonald’s. It did offer a grilled chicken wrap that seemed to be geared more towards the local diet, but otherwise, it was Big Macs, fries and sodas. 

After getting our orders we went upstairs to the seating area.  With the exception of a small corner for little kids to play in, the entire area was made up of tables with curtains all around them.  Each family would take a table and draw the curtain around them, keeping the eyes of strangers away.  We ate our meal in our private little nook, duly noting that it all tasted pretty much just like we expected it to. 

We left Saudi Arabia Saturday afternoon.  The first time the press saw the Vice President all day was when he boarded the plane for the flight to the next stop – Israel.  I had been looking forward to this stop for the whole trip.  Not only because I had never been there, but also because I had given up soda for Lent and I would be able to break that fast in Jerusalem, which seemed somewhat appropriate.

These trips are utterly exhausting and usually I survive them by chugging caffeine around the clock.  I had been tempted many times to break my Lenten promise – especially when we’d be at filling centers and I would hear the sounds of dozens of soda cans being popped up. That crisp release of air drove me nuts. 

My plan had been to break it at the stroke of midnight, diet cola from the hotel mini bar in hand.  But that moment passed, and then the next morning we were rushing to do a Good Morning America Sunday debrief, and then we were off to join the Vice President’s motorcade, and I just hadn’t gotten a chance to enjoy a refreshing soda.  As we were going through the security process, I was getting dozens of emails about the GMA debrief not getting where it needed to be.  Video feeds hadn’t been ordered, there was confusion about a sound bite that was in the piece.  Typical stuff, but frustrating.  Juggling my blackberry, cell phone and laptop I blurted out to Martha that all I wanted in the world at that moment was a soda.  Unbeknownst to me, Martha ran off to find me one.

Twenty minutes later, the debrief was where it needed to be, I had made it through the incredibly thorough security process to get into the motorcade and was waiting in a holding area to depart.  A hotel waiter appeared and presented me with a bottled soda.  I was thrilled.  I reached for it – and the Israeli security folks came and took it away from me.  They swabbed it for explosive residue and ran it through a metal detector.   Only then, was I finally allowed to drink up.

March 25, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Waiting and Rushing

March 22, 2008 1:19 PM

Ely Brown blogs from Saudi Arabia:

After finally getting more than 2 hours of sleep on this trip, I’ve woken up to find that for the first time I have a few hours to myself.  For once we are not rushing off first thing to an event or another country.  In fact, all the meetings the Vice President has today in Riyadh are closed to press.  We are not allowed to even shoot a “spray” at the beginning as the various participants take their seats.

In most of this world, a few hours of down time could mean doing a little shopping, hitting the hotel gym.  But this is Saudi Arabia.  And being a woman means my freedom of movement is somewhat curtailed.  The embassy has made sure there are habayas available to us if we’d like to go out.  These are the long black robes that women cover themselves with in public.  But after hearing the restrictions that even going out to dinner entails, I’ve decided to stay put this morning.

We are staying at a western-owned hotel, so I look in the usual guide of amenities to see what’s on offer.  The hotel offers a 12 lane bowling alley, golf course, gym, tennis and squash courts and a swimming pool.  Not bad.  But there is a note at the bottom of the listing:  “We would like to advise you that ladies are not allowed to use any of the above facilities except for bowling during our ‘Family Day’ schedule.”  So much for that.

I will just have to wait.

Many days on these official trips are marked by periods of waiting punctuated by frantic scurrying to the next event.  The Vice Presidents motorcade waits for no one.  If you run late, you will find yourself looking at the tail end of a van speeding off into the distance and you are pretty much out of luck.  So when possible the press are pre-positioned ahead of all movements.  Yesterday morning in Muscat, Oman we stood hot and sweaty in a hotel parking lot for over an hour after our security check.  Several of the reporters discussed creating various playlists for their iPods based on locations from the trip:  Baghdad – “I Love a Man in Uniform”, Israel -- “If I Had a Rocket Launcher”, filing centers – “Under Pressure”.

