2003 Programs and Events

U.S. Embassy Supports TV News Production Workshop (July 14, 2003)

U.S.  Ambassador to Laos Douglas A. Hartwick, H.E. Mr. Kheckeo Soysaya Vice Minister of Information and Culture, and participants at the opening ceremony of the TV Production Workshop.

The United States Embassy is pleased to announce that it is sponsoring two workshops on “News and Documentary Production for Television,” which are organized by Lao National Television. The first workshop, was held July 7-11, at the Lao National TV studio in Pakse, Champassak Province. The second workshop will be held July 14-19 at the Lao National TV studios in Vientiane.

U.S. Ambassador to the Lao P.D.R., Douglas A. Hartwick will give welcoming remarks at the opening ceremony of the workshop in Vientiane, which will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, July 14, 2003, at Lao National TV.

This workshop focuses on the practical tools that TV producers use every day to produce the news and other television programs—skills such as the angle from which to approach a story, interviewing techniques, writing, camera work, editing techniques, and so on. These TV production techniques are especially critical in today’s fast-moving world, in which events that occur anywhere in the world are reported on instantly around the world.  Producers must be able to work quickly to keep up with the news cycle.

Participants in the two workshops will come from every province in Laos. The workshops will be conducted by Dr. Robert Hooper, who is well-known in the U.S. as both a television producer and as an international educator. As a senior producer for KPBS_TV in San Diego, California, Dr. Hooper’s recent production about nature in San Diego won a first place award at the 1998 Press Club Awards and received an Emmy for photography.

As an educator, Dr. Hooper currently teaches film and television production and writing at California State University in Los Angeles. In 1989, he helped to found the film and television production program at the Science University of Malaysia in Penang. More recently, he has taught in Indonesia, where he helped develop professional education for the nation’s television producers, writers, reporters and broadcast journalists. He has also conducted extensive workshops with television stations in Mayalsia, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea.

I am very pleased to welcome to Laos Dr. Robert Hooper, who will conduct this workshop.  Dr. Hooper has produced dozens, if not hundreds of documentaries, and has won many awards for his work. He is also a Professor in the Department of Communications, California State University, Dominguez Hills. He has extensive experience conduction workshops in Malaysia, Indonesia, and other Asian countries.

Finally, I am pleased that the American Embassy could work with the Lao National TV and officials from the Department of Information and Culture in Champassak Province to arrange this program. Cooperation between Lao and Americans is important to both our countries, and I would be very pleased if this workshop contributes to the production of even stronger relations between our two countries in addition to even better TV programs.