Welcome to my site
October 31, 2008 at 4:19 pm | In AP, Associated Press, BBC, BBC Breakfast, BBC One O'Clock News, BBC Six O'Clock News, BBC World, Blog, Broadcast Journalist, CV, Chronicle, Dannielle Taaffe, EBO Protect Ltd., Facebook, Freelance, Headshot, Hostile Environment Training, International Herald Tribune, Introduction, Jeremy Bowen, Journalism, MSC Napoli, MV Horncliff, MySpace, News, News 24, Online, Packages, Penhale Military Camp, RSS feed, Radio, Reviews, TV, Telegraph TV, The Independent, The Riverdance, Work Experience, World Review, Write me!, current.tv, journalism mantra, theatre | 4 CommentsDear Visitor,
Many thanks for taking the time to view my site -
http://www.internationaljournalist.wordpress.com
I am a professional qualified journalist with a Masters Degree in International Journalism from University College Falmouth, with a distinction in broadcasting. Currently, I’m working as a Broadcast Journalist for BBC World and BBC Breakfast News. I have previously worked as a Producer for APTN. This site serves as a profile of my work, news features I find interesting, as well as updates of how my career is progressing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/default.stm
I have knowledge of national and international relations, politics and foreign policy, as well as having studied ethical and legal frameworks, which are always being sharpened. I’m a skilled Avid editor with working knowledge of Jupiter and Q-Edit, as well as being a keen camera operator. My voice has been trained to a high broadcast standard and I have reporting and presenting know-how.
I completed Hostile Environment and First Aid training that was provided by EBO Protect Ltd. at the Penhale Military Camp in Newquay, Cornwall.
http://www.eboprotect.com/het.html
http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/training/070815env.shtml
During my Masters, I gained industry experience at the AP, BBC and on the foreign desk at The Independent. I have an interest in new media and multi-platform journalism, as seen on the Emmy award winning Current TV and Telegraph TV, among others.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/ttv/news.jhtml
http://current.com/items/85004901_current_com_tutorial
My site is divided into pages. The first is this page called Blog, which has updates of how I am getting on in the industry as well as other snippets of information.
Chronicle is the next page, which has various articles and news features that I find interesting – and hope you will too.
The following two pages are relatively self-explanatory; CV, which also includes my Headshot.
The Online and Print pages contain examples of my written work for websites and newspapers. Included in my work is an article about British tennis player, Andy Murray, and an insight into the death of a British soldier in Afghanistan.
One feature on my Radio page is about the MSC Napoli that was beached off the coast of Cornwall in January 2007, as well as a package about internet social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Recently on BBC Breakfast, I was the sole producer for the Riverdance and MV Horncliff news items.
The following page, Reviews, is a new venture but a familiar stage for me. With a degree in Acting and extensive experience of the theatre industry in London and abroad, I offer up my opinion on new and established talent and productions. As a theatre reviewer for Totallytheatre.com, my reviews focus on the London’s West End, as well as some fringe and festivals. So watch this space!
The Democratic Republic of Congo and private security firms working in Iraq are two topics I explore in my TV showreel. I have also included a sample of my presentation work and a “live” link from Washington discussing the Iraq Study Group. These are available on my Television page.
The final page is called Write me!, where you can find my contact details, in case you would like to get in touch.
If you would like to subscribe to my site, please visit:
http://internationaljournalist.wordpress.com/feed
Thanks for stopping by.
- Dannielle Taaffe
<Disclaimer: Please note that all views expressed in this blog and subsequent pages on www.internationaljournalist.wordpress.com are based on my opinion, and not of my employer(s) past or present, and have been included because they are of interest to me and do not reflect the interests of my employer(s) past or present.>
Rue Magique
October 31, 2008 at 4:18 pm | In News, The Arts, Women, theatre | Leave a CommentTags: child prostitution, King's Head Theatre, musical
Compelling, challenging and gritty, Rue Magique is currently playing at the King’s Head in Islington. For my latest reviews, please click on Reviews.
Dannielle Taaffe, BBC News…
October 27, 2008 at 4:14 pm | In BBC, News, Packages | 1 CommentWorking on BBC World last night, I was asked to revoice a package about a captured Mexican drug baron. It went well and managed to nail the voice recording in one, much to the VT editor’s relief after I had said I hadn’t ever done a package for BBC before.
Dannielle Taaffe, BBC News…
All the world’s a stage
September 30, 2008 at 11:42 pm | In Journalism, News, The Arts, theatre | Leave a CommentTags: Brief Encounter, Girl With a Pearl Earring, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, Theatre Reviews, totallytheatre.com, Ulster Bank Theatre Festival
I have been busy reviewing new plays hitting London’s theatreland as I’ve gained the post of West End reviewer for a new theatre website -
You can also check out my theatre musings on my Reviews page.
The Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival is on at the moment, so I am off to Dublin to check out some of the work on show. The highlights I’m planning to catch are Metamorphosis, with music by Nick Cave, and Vanessa Redgrave in “The Year of Magical Thinking” at the Gaiety.
Troubling resurgence
July 28, 2008 at 3:08 am | In "War on Terror", Afghanistan, Extremism, Good Friday Agreement, Guardian, Ireland Affairs, Islam, MI-5, Religion, Taliban, UK Affairs, al-Qaeda | Leave a CommentTags: IRA, Provisional IRA, Real IRA
The threat from Northern Ireland’s dissident republicans is as serious as it was at the time of the Omagh bombing ten years ago, as security services are picking up on an increasing amount of activity by rebel groups in the province.
