CFR’s Crisis Guides Finalist in Knight-Batten Awards

CFR.org's Crisis Guides are a finalist for the 2007 Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism. The Council on Foreign Relations produces these guides on crisis zones, providing interactive news and information to help make sense of these issues. MediaStorm has worked with CFR as a co-producer on these Guides, which include one on The Korean Peninsula and another on Darfur. Award Winners will be announced on September 17, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

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Living to the End: Lovelle Svart’s Story

Lovelle Svart has cancer. Lovelle, a former news researcher for the Oregonian, has been fighting lung cancer for almost 5 years, and her doctors say she now has six months or less to live. She is sharing her story and experience with the Oregonian, via weekly video updates. It is an interesting, very personal way to give voice to a member of the community. Multimedia Journalist Rob Finch and Reporter Don Colburn are working with Lovell to share her story.

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The Guardian: Sean Smith covers Iraq

British photojournalist Sean Smith has been covering Iraq since early 2003 for the Guardian. In his trips over there, he has photographed everything from horse races in Baghdad to Iraqi mental hospitals to the daily lives of the soldiers on the ground. During a two-month embed with the U.S. Army’s Second Infantry Division, Smith spent two weeks filming the Apache Company. The resulting video is a powerful look at the daily lives of the soldiers, and the exhaustion and disillusionment that many of them are feeling.

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American Road Trip

For anyone dreaming of an extended summer vacation, check out the American Road Trip in the New York Times Travel section. Back in May, reporter Matt Gross bought a 1989 Volvo on Craigslist, and is now in week 8 of a three-month road trip across the US. His goal is to spend around $100/day (hence the site title: Frugal Traveler). Each week, the site is updated with new postings, a video from the week's journey, and an interactive map following his journey.

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MediaStorm Publishes Black Market and Ivory Wars

Black Market: by Patrick BrownBlack Market is an in-depth look into the wildlife trade, the third largest illegal trade in the world. A driving force behind the trade is the ancient belief that animal parts contain "magical" properties. Although science has largely disproved these superstitions, these illegal practices continue. Ivory Wars: by J. Michael Fay and Michael NicholsIvory Wars visits Zakouma National Park in Chad, one of the last places on earth where thousands of elephants roam together. As perennial rains arrive to replenish the desert landscape, some 3,500 elephants seek better forage outside the park perimeter where poachers await them.

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