Mariana van Zeller
Encyclopedia
Mariana van Zeller is a Portuguese journalist
and former correspondent
for the Vanguard
documentary series on Current TV
.
, a Portuguese
news channel, in the international news and travel departments.
She applied to Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
three times: her first application was rejected, and her second was wait-listed. After her third application in 2001, van Zeller flew to New York City
and knocked on the dean's door, explaining her dream of becoming a journalist in the United States. The dean was impressed and allowed her to enroll.
One month after van Zeller moved to New York City, the September 11 attacks took place. She was contacted that morning by a producer from SIC Noticias
, where she had previously interned. She was directed to meet a news crew atop the CBS Building
in Midtown Manhattan
, where she would go live in three hours. Before going on air, she was told: "Prepare yourself. The whole of Portugal is watching you."
After receiving her degree from Columbia, van Zeller moved to London to work for a documentary producer, with hopes of covering the Iraq War. With London as her new base, she studied Arabic
at Damascus University in Syria
in order to better seek out stories in the Middle East. Over the next two years, her freelance documentaries from Syria appeared on PBS's Frontline/World, the CBC
, and Channel 4
(United Kingdom
). In 2005, she joined Current TV
as a correspondent and producer for the Vanguard
documentary series. Van Zeller is fluent in Portuguese
, English
, Spanish
, Italian
and French
. She also speaks some Arabic
.
Van Zeller is married to her former Columbia classmate Darren Foster, who is a producer and cameraman with Vanguard
. In July 2010, she gave birth to her first child, a son named Vasco.
"The OxyContin Express" also received the 2010 Television Academy Honor, a Prism Award and an Emmy nomination.
Current TV
Christof Putzel
Adam Yamaguchi
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and former correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
for the Vanguard
Vanguard (TV series)
Vanguard is a television documentary series broadcast on the Current TV television network. Currently in its fifth season, Vanguard reports on such issues as the environment, drugs and the effects of globalization and conflict....
documentary series on Current TV
Current TV
Current TV, or Current, is a media company led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt. Comcast owns a ten percent stake of Current's parent company, Current Media LLC....
.
Biography
Van Zeller studied International Relations at the Universidade Lusíada de Lisboa. She then spent two years interning at SIC NotíciasSIC Notícias
SIC Notícias is the cable news channel of the Portuguese television network SIC and the second thematic channel of the station. It replaced CNL , a Lisbon region independent cable news channel owned by TV Cabo, on January 8, 2001...
, a Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
news channel, in the international news and travel departments.
She applied to Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
three times: her first application was rejected, and her second was wait-listed. After her third application in 2001, van Zeller flew to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and knocked on the dean's door, explaining her dream of becoming a journalist in the United States. The dean was impressed and allowed her to enroll.
One month after van Zeller moved to New York City, the September 11 attacks took place. She was contacted that morning by a producer from SIC Noticias
SIC Notícias
SIC Notícias is the cable news channel of the Portuguese television network SIC and the second thematic channel of the station. It replaced CNL , a Lisbon region independent cable news channel owned by TV Cabo, on January 8, 2001...
, where she had previously interned. She was directed to meet a news crew atop the CBS Building
CBS Building
The CBS Building in New York City, also known as Black Rock, is the headquarters of CBS Corporation. The building, opened in 1965, was designed by Eero Saarinen. It is located at 51 West 52nd Street, at the corner of Sixth Avenue . The 38 story building is tall and measures approximately 872,000...
in Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
, where she would go live in three hours. Before going on air, she was told: "Prepare yourself. The whole of Portugal is watching you."
After receiving her degree from Columbia, van Zeller moved to London to work for a documentary producer, with hopes of covering the Iraq War. With London as her new base, she studied Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
at Damascus University in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
in order to better seek out stories in the Middle East. Over the next two years, her freelance documentaries from Syria appeared on PBS's Frontline/World, the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, and 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...
(United Kingdom
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...
). In 2005, she joined Current TV
Current TV
Current TV, or Current, is a media company led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt. Comcast owns a ten percent stake of Current's parent company, Current Media LLC....
as a correspondent and producer for the Vanguard
Vanguard (TV series)
Vanguard is a television documentary series broadcast on the Current TV television network. Currently in its fifth season, Vanguard reports on such issues as the environment, drugs and the effects of globalization and conflict....
documentary series. Van Zeller is fluent in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. She also speaks some Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
.
Van Zeller is married to her former Columbia classmate Darren Foster, who is a producer and cameraman with Vanguard
Vanguard (TV series)
Vanguard is a television documentary series broadcast on the Current TV television network. Currently in its fifth season, Vanguard reports on such issues as the environment, drugs and the effects of globalization and conflict....
. In July 2010, she gave birth to her first child, a son named Vasco.
Awards
| Year | Award | Organization | Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Livingston Award Livingston Award The Livingston Awards are American journalism awards issued to media professionals under the age of 35 for local, national, and international reporting... for Young Journalists |
Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation | Reporting on the Iraq Iraq Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.... -Iran Iran Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia... Border |
Best International Reporting | Nominated |
| 2009 | Webby Award | International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences or IADAS was founded in 1998 in New York to help drive the progress of the Internet and evolving forms of new media. The academy selects the nominees and winners for the Webby Awards, and their European equivalent, the Lovie Awards.Membership... |
"Obama Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in... 's Army" |
News & Politics: Individual Episodes | Won |
| 2010 | Peabody Award Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting... |
Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication The Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is a college within the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States... |
"The OxyContin Express" | Won | |
| 2011 | "Greatest Person of the Day" | Huffington Post | March 23, 2011 | Won | |
| Livingston Award for Young Journalists | Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation | "Rape of the Reservation" | Won |
"The OxyContin Express" also received the 2010 Television Academy Honor, a Prism Award and an Emmy nomination.
See Also
VanguardVanguard (TV series)
Vanguard is a television documentary series broadcast on the Current TV television network. Currently in its fifth season, Vanguard reports on such issues as the environment, drugs and the effects of globalization and conflict....
Current TV
Current TV
Current TV, or Current, is a media company led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt. Comcast owns a ten percent stake of Current's parent company, Current Media LLC....
Christof Putzel
Christof Putzel
Christof Putzel, is an award-winning journalist and correspondent for Vanguard, Current TV's investigative documentary series. In addition to Current TV, his work has appeared on ABC’s Nightline, Good Morning America, PBS, CBC, and the Sundance Channel....
Adam Yamaguchi
Adam Yamaguchi
Adam Yamaguchi is an Asian-American television correspondent and producer at Current TV, a cable network founded by former US Vice President Al Gore. He earned economics and communications degrees at UCLA, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Daily Bruin newspaper...