The Guardian has learnt that up to 60% of MI5 and MI6’s hi-tech spying resources - such as phone tapping and secret technical operations - is spent on dissenters, despite the threat posed by hundreds of suspected Islamist extremists on the UK mainland.
This comes in the aftermath of a landmine attack in Co. Fermanagh last month – the first since the Provisional IRA’s initial ceasefire 14 years ago – and amid staff cutbacks of special branch anti-terrorist officers over the last five years through police reforms. It’s believed that 80 hardcore dissidents may be plotting terrorist attacks and planning to kill prison officers and police to serve as a deterrent to young Catholics wanting to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Currently, at least 2,000 suspected Islamist terrorists are believed to be under surveillance in the UK, with a core of around 500 people being suspected of involvement in around 80 separate terror plots. Meanwhile, the activities of less than a hundred dissidents are being monitored in Northern Ireland.
To read Henry McDonald’s report, “MI5 targets dissidents as Irish terror threat grows”, please visit my Chronicle.
Maddie case closed…
July 21, 2008 at 9:03 pm | In Madeleine McCann, McCanns, Newspapers, Phil McCann, Robert Murat, arguido, missing girl, www.findmadeleine.com | Leave a CommentPortuguese authorities have decided to shelve the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann because of a lack of evidence.
The Portuguese attorney-general has also lifted the official suspect status, known as “arguido”, that had been put on the girl’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and another British man, Robert Murat. Mr Murat won considerable damages from several British newspapers for libel last week.
The British toddler went missing from her parents’ apartment while on holiday in Praia da Luz, southern Portugal on May 3rd 2007.
Although the case has been closed in Portugal, Kate and Gerry McCann are unwilling to give up the search for their daughter. The couple have said they want access to the Portuguese police files to pass on to their own investigators and may bring legal action against the Portuguese police for their handling of the case.
Iraq breaks the back of Blackwater
July 21, 2008 at 8:52 pm | In "War on Terror", Associated Press Television News, Blackwater Security Consulting, Blackwater USA, Dannielle Taaffe, DynCorp International, Eric Prince, Iraq, Security firms, www.hrw.org | Leave a CommentContractor Blackwater Worldwide is planning a shift away from the private security business that brought it unwelcome attention following a deadly shooting in Baghdad last year.
Executives have told The Associated Press that the negative media coverage and intense government scrutiny has made the cost of doing business too high. They say the company has unfairly come to symbolise all Iraq contractors
and thus is a flash point for those opposed to the war.
Blackwater contractors are under investigation for their involvement in a shooting in Baghdad in September that left 17 Iraqis dead. Regardless of the outcome of that case, Blackwater executives say the company will survive with a focus on international training, aviation and construction.
Please see visit my TV page for a package about Blackwater Worldwide.
250m women and not a leader in sight
July 18, 2008 at 10:00 pm | In European Union, Females in Front, Ireland, News, Women | Leave a CommentDuring the course of the next twelve months, four top EU positions will need to be filled should the Lisbon Treaty be ratified by all 27 member states.
These roles are the President of the European Council, the President of the European Parliament, a Commission President and a High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. (A lot of presidential roles, I know!)
What are the chances of a woman being elected, or even nominated for one of these roles? Well, out of all of the EU’s 27 member states, there’s only one female Prime Minister – the remaining number of 16 all being, obviously, male. Two presidents are women, while 18 are men. Out of the Union’s governments, 75% of senior ministers are men, 25% are women. Only Finland has a majority of women ministers, while Spain has an equal number of men and women in government.
Despite there being no Irish flag on this site, as Ireland is a part of the EU, I have signed the Females in Front petition, which backs the appointment of at least one female in one of the four forthcoming positions. There are 250 million women in the European Union – surely there’s one who is competent enough to be elected.
Prisoner swap
July 16, 2008 at 5:22 am | In Current Affairs, Hezbollah, Israel, News, Red Cross, United Nations | Leave a CommentHezbollah and Israeli authorities are expected to exchange five Lebanese prisoners and in return Israel will get back two of its soldiers during the course of the morning.
Under the deal, negotiated by a German intelligence officer, Israel will also hand over the bodies of 200 Arabs killed while infiltrating northern Israel, and Hezbollah will return the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in south Lebanon in 2006.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had been asked by both Israel and Hezbollah to arrange the exchange, due to begin around 9.00 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Wednesday. The released Lebanese would be flown from Naqoura to Beirut airport for an official reception.
Satirical/satanical
July 14, 2008 at 4:22 pm | In "War on Terror", Barack Obama, Islam, News, Terrorism, The New Yorker | Leave a CommentUS Democratic presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, has been satirised on a cover of The New Yorker magazine. His team has dismissed the cartoon depicting him in traditional Muslim clothing and his wife as a terrorist as “tasteless and offensive.”
But the magazine says the cartoon is intended as a satirical comment to highlight some of the extreme right-wing attacks on the Illinois senator during his campaign.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton disregarded the drawing, saying: “The New Yorker may think… that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama’s right-wing critics have tried to create, but most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree.”
The magazine said that this week’s edition carried two “very serious” articles about Mr Obama.
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