LPWire: ABC News "Upclose" To Feature September 11 Documentary Produced by WashingtonPost.com
ABC News "Upclose" To Feature September 11 Documentary Produced by WashingtonPost.com
Program Marks the First Time a National TV News Broadcast is Using a Full-Length Documentary Produced and Edited for the Web
On FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, ABC News’ “UpClose” will feature a special documentary, “Rebuilding a Fortress, Rebuilding a Life,” created by washingtonpost.com as part of the website’s ongoing coverage of September 11 and its aftermath. “UpClose” airs weeknights after “Nightline” in most markets on the ABC Television Network.
The broadcast is an intimate profile of Michael Flocco, a Delaware sheet-metal worker whose son, Navy Aerographer’s Mate 2nd Class Matthew Michael Flocco, was killed in the September 11 attack on the Pentagon. Since January Flocco has been helping reconstruct the place where his 21-year-old son died, installing the heating and air conditioning ducts in the renovated section of the Pentagon. washingtonpost.com’s profile, filmed and produced over the last four months by Travis Fox, is a raw portrait of grief and one man’s struggle to find purpose in life after the death of a son.
“This is an extraordinary piece of work by videojournalist Travis Fox, sensitive and insightful. He has captured Mike Flocco’s agony and struggle without being intrusive. This is first-rate journalism that viewers won’t soon forget,” said “Nightline” executive producer Tom Bettag.
This is the first time a nationally broadcast television news program will be based entirely on a documentary produced by a website. The video will be available on the site, which ABCNews.com will link to on Friday morning, at: www.washingtonpost.com/911 (link will not be live until Friday). The Web version includes about 10 minutes of additional material that will not appear on television.
“washingtonpost.com is committed to creating a powerful multimedia experience, including extensive video that brings to life the stories we report,” said washingtonpost.com CEO and publisher Christopher M. Schroeder. “Working with ‘Nightline UpClose’ sends a clear signal that true multimedia is no longer a novelty on the Web, but a powerful part of delivering the news. The collaboration for this program makes perfect sense, given the commitment to deep and high quality journalism shared by washingtonpost.com and ABC News.”
In 2001 washingtonpost.com became the first Web site ever to win a White House News Photographers Association award in the video category, and in 2002 the site took home an unprecedented 23 awards in the competition. Earlier this year washingtonpost.com’s Travis Fox became the first person in the history of the WHNPA awards to be named both cameraperson of the year and editor of the year in the video category.
washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com) is an award-winning news, information and entertainment resource on the World Wide Web. The site offers the day’s Washington Post, continually updated news coverage and extensive original content, as well as a growing suite of services that make it the definitive guide to Greater Washington. washingtonpost.com is published by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, the new-media and electronic-publishing subsidiary of The Washington Post Company.
Ted Koppel is the anchor and managing editor of “Nightline.” Tom Bettag and Leroy Sievers are the executive producers.
--Posted August 15, 2002
Source: ABC News