Auckland has been the host city for this year's APEC conference. APEC - the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. It is the largest international meeting that has ever been staged in New Zealand. APEC covers half the world's population, and half the world's wealth, and three of the most powerful (arguably the most powerful) leaders in the world - The US, China and Russia - have been among those present. The conference - normally largely concerned with the rather dry subject of economic cooperation around the Pacific rim, and the furthering of trade links - has been hijacked by the crisis in East Timor.
As a journalist, it's been fascinating to cover a meeting that was, for a few days, centre stage for the world. This week's Suite101 reflects on what happened.
Background
APEC has stretched New Zealand's resources. One third of the entire country's police force has been on duty in Auckland to protect world leaders like Bill Clinton, Jiang Zemin and John Howard. A country with an entire population smaller than, say, Manchester, has had to get it right first time.
The world's focus moved to New Zealand last week, when a group of the world's Foreign Ministers (including America's Madeleine Albright, Britain's Robin Cooke, and Australia's Alexander Downer) met to discuss the devastation of East Timor. About the same time, Indonesia (another APEC member) announced that President B J Habibie and Foreign Minister Ali Alatas would NOT be coming, so they could cope with the crisis at home.
The conference - for which planning began months ago - suddenly had to cope with unexpectedly high interest levels from the world's media. Suddenly every street corner had a CNN reporter on it. (Or at least, it seemed that way).
Media madness
I guess the organisers always thought it would be busy - but they hadn't guessed the half of it. The APEC Media centre covered five levels of Auckland's modern Aotea Theatre complex. Where normally you would have found patrons of the performing arts quaffing a glass or two of New Zealand Chardonnay, the world's broadcast hacks were now locked in small booths, frantically editing and turning round news packages for their employers.
Host Broadcaster TV New Zealand was responsible for providing technical facilities for all broadcasters, as well as feeding live and videotaped key events and press conference from the APEC conference.
The set-up worked very well. Journalists and broadcasters had, in one building, access to everything from the Internet to photocopiers to broadcast satellite uplinks... studio facilities.. and of course, food and drink. One large area of the 2nd level of the complex was given over the master control room for the Host Broadcaster, co-ordinating the recording and playing-out of the myriad different events. (My own organisation, IRN, was sandwiched in a booth between Singapore TV and the Voice of America... all three of us backing on to Japan's NHK. Round the corner, the BBC, Russian State TV and CBC. )
 |
 |
 |
 |
Go To Page: 1 2
