BBC Correspondents Map Summer 2011 – Notes and Thoughts
Last week I found myself with some spare time on my hands, which rarely happens, so I thought I would take the opportunity to update my BBC Correspondents Map.
Once I’d picked myself up from the floor after realising it’s been 18 months since the last update, I ploughed through all the names and locations of BBC correspondents, cross-referenced them with the BBC News site, and made changes as necessary.
I found some changes quite surprising and interesting, so I made a little summary of my findings.
The Arab world
It’s not surprising that a lot of BBC resource has gone into this region, particularly north Africa and the Middle-East, in the year that saw the so-called ‘Arab spring’ uprising in many countries. I recorded no fewer than 8 correspondents in Libya whereas previously there was only one stringer, Rana Jawad, who was known in the months leading up to the fall of Tripoli as “Libya Witness“. I’ve placed all Libya-based correspondents on the map in Tripoli although some are based in Benghazi and Sirte, but seem to be moving around the country. For ease I have placed them all in one location.
Elsewhere in the Arab world, it’s surprising after Egypt’s own prolonged uprising that Cairo now only seems to have one reporter there – Shaimaa Khalil – although it’s likely that other normally-Cairo-based reporters have been assigned to cover the new conflict in Libya. It’s also worth noting that the BBC now has a correspondent in Tehran, the first since Jon Leyne’s dismissal from Iran in 2009.
Africa
The resource across Africa seems to have been streamlined towards the main capitals, and offices in many smaller places have been closed. Asmara (Eritrea), N’Djamena (Chad) and Dakar (Senegal) have all had their Newsgathering correspondents removed. The decision with regards to Dakar may have been taken as a result of the World Service’s French for Africa service moving offices from London’s Bush House to that city; World Service correspondents do not (yet) appear on this map.
North America
There has been a lot of centralisation in North America towards Washington and New York. Many correspondents formerly reporting from Los Angeles and San Francisco have been moved to Washington or back to London; this may be as a result of the upcoming US Election next year.
The two stringers in Canada remain – Ian Gunn in Vancouver and Lee Carter in Toronto, both who work for Canada’s CBC who have reciprocal sharing agreements with the BBC.
Latin America
Not much has changed here – the majority of people across south America are stringers in all the major capitals including Sao Paulo, Lima, Caracas and Santiago.
Australasia
There has always been a lack of coverage in this region with the notable exception of Bangkok; now the BBC seem to have boosted coverage of this area, with the addition of a correspondent each in Australia and Indonesia; we say hello to Duncan Kennedy (Sydney), previously based in Rome, and Alice Budisatrijo (Jakarta).
Europe and Eurasia
Here is where the biggest changes have occurred; eastern Europe seems to have been the hardest-hit with the loss of bases in Tbilisi (Georgia), Kiev (Ukraine), Prague (Czech Republic), Riga (Latvia), Copenhagen (Denmark) and Helsinki (Finland).
(Update 7th September 2011: Thanks to Rob Cameron in Prague for getting in touch to confirm he is still there)
For some inexplicable reason there now seems to be two reporters in Tallinn, where previously there were none. Whether the idea is for Tom Esslemont (formerly Tbilisi) and Damian McGuiness (formerly Riga) to cover news from much of northern and eastern Europe from their base in the Estonian capital (travelling where necessary) isn’t yet clear.
(Update 3rd October 2011: Thanks to Damian McGuiness in Tbilisi for getting in touch to say he is now based there. This means that, to my knowledge, Tom Esslemont is the only correspondent in Tallinn).
The UK
The BBC’s own homeland has never been a major feature of the Correspondents Map; there would simply be too many pins in too small a space, and the focus has always been on the locations of foreign correspondents.
However I have always tried to have a smattering of World Affairs and specialist (technology, political, etc) correspondents pinned in London, and a selection of reporters covering the nations and regions from places like Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast and Manchester. Laura Kuenssberg has gone, as has the Norwich and Newcastle reporters. Over time I expect I will focus the map less and less on the UK, focussing more on getting World Service correspondents pinned over those who report solely on domestic issues for domestic services.
However there has been one addition to the UK – kind-of! Following a message by Sami-Jaine left in the feedback comments (see below), we welcome Ellan Vannin to the map, reporting from the Isle of Man.
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Posted: Sunday, September 4th, 2011 11:35 am | Category: Web Apps