December 2009

A look back at 2009

I put together a slide show of the screengrabs from 2009 for a bit of a look back at the year.

2009 was a year of changes for Michael. He moved his residence from Baghdad to Brooklyn, and moved his CNN affiliation from International to Domestic. He returned to Afghanistan for the first time since heading to Iraq for the 2003 invasion, and added coverage of the drug war in Mexico to his CV. For the first time in almost a decade he spent more time out of a warzone than in one, as he wrestled with the personal toll his profession has taken... and with trying to crystallize what he witnessed during six years of living in Baghdad into book form.

I have no doubt that in 2010 we will see him doing more stellar reporting and analysis of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the much different war in Mexico. And whatever new ventures he may take on, we look forward to watching him.

Length: 9:26

LARGE (200.9 MB) ----- MEDIUM (83.7 MB)

(Because a "small" version is nearly unwatchable, I did a "medium" one instead
although the size may still be prohibitive. But this is just for fun, nothing new to watch.)

down under / ON TOP

When Michael did the talk at CrocMedia back in July, he also did a long interview with the co-sponsor, Advance, and they have now released it as part of their "down under / ON TOP" series of interviews with various prominent Australians working around the world.

Length: 9:03

LARGE (83.1 MB) ----- SMALL (9.4 MB)

You can also watch the original version on YouTube and leave comments.

Afghanistan promos

There is a new 15-second promo for CNN's coverage of the Afghanistan war... well, actually, there are two. The first version started running a day or two after the President's speech last Tuesday; then it was altered later in the week. The change added Michael an additional time, so we have no complaints!

Afghan Promo #1
Afghan Promo #2

LA Times column

ON THE MEDIA
Reporter crashes into the ranks of pundits
James Rainey
December 4, 2009


All this talk about the couple who broke into the White House state dinner has been kind of interesting. But, for my money, the most fascinating gate-crasher this week on the Washington scene had to be Michael Ware.


Read More...