After leaving Oman, we landed in Saudi Arabia.  We were able to shoot Vice President Cheney’s arrival on the tarmac at the airport and a welcoming tea ceremony there.  Cameraman Hank Disselkamp had to keep leap-frogging ahead of the delegation as they headed to the tea ceremony in order to get a shot of them.  He’d shoot for a few seconds, they’d pass by, then he’d sprint ahead again to get the next shot.  Then one of the advance people, hand held high in the air waving a clutch of papers, led us off at a trot to the  press vans and we sped along the roads to the King Abdullah’s farm outside of the city so that we could wait for the Vice President to arrive there.

Waiting at the tea house on the Farm was a bit more interesting than the parking lot back in Oman.  As usual there was some debate about where we were supposed to be staged.  Outside?  By the door?  In the shade?  Finally we were taken inside.  Dozens of Saudi men in their white robes and red-checked head scarves milled about.  Incense burned.  Finally the Vice President arrived and it was another scurry for Hank to get the shots of him being greeted by King Abdullah.

The press now had about three hours of down time.  We were taken to large, couch-lined room that mercifully had an outstanding wi-fi connection.  Within minutes the wire reporters were at work, and I even had the time to download some video of the recent events into my laptop and zap it back to ABC News in London.

After a few hours the press was suddenly told we had to go soon.  Didn’t know when, could be three minutes, could be ten.  No, actually we have to go NOW.  This happens all the time.  Hurry up and wait. Now come immediately.  The advance people try to give us warning, but inevitably something changes somewhere and other things are happening sooner than they thought so we end up rushing to vans with laptops still open and cell phones at our ears.

In this case we got rushed out of our nice couch-lined wi-fi-connected room to go await the vice president at the King’s horse stables.  As a place to wait, this again was somewhat interesting.  A pristine white stable of thirteen stalls faced a covered pavilion filled with comfortable chairs.  In the stalls were fabulously valuable Arabian show horses – brown, black and white faces peering out the stall doors at all the activity.  When the Vice President arrived a trainer brought out about half a dozen of the horses to explain to him why they were so prized.  It reminded me an extremely high-end Westminster Dog Show, where the handler uses grass instead of doggie treats to keep their charges focused.

Following the horse show we were brought to our hotel.  And here I still wait.  A tasty room service breakfast of eggs and toast growing cold next to me as I write this.  Saudi Arabia has been a fairly unusual stop in that most of the events taking place have been closed to the press.  Tomorrow, it will be back to the normal wait-rush-wait-rush with a full day of events for us to cover.

March 22, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

On the Road with the Vice President

March 21, 2008 2:44 PM

Nightline producer Ely Brown is covering Vice President Cheney's Middle East trip with Martha Raddatz. Martha's interview with Cheney made headlines earlier in the week when she asked him about polls that show about two-thirds of Americans say the fight in Iraq is not worth it and he replied, "So?"

See some behind the scenes pictures from the trip here.

Ely Brown reports:

I’ve been traveling with Vice President Cheney since Sunday now. Five days. Four countries. Today took us to Afghanistan. Going to events at the Presidential Palace always fills me with a mixture of dread and intrigue. Intrigue because the country continues to struggle to rebuild after 30 years of war. And the setting is impressive -- a giant Afghan flag billows in the wind above the bullet-scarred compound walls, and President Karzai can be a dashing figure in his iconic grey hat and green silk cape. I dread it because the security search process to get into the compound, even for the press traveling with the Vice President, makes the most aggressive TSA search at an American airport look as simple as entering a movie theater. I can attest to the fact that the women in the group got quite a thorough search from a female guard. But it is understandable. Two days before the 9-11 attacks in the united states, Ahmed Shah Masood, the leader of Afghanistan's anti-Taliban alliance, was assassinated when a camera crew’s camera exploded.

