Discovery Times University Campus Screenings

What is the program?

Discovery Times Channel, in collaboration with The New York Times, was providing films at no charge to college campuses that focus on the most critical issues of the day. Most films are 47 minutes each. Unfortunately, the program is not currently operational.

When it was working....

· Films are available to screen as a series, part of a class lecture, as a campus wide screening or as a web cast.

· On some campuses after-screening conversations with the directors, producers or New York Times correspondents involved in the film may be available.

· Discovery Times Channel will provide films on preferred format, postcard invitations to the screening, posters to hang on campus and email invites to send campus-wide.

What has WKU done with the program?

We have shown films on DVD for open student attendance. See those with an * below. The New York Times has provided refreshments at these showings.

(Note to graduate students pursuing the Basic Teaching Skills Program through FaCET. These films do not apply toward the 6 required workshops on teaching).

How do I order films?

Unfortunately, the program is not currently operational. When it is you may order the ones you want for your class by contacting FaCET but be aware it may take 4-6 weeks to process the request.

Please provide

1. the name of the film,
2. the date, time, and place you want to show the film,
3. a description of the class and number in it,
4. and your contact information.

If it is an organization showing the film provide

1. the name of the film,
2. the date, time, and place you want to show the film,
3. a description of the organization and number you expect to attend,
4. and your contact information.

What are the available films?

[NOTE Currently only those with an * are available. We hope the others will be available soon. Keep asking.]

LIBERIA. Journey to the heart of Liberia's civil war and meet the rebels, the leader of the regime they're trying to overthrow, and the people trying to cope. Featuring an interview with Charles Taylor, the now exiled president.

*MLK BOULEVARD (2003) Traveling Martin Luther King Boulevards across the country, as a microcosm on the African American experience today. There are more than 500 of them in the United States. But the communities are both united and divided by these streets. MLK Boulevard travels on these roads and talks to people whose compelling stories illuminate the meaning of these thoroughfares in their communities.

THE BATTLE FOR SOULS (2003) This compelling special looks at a largely unreported phenomenon: the explosive growth of conservative Christianity that has been sweeping across the developing world, and the concurrent rise in violent religious clashes. The central focus of this film is Nigeria, West Africa, home to Africa’s most active evangelical Christian movement, but also to its worst incidents of clashes between highly conservative factions of Christians in the south and Muslims in the north.

*OFF TO WAR. A 10 part series on the war in Iraq. Please note that this series requires more advance planning than the others as it must be special ordered.

SURVIVING HUNGER (2003) 20 years after “We are the World” first brought attention and aid to East Africa, award-winning filmmaker Sorious Samura takes a very personal look at how widespread famine has become a worsening crisis in Ethiopia.

RAVENS. They were called the Ravens--the CIA's secret warriors in one of the most controversial and dangerous combat missions of the Vietnam War. Now, for the first time, four of them return to Laos, looking for answers and hoping to bring closure to a mission they could never finish.

*REPORTERS AT WAR. A four-part series giving you firsthand accounts from the war correspondents on the front lines. From Normandy to Iraq, hear reporters who have covered the most historic conflicts of our time. Here are the 4 parts:

1. WITNESS TO HISTORY*
Witness to History looks at how wars have been reported by journalists throughout recent history. The show examines how the quest for truth and patriotism has intersected, and sometimes collided, giving new insight into the coverage of wars, including the recent one in Iraq.

2. DYING TO TELL A STORY*
While many war correspondents thrive on the thrill of battle, others are not so lucky. They are in a profession that suffers many casualties, both mental and physical. In the recent war with Iraq, at least 15 journalists have died. REPORTERS AT WAR: Dying to Tell a Story illustrates how business and journalistic decisions intersect, often endangering the lives of the reporters who are on the front lines.

3. BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME*
Video-satellite phones and night-vision cameras are as much a part of modern war reporting as the flak jacket. Now reporters can file from almost anywhere and news organizations can keep up with an audience that demands 24/7 information. From the Internet to communications technology, the new tools of war journalism are examined in REPORTERS AT WAR: Bringing it All Back Home.

4. WARS, LIES AND VIDEOTAPES*
Focusing on the war in Iraq, REPORTERS AT WAR: Wars, Lies and Videotapes looks at the attempts by both the Coalition and the Iraqis to control the media. It also examines the inherently confrontational relationship between the media and the military and how with each conflict, the two sides have tried to outfox and outflank each other.

*REINVENTING THE TALIBAN Sharmeen Obaid travels through Pakistan to track the surprising political rise of radical Islamic ideology and leaders who seem to be following in the footsteps on the Taliban.

*9 DAYS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE The first in a series of documentaries about the 2004 race for the White House. 9 Days in New Hampshire takes you behind the scenes of the critical first-in-the-nation primary to reveal the powerful political forces and human dramas unleashed when the candidates, their handlers and the press descend on New Hampshire.

STAFFERS A series that tracks young campaign workers who turn their lives inside out for a chance to experience the thrills, the anxiety and the exhaustion of working for a presidential candidate.

*STOLEN TREASURES The shadowy world of illicit antique trafficking, following the trail of an anxient Egyptian headstone.

TERROR'S CHILDREN In recent years hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees have crossed the border into Pakistan, most of them children. Their lives are filled with violence, hate, and terror. Sharmeen Obaid, a young Pakistani woman educated in the U.S., recently returned to Karachi to document the lives of these children. The one-hour special presents poignant stories of the aftermath of war and raises questions about whether the harsh conditions in Pakistan may be a breeding ground for a new generation of terrorists.