News Broadcasting
CNN to air previously unseen Al Qaeda footage in lead up to 9/11 anniversary
MUMBAI: CNN International has launched an exclusive weeklong series of never-seen-before footage taken from multiple videotapes recovered from inside Afghanistan by CNN’s senior international correspondent Nic Robertson.
These tapes graphically reveal the expertise, resources and resolve of the Al Qaeda terrorist movement, says the channel. The five installments of Terror on Tape will air throughout the week and conclude with a CNN Special Report summarizing the series.
Robertson worked several weeks to track the story, relying on sources cultivated during his years of reporting from Afghanistan. Experts tell CNN that these tapes show Al Qaeda operatives training in the field as they practise assassinations, kidnappings and urban combat, says the release.
In many cases, the footage is the video version of discarded documents discovered by CNN’s Mike Boettcher last year in Afghanistan. In that discovery, CNN reported on papers, notes, documents and instruction manuals left behind when Al Qaeda fighters fled Kabul. Many of the documents and manuals included instructions on how to hijack and blow up airplanes, how to build bombs and how to explode trains, ships and other modes of transportation.
Each day, CNN International will broadcast reports on these tapes.
19 August Terror on Tape: Chemical Tests. CNN reviews the Al Qaeda tape library together with a report which shows chemical weapons testing on dogs. Experts discuss various possible chemical agents that could have been used and agree that the tape shows Al Qaeda’s capabilities to be greater than previously thought.
20 August Terror on Tape: Roots of Hatred. For the first time, viewers can witness a video of Osama Bin Laden’s May 1998 news conference where Al Qaeda declared war on the West. The tape provides a fascinating glimpse into the workings of the terrorist group.
21 August Terror on Tape: Explosive Force. Buried in a movie video, a detailed primer on how to manufacturer TNT from scratch, using easily available materials.
22 August Terror on Tape: In Training. Viewers can examine methods of training in Al Qaeda camps including urban hostage taking and assassinations. The training video matches techniques described in written material were earlier obtained by CNN in Afghanistan and from Al Qaeda’s terror manual.
23 August Terror on Tape: Face of Evil. The tapes gives an insight into the persona of Osama Bin Laden and how one can gauge from the Al Qaeda tapes future plans up the organisations’ sleeve.
The programmes will air Monday-Friday 6.30 am during News Biz Today 9.30 am during BizNews 4.30 pm during Asia Tonight and 7.30 pm during Asia Tonight Hongkong time.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
