- Wide Angle (TV series)
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Wide Angle Genre Documentary television series Created by Stephen Segaller Presented by Aaron Brown Narrated by Jay O. Sanders Country of origin United States Language(s) English No. of seasons 8 No. of episodes 63 (List of episodes) Production Executive producer(s) Tom Casciato, Pamela Hogan (Specials) Producer(s) Thirteen/WNET Broadcast Original channel Thirteen/WNET and PBS Original run July 11, 2002 – September 2, 2009 External links Website Wide Angle is an American documentary television series produced by Thirteen/WNET New York for broadcast on PBS and for worldwide distribution. The weekly one-hour series covers international current affairs and is presently hosted by veteran journalist Aaron Brown. Wide Angle began broadcasting on PBS in 2002, and aims to expand the awareness and understanding of Americans about the changing world in which they live.[1] It is the only documentary series on American television devoted exclusively to reporting in-depth on international issues.[2] The program currently airs on Wednesday nights from July through September at 10 p.m. on most PBS stations.[2]
Contents
Production
Wide Angle programs consist of long-form, character-driven documentaries exploring pressing international issues through human stories, often followed by an interview with a foreign policy expert to connect the films’ themes to American concerns. The series completed its eighth season in 2009, and in that time it has produced more than 60 films in over 50 countries.
Wide Angle also produces a companion website and additional educational materials for each film. The series website includes background information on the issues from the films, interactive features, exclusive video and audio, and full streaming versions of many programs. Additional educational materials are distributed to high schools and colleges. In 2006, Wide Angle's online Window into Global History project earned the Goldman Sachs Foundation Prize for Excellence in International Education.[3]
Previous anchors for the series include Bill Moyers, former Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin, Mishal Husain, and Daljit Dhaliwal. Previous interview guests include Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, Mexico’s former Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda, former Ugandan government minister Betty Oyella Bigombe, Nobel Prize Laureates Joseph E. Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, Women for Women International CEO Zainab Salbi, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, writer Arundhati Roy and former U.S. Secretaries of State George Mitchell and James A. Baker III.
Episodes
Main article: List of Wide Angle episodesThe July 2002 pilot episode "Saddam’s Ultimate Solution" was hosted by former Assistant Secretary of State and chief State Department spokesman James Rubin. It focused on Saddam Hussein’s biological and chemical weapons and the wider threat they imply.[1] In a host interview broadcasted immediately following the episode, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Richard Perle stated that "the thing that is brought home so clearly in this film is the connection among terrorist organizations now implicating Saddam Hussein directly with Al Qaeda".[4]
Reception
Wide Angle programs have won numerous awards, including an Emmy Award, the Sigma Delta Chi Award, the Chicago International Television Hugo award, the Gabriel Award, several top awards from the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA), citations from the Overseas Press Club, and 22 Cine Golden Eagle awards.[3]
The New York Times had a mixed review of the first program "Saddam’s Ultimate Solution", especially concerning the interview of Richard Perle by host James Rubin:
Mr. Perle offers an argument rather than analysis when he says an American operation in Iraq will be "quicker and easier than many people think," a matter of weeks not months. Mr. Rubin questions what he calls this "optimistic scenario," but because it's not his role to take a position, the Perle interview is the lopsided half of a debate. Still, in a television landscape where network news is dominated by tiny sound bites and cable by shouting heads, Wide Angle has a distinct and valuable place.[5]—Caryn James, The New York TimesFocal Point
In December 2008, Wide Angle launched, Focal Point, a new online-exclusive documentary series. Like Wide Angle, Focal Point offers a deeper understanding of forces shaping the world today through compelling human stories, with Focal Point providing a venue for shorter, less formal pieces.[6]
In the first episode of Focal Point, "From Jihad to Rehab", Canadian journalist Nancy Durham reports from a rehabilitation center in Saudi Arabia, where art therapy and religious re-education are being used to reform militant jihadists.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b Patricia Brennan (July 8, 2002). "PBS Uses ‘Wide Angle’ Lens to Take Global Snapshots". Los Angeles Times: p. F-10. http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jul/08/entertainment/et-brennan8. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ a b "Wide Angle . Introduction". PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/about-the-series/introduction/31/. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ a b "Wide Angle . Awards". PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/about-the-series/awards/35/. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "Saddam's Ultimate Solution - Interview: Richard Perle". PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/saddams-ultimate-solution/interview-richard-perle/1864/. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ Caryn James (July 11, 2002). "Television Review; Close Look at Iraq on Poison Gas and bin Laden". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07EED71530F932A25754C0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/about-the-series/about-focal-point/3807/
- ^ http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/from-jihad-to-rehab/introduction/3834/
External links
- Wide Angle
- Wide Angle: Window into Global History - Outreach initiative for the teaching of Global History in high schools.
- Wide Angle at the Internet Movie Database
PBS Television Documentaries Drama Music & Fine Arts History News and Public Affairs How-To and Special Interest Antiques Roadshow · Everyday Food · Hometime · MotorWeek · This Old House · The Victory Garden · The Woodwright's ShopScience and Nature Networks See also PBS Kids shows · PBS network shows · PBS member networks · PBS member stations(list) · Public Broadcasting in the USA · State network1Defunct network, continues as a programming block · 2Defunct networkCategories:- 2000s American television series
- 2002 American television series debuts
- American documentary television series
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- Programs produced by Thirteen/WNET New York
- English-language television series
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