Once we got into the compound – running a bit late and so sprinting for where the local Afghan press had set up for a press conference – I needed to hook up with our “fixer” on the ground there. “Fixers” are multi-talented people who ABC has around the world to help us get stuff done when we land in remote places. Often they are producers or reporters in their own right, and they can do anything from solid reporting to arranging drivers to smoothing customs issues with a little slight of hand. Akbar would be able to take the tapes that we shot of the Vice President;s visit and get them fed back to the United States in time hopefully for the morning news shows while I continued on with the Vice President.

The rest of the Vice Presidents press corps had sped ahead to catch up with him at the welcoming ceremony taking place a hundred feet away or so. Cameraman Hank Disselkamp reports on what happened there:

“I was thinking only about getting to a good spot as soon as possible. However as I was led past a couple dozen ceremonial Afghan honor guard solders by an Afghan yelling “Camera, this way!” I heard a commotion behind me as everyone else was stopped. I didn’t concern myself with it too much because as the only American tv camera there, I knew I needed to get my spot. … I was placed about 75 feet fro where a red carpet hit the street. A couple of local tv cameras, a couple of local stills, Paul Richard of AFP and I were on one side of the carpet and the numerous ceremonial guards were facing us. There wore modern military dress uniforms with a band playing at the end near the street. An Afghan government person told us that we would see the VP arrive at the end of the carpet, be greeted by Karzai. They two would hear their national anthems played and walk straight to our cameras. Just then I saw Karzai coming from the other end of the carpet and I roll on it. This upset our hosts very much. “No pictures until Cheney shows up!”

After their private meetings, the two held a press conference for the traveling and local press. Once the press conference with President Karzai and VP Cheney was over and Akbar was on his way with the tapes, we had a few moments to relax while the print and wire reporters frantically filed. Lunch was served. Drinks provided. Martha Raddatz had her picture taken with the tallest man in Afghanistan.
And then we were off to Bagram. Hustled out by the advance men to a large traffic intersection just outside the palace gates, where a Chinook helicopter flew in to pick us up. This seems like a good idea. In practice, helicopters when they land produce a tremendous amount of wind and dust gets kicked, bags and people get blown off course. We did all manage to get on to our ride, the taste of dust in our teeth.

Bagram Air Base is the headquarters for NATO's Regional Command East, which is commanded by US General Rodriguez. Vice President Cheney disappeared for a classified briefing while the press were taken to file their stories once again. (Side note – these official trips are days filled with events and punctuated by frequent filing times…) Of course being good military hosts the press was offered a power point briefing. From what I can tell, the military truly excel at power point. Lots of slides with graphs and stats and pretty pictures. Everyone – military included – joke about earning your “power point ranger” badges and “death by power point”. But for those of us who don’t cover the military or Afghanistan every day, they are always helpful.

Perhaps the best part of the day happened at the end, so I am sort of burying the lede as they say. Vice President Cheney participated at an award ceremony honoring 5 service men and women. The highest honor given today was a Silver Star presented to Specialist Monica Brown – only the second woman to receive so high an honor since World War II. SPC Brown was a combat medic during a patrol in April of last year when a vehicle in the convoy struck an IED. An ambush then ensued, but Spc Brown – under fire – got to the destroyed vehicle and administered first aid to two injured soldiers.

Coincidently, Martha Raddatz and I had reported on the first woman to receive the silver star since world war two. Based in Iraq, she was a member of a Kentucky national guard unit that was moving in convoy that also came under attack in an ambush. Martha had interviewed her and other members of her unit shortly after the attack, and I had the opportunity to be present at her award ceremony in Iraq later in her deployment.

Now that we are back in Oman I have just spent a couple of hours sending the video of today’s award ceremony out over computer. World News used it in short voice over and Good Morning America will use even more. Thank god there will be coffee at the morning gathering point as we head off to our next country with the Vice President.

