Last night’s talk was a whistle stop tour through the history of the Frontline News Television agency, with its two surviving founding members, Vaughan Smith and Peter Jouvenal, in conversation with long-time cohort, BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson.

From FNTV’s origins over a Christmas dinner amid the chaos of the Romanian revolution in December 1989, to its eventual suspension in 2003, this outfit for freelance video reporters has spanned from the journalistic sublime to the ridiculous. The madcap ideas of flying into warzones by microlight or launching an extreme tourism business were balanced by such successes as getting the first images of Afghans fighting the Russians with Stinger missiles, proving that the Americans were supplying the mujahideen with modern equipment.

The spirit of FNTV was captured in the first image we saw of Rory Peck and Peter standing next to a shattered helicopter before a backdrop of the Afghan mountains. When asked if that was the helicopter that flew them in, Peter replied deadpan: “No, we actually walked across the border from Tajikistan.”

Such determination and innovation characterised the agency, which adapted to compete in an industry that often treated freelances as outsiders.

“We were the first group to start using these small cameras. We responded to the available technology, like the computer editing system and satellites. We were early adopters because that’s where the opportunity was to get into the news industry.” — Vaughan Smith

This resourcefulness resulted in one of FNTV’s central successes when Vaughan impersonated a British officer to circumvent the ‘grotesque news management’ of the reporter-embedding system during the Gulf War in 1991. This masquerade produced the only footage of rockets heading for Iraq, and in John Simpson’s words: “The best piece of combat footage I’ve ever seen.”

Peter’s recount of filming the civil war in Liberia touched on the humour of being chased down a street by gangs fresh from looting bridal and lighting shops – wearing full wedding gowns and lampshades on their heads – and the horror of witnessing the murder of a mother and child and the ethics of reporting in conflict.

“I tend to film things that sometimes are not very palatable, but I see it as my job to record these events…. It’s very important to stay neutral. My job it to witness it and film it…. It’s a very difficult position to be in and quite dangerous. The Afghans always kill for a purpose which you can figure out and avoid those situations, but in the case of Liberia, they would kill for no reason.” — Peter Jouvenal

Of course it’s a dangerous job. Vaughan maintains that he’s been shot more times than he’s been credited by the BBC, and not all of the FNTV cameramen survived – founding members Rory Peck and Nick della Casa both died in conflict – and absent friends were remembered last night.

“It’s not a safe job, but then, as Tira Shubart said to me, whoever said that journalism should be safe? Safe journalism is the kind of journalism you don’t want to be a part of.” — John Simpson

Created in 1989 by a small group of young British men and women, Frontline News Television was a pioneering international news agency for freelance video journalists that was 20 years ahead of its time. The agency closed in 2003, by which time half of its camera-people had been killed while filming around the world. 

FNTV founders Peter Jouvenal and the Frontline Club’s Vaughan Smith, in conversation with BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson, will tell the thrilling story of the agency with clips from the footage they and their colleagues recorded on the front line.

Frontline’s cameramen and women were the first to pick up small format, consumer, cameras. Their successes included securing the first western media interview with Bin Laden, the first film of the stinger missiles that altered the course of the 1980’s war in Afghanistan, key footage of the Romanian revolution, the only uncontrolled footage of the ground conflict in the first Gulf War and footage of the Kosovo conflict that led to British and NATO involvement. The dramatic story of the agency is told by David Loyn of the BBC in his book, recently published in paperback, Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.

This event is free to attend but please register in advance by clicking the "book" link above. The event has been made possible through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund with which the Frontline Club Charitable Trust is currently digitising and cataloguing 1,000 hours of FNTV footage. 

Participants will have the chance to be involved in the digitisation and cataloguing of the Frontline News Television Archive, participate in the organisation of summer events about Frontline News Television and help run and edit interviews with former members of the agency and the families of those who died in their work. The most committed volunteers will be given training in oral history taking and have a chance to conduct some interviews themselves.

With footage from the late 80s to the present day, Frontline’s video archive is a unique treasure trove of cutting-edge journalism from the front lines of Afghanistan, the Former Yugoslavia, the Gulf War and the Romanian revolution. The story of Frontline News Television is told in the BBC’s David Loyn’s book Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.

Here is short video cut from interview and archive footage that was made for an exhibition earlier in the year. Interviews were conducted by volunteers who had worked on the footage.

Volunteers are asked to commit two days a week to the project. Lunch is provided.

For more information visit:

http://www.beta.frontlineclub.com/blogs/theforum/2011/05/frontline-television-news-archive.html

Created in 1989 by a small group of young British men and women FNTV was a pioneering international news agency for freelance video journalists that was 20 years ahead of its time. The agency closed in 2003, by which time half of its camera-people had been killed while filming around the world. The dramatic story of the agency is told by David Loyn of the BBC in his book, recently published in paperback, Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.

Frontline’s cameramen and women were the first to pick up small format, consumer, cameras. Their successes included securing the first western media interview with Bin Laden, the first film of the stinger missiles that altered the course of the 1980’s war in Afghanistan, key footage of the Romanian revolution, the only uncontrolled footage of the ground conflict in the first Gulf War and footage of the Kosovo conflict that led to British and NATO involvement. 

