Wed, 31 Jan 2007
Earlier today, I was interviewed for
The Files, a Greek
television programme. I got contacted out of the blue last week.
"The Files" is among the most highly
esteemed
news programs in Greece and has received for the past three
consecutive years the award of the "Best Newsprogram in Greek
Television." "The Files" presents a different outlook on all major
national and international news stories with
its in-depth investigative reporting and high level of
journalistic integrity and it is aired by one of Greece's
major satellite networks, MEGA TV.
"The Files" have had the privilege of broadcasting interviews of U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U.S. Presidents George Bush Sr.
and Bill Clinton, former U.S. Secretaries of State Colin
Powell and Madeleine Albright, the late Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat, current Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and chairman of
Microsoft Bill Gates.
Will the next version of this list include my name :-)
Recently there has been a big debate in Greece around the issue of
surveillance cameras and if they should be used for
protection purposes. During the Olympic Games of 2004
many surveillance cameras had been placed in different areas
of Athens that after the Olympics were not used anymore. Now
the current government wants to bring them back in use. We
want to do a story about the public cameras in Great Britain,
how efffective they are in reducing terrorism and crime in
general, and what are the ethical constrains.
The
use
of surveillance
camera footage by the Greek Police, especially after the
attack on the
US embassy is currently a controversial topic in Greece. Hence this
trip to London, the surveillance capital of the world, which included
visiting the Trocadero CCTV control room, Scotland Yard and
interviewing Henry Porter. Sophia Papaioannou, the
reporter asked me to describe the
arrest, its long lasting effects and
then whether I consider CCTV useful.
If you have access to Mega TV, the show will be aired on Tuesday
2007-02-06.