March 21, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Obama’s Candor on Race

March 19, 2008 11:44 AM

Producer Melinda Arons blogs about Obama’s speech on race and his frank interview with Terry Moran.   

It was late two nights ago.  I was in my office trying to find a fashionista to go on camera to explain what the clothes Eliot and Silda Spitzer wore during his shameful resignation last week said about them (don't ask), when the executive producer came into my office. 

Turns out the Obama campaign had called and asked us to interview Sen. Obama after his historic speech on race, and to broadcast it on Nightline and Good Morning America.

Once I got over my initial surprise (candidates usually want their speeches to speak for themselves and hold off on doing interviews afterwards), the logistical mayhem that always ensues with last-minute shoots began, and it didn't stop until I went to bed around 1 am.  So it wasn't until I was on the train to Philadelphia yesterday morning that I really had a chance to reflect on the opportunity that had been laid at my feet. 

Regardless of your opinion of Obama, one has to recognize the momentous nature of the day.  His candidacy in general is of course historic, but in this crazy, never-ending campaign from hell, the country has become accustomed, even desensitized to that fact.  But this speech, and the events that have led up to him making it, put the racial fault lines that are always beneath the surface back into sharp relief.  Whether Obama cinches the nomination and wins the presidency or not, the speech will almost certainly appear in the history books for generations to come.

My first impression of the location the campaign chose at National Constitution Hall was that it was incredibly small.  Just a moderate-sized auditorium, with a stage packed with American flags.  To my right was a free-for-all of press pushing to get into the tiny theater.  With limited space in the room itself, members of the national media used to getting front row seats to events like this were being banished to the dreaded overflow room. My fellow producer and I crammed ourselves into the back risers, among the crush of cameras, and hoped the campaign wouldn't shoo us out.

Clearly, the Obama staff spent a lot of thought into choosing this particular spot.  They wanted to communicate the somber tone of the subject matter, not make it into a raucous rally.  And Obama himself told us later that he wanted to do it somewhere that harkened back to the country's roots.  And, of course, they wanted it to be in the upcoming make-or-break primary state of Pennsylvania.

At first I thought the speech was a little generic, as Obama laid out the well-known racial history of the country.  But as it went on, I found myself struck by how honest it was.  Again, whether you agree with Obama's views or not---and Pastor Wright's comments certainly gave many reason to question those views---you can't help but be sort of shocked into admiration for his candor on the issue of race, and deftness at talking about it in a way that doesn't make people on both sides feel so angry they can't regain perspective.  I felt like I was in that scene from "The American President," where the fictional President Andy Shepard marches into the White House press room and opens a can of whup ass on his hypocritical opponent. 

Now, I'm not comparing Obama to Aaron Sorkin's dream President (Bill Clinton without the libido)...but I am comparing myself to the reporters in the scene.  After so many years of speeches and press conferences by candidates who make you feel that, at any moment, they might reach for their chins and pull the skin over their faces to reveal some form of robotic alien, it is astonishing to see one articulate the true state of affairs in the country.  Let alone when it comes to something as explosive as race.

The interview itself was another pinch-me moment in terms of its historic nature.  It was a thoughtful, in-depth conversation---something that is so rare to have the chance to conduct with a candidate these days---and Terry Moran has now interviewed Obama so many times that they have a clear comfort level with each other.  I found myself thinking, "God, I wish I didn't have to cut this down."  And so after he and his campaign staff rushed off, I called my boss to ask that we give over the entire show to the interview, and that we make it part of our award-winning series on race "America in Black and White."  With the exception of a short piece at the end, that's exactly what we did.  And you can watch the piece here

 

March 19, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (43) | TrackBack (0)

Inside a Blue Whale Refuge

March 17, 2008 5:58 PM

ABC News Correspondent Jeffrey Kofman blogs from the waters of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern Chile. 

