Maggie O'Kane
Encyclopedia
Maggie O'Kane is an award-winning Irish
journalist and documentary film maker. She has been most associated with The Guardian
newspaper where she was a foreign correspondent who filed graphic stories from Sarajevo
while it was under siege
between 1992 and 1996. She also contributed to the BBC
from Bosnia. She has been editorial director of GuardianFilms, the paper's film unit, since 2004.
, County Dublin
, Ireland
; B.A. (Hons) in Politics and History at University College Dublin
before studying at the Institute de Journalistes en Europe in Paris.
' – whose blog Where is Raed? was printed in The Guardian
and New York Times during the occupation of his city. They were shown on BBC Two
's Newsnight
programme. Some of these were also shown in 2007 in two collections by CNN
International.
Kane was also reporter in Sex On The Streets, made by GuardianFilms for the UK
's Channel 4
television channel. It focussed on violence against women working as prostitutes. "Even their deaths often pass unmarked, and they make up the largest single group of unsolved murders in Britain," said O'Kane. She was also reporter in the company's Spiked – also for Channel 4 – about the use date rape
drugs. In the first half of 2007, GuardianFilms won two Amnesty International awards and a RTS
award for its Iraq coverage.
"GuardianFilms was born in a sleeping bag in the Burmese rainforest," she wrote in 2003. "I was a foreign correspondent for the paper, and it had taken me weeks of negotiations, dealing with shady contacts and a lot of walking to reach the cigar-smoking Karen twins — the boy soldiers who were leading attacks against the country's ruling junta. After I had reached them and written a cover story for the newspaper's G2 section, I got a call from the BBC
's documentary department, which was researching a film on child soldiers. Could I give them all my contacts?"
"The plight of the Karen people, who were forced into slave labour in the rainforest to build pipelines for oil companies (some of them British), was a tale of human suffering that needed to be told by any branch of the media that was interested. I handed over all the names and numbers I had, as well as details of the secret route through Thailand to get into Burma. Afterwards — and not for the first time — it seemed to me that we at the Guardian
should be using our resources ourselves. Instead of providing contact numbers for any independent TV company prepared to get on the phone to a journalist, we should make our own films."
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
journalist and documentary film maker. She has been most associated with The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper where she was a foreign correspondent who filed graphic stories from Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
while it was under siege
Siege of Sarajevo
The Siege of Sarajevo is the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. Serb forces of the Republika Srpska and the Yugoslav People's Army besieged Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 during the Bosnian War.After Bosnia...
between 1992 and 1996. She also contributed to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
from Bosnia. She has been editorial director of GuardianFilms, the paper's film unit, since 2004.
Education
She received secondary education at Loreto Convent, BalbrigganBalbriggan
Balbriggan is a town in the northern part of the administrative county of Fingal, within County Dublin, Ireland. The 2006 census population was 15,559 for Balbriggan and its environs.- Name :...
, County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
; B.A. (Hons) in Politics and History at University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
before studying at the Institute de Journalistes en Europe in Paris.
Career
- 1982 - 1984 Sunday TribuneSunday TribuneThe Sunday Tribune was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
, Dublin - 1984 - 1989: RTÉRaidió Teilifís ÉireannRaidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
, Dublin - 1989 - 1992: freelance journalist, Eastern Europe, former Soviet Republics and Bosnia (contributing to The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, The Sunday TimesThe Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, The Irish TimesThe Irish TimesThe Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
, Mail on SundayDaily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
) - 1992 The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, special correspondent - 2003 GuardianFilms, Editorial Director.
Awards
- 1992 UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Journalist of the Year - 1993 Amnesty International, Joint Foreign Correspondent of the Year,
- 1996: James Cameron Memorial Trust Award for Journalism,
- 1999 Shortlisted, Amnesty International Foreign Correspondent of the Year; Shortlisted as Feature Writer of the Year at the British Press Awards
- 2002: European Journalist of the Year
Guardian Films
In its first three years, her company made 30 films – mostly for television – including the Baghdad Blogger reports, featuring Baghdad resident 'Salam PaxSalam Pax
Salam Pax is the pseudonym of Salam Abdulmunem , aka Salam al-Janabi , under which he became the "most famous blogger in the world" during and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Along with a massive readership, his site "Where is Raed?" received notable media attention. The pseudonym consists of the...
' – whose blog Where is Raed? was printed in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and New York Times during the occupation of his city. They were shown on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
's Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
programme. Some of these were also shown in 2007 in two collections by CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
International.
Kane was also reporter in Sex On The Streets, made by GuardianFilms for the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
television channel. It focussed on violence against women working as prostitutes. "Even their deaths often pass unmarked, and they make up the largest single group of unsolved murders in Britain," said O'Kane. She was also reporter in the company's Spiked – also for Channel 4 – about the use date rape
Date rape
"Date rape", often referred to as acquaintance rape, is an assault or attempted assault usually committed by a new acquaintance involving sexual intercourse without mutual consent....
drugs. In the first half of 2007, GuardianFilms won two Amnesty International awards and a RTS
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
award for its Iraq coverage.
"GuardianFilms was born in a sleeping bag in the Burmese rainforest," she wrote in 2003. "I was a foreign correspondent for the paper, and it had taken me weeks of negotiations, dealing with shady contacts and a lot of walking to reach the cigar-smoking Karen twins — the boy soldiers who were leading attacks against the country's ruling junta. After I had reached them and written a cover story for the newspaper's G2 section, I got a call from the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's documentary department, which was researching a film on child soldiers. Could I give them all my contacts?"
"The plight of the Karen people, who were forced into slave labour in the rainforest to build pipelines for oil companies (some of them British), was a tale of human suffering that needed to be told by any branch of the media that was interested. I handed over all the names and numbers I had, as well as details of the secret route through Thailand to get into Burma. Afterwards — and not for the first time — it seemed to me that we at the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
should be using our resources ourselves. Instead of providing contact numbers for any independent TV company prepared to get on the phone to a journalist, we should make our own films."
External links
- GuardianFilms Website
- Guardian biography of O'Kane
- British Film Institute filmography to 2004
- Baghdad Blogger Salam Pax: Part 1 on CNN International, April 11, 2007
- Baghdad Blogger Salam Pax: Part 2 on CNN International, April 17, 2007
- mp4 video excerpt from one of "Salam Pax"'s Baghdad Blogger films
- mp4 video excerpt from Chernobyl: The Last Generation - executive producer: O'Kane