It is free to attend but please register in advance by clicking the "book" link above. Complimentary drinks will be provided courtesy of Chivas Regal.

This exhibition has been made possilbe through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund with which the Frontline Club Charitable Trust is currently digitising and cataloguing 1,000 hours of FNTV footage. 

Created in 1989 by a small group of young British men and women FNTV was a pioneering international news agency for freelance video journalists that was 20 years ahead of its time. The agency closed in 2003, by which time half of its camera-people had been killed while filming around the world. The dramatic story of the agency is told by David Loyn of the BBC in his book, recently published in paperback, Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.

Frontline’s cameramen and women were the first to pick up small format, consumer, cameras. Their successes included securing the first western media interview with Bin Laden, the first film of the stinger missiles that altered the course of the 1980’s war in Afghanistan, key footage of the Romanian revolution, the only uncontrolled footage of the ground conflict in the first Gulf War and footage of the Kosovo conflict that led to British and NATO involvement. 

It is free to attend but please register in advance by clicking the "book" link above. Complimentary drinks will be provided courtesy of Chivas Regal.

This exhibition has been made possilbe through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund with which the Frontline Club Charitable Trust is currently digitising and cataloguing 1,000 hours of FNTV footage. 

Participants will have the chance to be involved in the digitization of the Frontline News Television Archive, participate in the organisation of an exhibition and help run and edit interviews with former members of the agency and the families of those who died in their work. The most committed volunteers will be given training in oral history taking and have a chance to conduct some interviews themselves.

With footage from the late 80s to the present day, Frontline’s video archive is a unique treasure trove of cutting-edge journalism from the front lines of Afghanistan, the Former Yugoslavia, the Gulf War and the Romanian revolution. The story of Frontline News Television is told in the BBC’s David Loyn’s book Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.

For more information visit:

Participants will have the chance to be involved in the digitization of the Frontline News Television Archive and record interviews with former members of the agency and the families of those who died in their work. Training in oral history taking will be provided.

With footage from the late 80s to the present day, Frontline’s video archive is a unique treasure trove of cutting-edge journalism from the front lines of Afghanistan, the Former Yugoslavia, the Gulf War and the Romanian revolution. The story of Frontline News Television is told in the BBC’s David Loyn’s book Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.

For more information visit:

www.frontlineclub.com

and:

http://www.beta.frontlineclub.com/blogs/theforum/2011/05/frontline-television-news-archive.html

Dates: Early July – Late August 2011

Deadline for applications: 10^th June 2011- earlier applications welcomed

Candidates must have at least a basic knowledge of the history of the late 20^th century, an interest in journalism and good communication and research skills.

To apply, email a CV and short covering letter to Flora Carmichael: flora.carmichael@www.beta.frontlineclub.com

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has recently granted the Frontline Club its support to digitise the Frontline Television News (FNTV) archive. Not only will the HLF funding help to preserve 1,000 hours of footage covering all the major wars from the late 80s onwards, but it will ensure the involvement of volunteers to compile oral histories with former members of the agency and their families.

In 1989 a small group of young British men and women created a pioneering international news agency for freelance video journalists that was 20 years ahead of its time. In 2003 the agency closed, half of its camera-people having been killed while filming around the world. The dramatic story of the agency is told by David Loyn of the BBC in his book, recently brought out in paperback, Frontline: Reporting from the World’s Deadliest Places.

Frontline’s cameramen were the first to pick up small format, consumer, cameras and aimed to use this technology to do to television journalism what the French photo-agency, Magnum did to photojournalism 50 years earlier. Frontline’s successes included getting the first interview with Bin Laden in the western media, the first film of the stinger missiles that altered the course of the 1980’s war in Afghanistan, the key footage of the Romanian revolution, the only uncontrolled footage of the ground conflict in the first Gulf War, key footage of the Kosovo conflict that led to British and NATO involvement…the list goes on.

John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor is recorded as saying "Frontline will be remembered as one of the high peaks of journalism. Martha Gellhorn certainly thought so, and she was a pretty good judge"

The footage, around 1,000 hours in total, covers the period from 1989-2003 and needs to be converted into digital format urgently to save it from degrading. The Imperial War Museum and the British Library have both expressed an interest in using the footage for research and exhibition purposes. The footage will be made available online in low-resolution format for the public to view, though FNTV will retain the rights to the footage.

An Oral History portion of the project will give volunteers the opportunity to interview the remaining Frontline journalists and those who knew them to compose a lasting record of the adventures and misadventures that the members of the Frontline Television News agency undertook in pursuit of some of the most vivid and truthful accounts of war. It will add to an existing set of recordings made by David Loyn for his book.

If you are interested in volunteering over summer to help research the material, assist in the digitisation and cataloguing process and take oral histories from former contributors to Frontline Television News then please send a CV to Flora Carmichael, the project coordinator: flora.carmichael@www.beta.frontlineclub.com Deadline for applications: 10th June- earlier applications welcomed.