We are bouncing around in the 20-foot research boot of  The Blue Whale Center on the shimmering waters of the Gulf of Corcovado in Southern Chile, surrounded by the magnificent snow-capped Andes mountains. The words “postcard perfect” come to mind as I look around in every direction. There may be places as beautiful as this on the planet, but in all my travels I don’t think I’ve seen anything more beautiful.

ABC cameraman Scott Shulman, Producer Wonbo Woo and I have traveled all this way to see the recently-discovered population of Blue Whales in these waters and to meet the scientists who are studying them.

At times these waters feel like they are literally boiling with whale spouts. Not just Blue Whales, but also Humpbacks and Sei whales (and dolphins and sea lions and so much more.)

The massive animals – the largest on earth – move with a surprising grace as they swim through these waters vacuuming up millions of tiny krill, the shrimp-like creatures they feed on. The gentleness of their motion seems incongruous when you see the size and think of the legends surrounding these creatures.

What we need are pictures. Even though the whales are big they’re not easy to capture on video. They spend 98% of their lives below the surface and you never where they’ll surface or when. We spend hours with the scientists following the whales from place to place in an oversized game of cat and mouse. The scientists are careful to approach the whales slowly, so as to not to scare them or startle them. It takes patience, and respect for the animals. It helps to stand back and savor the magnificence of the moment as you contemplate the sea life and the surroundings.

To shoot this story we are spending four days in a very modest guest house in the hardscrabble fishing village of Melinka. A place far from the tourist map. A very poor fishing village that makes me think of New England a few generations ago. They do have power in Melinka, from 6 PM to midnight. Hot water? Forget it. But we don’t care.

We know that few people are lucky enough to see what we’re seeing. What a thrill.

March 17, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)

Market Mayhem and Whale Watching

March 17, 2008 12:53 PM

We just got out of our morning meeting where we outline what stories we plan on airing that night.  As always, our plan can change as the day's news warrants, but here is what we are looking at for so far.

We'll be keeping a close eye on the economy today as the collapse of Investment giant Bear Sterns continues to make waves on Wall Street.  Rival JP Morgan Chase bought  Sterns for $2 a share and in a move to calm the markets and other banks, the Fed cut interest rates for the fifth time since September.  Across the globe, fear is spreading that other banks may follow suit and the entire market will be affected. We are looking into possible angles on this developing story.

Jeffrey Koffman takes us to Chile's coast of Corcovado tonight on a rare whale expedition with Chilean scientists who are studying an unusually large population of blue whales that until recently no one knew existed.  Commercial whaling had brought the species to the brink of extinction, but in 1997, three Chilean scientists stumbled upon - largely by accident- what appeared to be a blue whale haven on the coast of Corcovado. It took 6 years to raise enough money to return to the coast- but since 2003- these scientists continue to make the incredible voyage to a refuge that may very well hold the key to the specie's survival

March 17, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

"The Last Great Race"

March 07, 2008 5:33 PM

With this year's Iditarod under way in Alaska, producer Ely Brown reports on her trip to the dog sled race last year:

A year ago this weekend I was standing along the frozen Unalakleet River waiting for the lead dog teams in the Iditarod dog race to come out of the Alaskan interior.  (Watch last year's piece here.)  After covering 1000 miles and crossing two mountain ranges, the tiny town of Unalakleet is where the teams hit the Bering Sea coast and turn north for the final "Home to Nome" run and the finish line more than 100 miles away.   "Nightline" had traveled to Alaska for a series of stories ranging from missile defense, to climate change, and now we would see part of "The Last Great Race."

I had never been to Alaska before.  I had never experienced shockingly below-zero temperatures before.  I'm used to packing for war zones--bullet proof vests, helmets, eye protection.  The thought of needing to be prepared for standing outdoors all day long in seriously cold weather terrified me.  But thanks to the guidance of my cameraman who'd worked in Alaska before and a friend from Minnesota, I stood toasty and warm in a down parka, ski pants, and boots with 2 inches of insulation in their soles.   It was just -10 or so that day.  Balmy by comparison to the -46 we'd already experienced in Delta Junction earlier in our Alaskan trip.

