RIAS RADIO, TV, AND NEW MEDIA AWARDS 2002
Awards were given for radio, TV and New Media productions which made special contributions to the mutual understanding between the people of Germany and of the United States of America.
THE AWARD WINNERS
1st Radio Award
Ulrike Timm
Der amerikanischen Traum in Tönen (DeutschlandRadio Berlin)
The American Dream in Sound uses Antonin Dvorak’s New World Symphony to thematically explore the author’s fascination with aspects of American life, including historical successes and tragedies, such as September 11, 2001. The program is designed for children to express their own views and their feelings.
2nd Radio Award
Kyle James
Reports on Germany — from “Ostalgie” and “German Pride” (Marketplace, Minnesota Public Radio)
A series of reports exploring aspects of German life, including nostalgia for the pre-unification eastern Germany and the ambivalence Germans have about expressing patriotism and national pride.
3rd Radio Award
Tanja Selmer
Einsame Spitze — Computercracks in Californien (Deutsche Welle)
A program about German dot-com pioneers who moved to California’s Silicon Valley to work for the internet search site called Google. In the program, issues of personal choice and links between university research and commercial opportunities in Germany and America are compared.
1st TV Award
Elmar Theveßen, Ulf Röller
Das Netzwerk des Terrors (ZDF spezial)
A production which describes in detail the connections between the attacks in the United States and their planning phase in Germany, key details of which had been unknown or unreported within Germany. This is a careful, methodical, analytical program, taking advantage of the power and reach of television.
2nd TV Award
Kahler, Martin; Lego, Ritter
Mark Kahler, Kevin Martin (WLWT-TV): Homeland Hatred
Valerie Lego, Wayne Ritter (WGBA-TV): German Heritage
Second prize is shared by local TV-journalists from WLWT-TV, Cincinnati, Ohio, and WGBA-TV, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Both features, independently, cautioned their viewers about reacting with hostility against Muslims and Arabs in the United States after September 11, by harkening back to American discrimination against Germans in the World War One period.
3rd TV Award
Hanno Hummel, Sven Voss
Kinder in New York — Leben nach dem Terror (ZDF, Kinderkanal, logo!-extra)
Third prize is awarded to the ZDF authors’ handling of September 11 for the children of Germany, using both its Kinderchannel TV program called Logo!-extra: “Kinder in New York — Leben nach dem Terror” and a companion internet site. The program visited New York through a young person’s eyes, including interviews with Muslim children and others.
New Media Award
Bopp; Bundy, Meindl
The new media award is shared by two winners, illustrating two extremes of internet potential.
Herbert Bopp: Besuch in einer verwundeten Stadt — New York nach den Terroranschlägen (online wdr.de)
Herbert Bopp, publishing on the WDR web site from New York, demonstrated the power of the internet to make instantly accessible a fascinating variety of personal vignettes about the attacks on September 11, 2001, ranging from interviews with firefighters, with tourists, and families of those who died in the World Trade Center tragedy. The site is simple, revealing the ability of a single journalist’s voice to be heard clearly amid the din of information following the attacks.
Jürgen Bundy, Wolfgang Meindl: USA — the sound of… (SWR multimedia package)
USA — The Sound of… wins the award for using new media technology extensively to introduce American music to German youngsters. The educational project includes a web site, a CD containing movies and music samples, and an accompanying booklet, all of which allow children to explore the musical geography of the United States in sight and sound.