The cold was also a massive technical challenge for Scott Shulman and Dwanold Davis, the camera crew we had with us.  The extreme cold first would freeze the camera and sound equipment while we were outside.  We could only shoot one tape at a time--opening the tape compartment door was impossible.  Batteries that normally would last for hours lasted ten minutes.  And then once we got inside, the lenses would fog up.  Scott carried a small hairdryer with him and would patiently hold it in an opening of the camerabag slowly warming the gear inside.  It could take up to 30 minutes to get everything working right again, and then we'd head back out into the cold.

Most of the time when we travel, we stay in hotels, rent cars, all the usual business travel routine.  This trip was anything but routine.  Flying around Alaska is actually pretty easy. Lots of small companies act almost like taxi services.  One will even deliver pizzas made in Unalakleet to a few neighboring villages (Watch our "Taste of the World" on the pizza joint here.)  On our way to Unalakleet we shared a small 8-seater plane with a group of hunters who'd had success on a recent outing.  They proudly showed me the skinned head of a musk ox that was in one of the plastic bins they stowed behind the plane's seats.  Rental car?  Forget about it.  In small villages like Unalakleet  it's almost 100 percent atv or snow mobiles in winter.  To get "Nightline" anchor Terry Moran out on the Iditarod trail to meet up with the dog teams, I bought a couple of local teenagers some pizzas in return for them taking Terry and the crew out on their snow mobiles.

But accomodation was the biggest concern.  The Alaskan coast is dotted with small towns, populated by just a few hundred souls.  But in true frontier fashion, the residents open their doors, their rec rooms, their pullout sofa beds, to strangers.  On a tip from a fellow reporter, I had heard about a family--the Cunninghams--who always rent out some rooms. I was fairly dubious but asked one of "Nightline's" super interns Kinga Janik to try to track them down (Kinga's so super she actually works for "Nightline" as a researcher now).  We totally lucked out.  The Cunninghams could not have been nicer or more welcoming.  And they were also hosting some former Iditarod employees who were full of colorful stories to round out our reporting.

A year ago, Jeff King, Lance Mackey and Martin Buser were the first three racers to come in to Unalakleet.  Several hundred people had turned out to greet them.  Alaskan Natives with their colorful coats--the fur facing inward for maximum warmth.  Kids running around on all terrain vehicles and snow mobiles.  The private planes of Iditarod fans from as far away as California dotted the banks of the frozen river.  Lance Mackey went on to win the race in Nome a few days later.

This year, looking at the current standings as I write this, Lance Mackey and Jeff King are both toward the front of the pack.  Martin Buser is a bit further back.  They'll reach the coast sometime this weekend and then turn north and head "Home to Nome" once again.

March 7, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The Pressure is On in Ohio and Texas

March 03, 2008 1:08 PM

Today we'll looking ahead to Tuesday's Ohio and Texas primaries.  Terry Moran sat down with Sen. Obama this weekend.  Obama called Sen. Clinton's recent campaigning "desperate" and answered questions about his experience and readiness to lead.  "How do you know if any president is ready?  [Until] you're president, you haven't made these decisions,"  Obama told Moran.  Read more here

Terry Moran will be spending the day with the Obama campaign again today and hopes to delve deeper in to the AP's report that Obama's economic adviser privately told Canadian officials that his speeches in Ohio, advocating a more protectionist US trade policy, are "political positioning," rather than a clear projection of his policy plans.  The adviser has rejected this claim.

"Nightline" also has reporters dispatched in Texas today with the Clinton campaign to see how she is spending the last 24 hours before the primaries that could make or break her candidacy.  Stay tuned.

March 3, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)