19th May 2011
Our FITCH Phoenix studio was delighted to co-host a reception with the local NPR station KJZZ last week to honuor visiting journalists from the BBC.
Our FITCH Phoenix studio was delighted to co-host a reception with the local NPR station KJZZ last week to honuor visiting journalists from the BBC. James Coomarasamy, presenter of the BBC News hour, along with several associates from the BBC, traveled to Arizona in May to do a live broadcast from the KJZZ studios. Hank Marshall, the Honorary British Consul to Arizona, presented the opportunity to FITCH to co-host the event because he knew KJZZ wanted to treat their guests to a casual yet unique environment that would make them feel at home. Indeed, the reaction to the ‘No. 23’ double-decker big red bus in the FITCH Phoenix lobby was surprise and amazement.
During the event, KJZZ presented a short program highlighting January’s tragic shooting in Tucson which resulted in multiple deaths and the serious injury of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Direct collaboration between the BBC and KJZZ at the time of the event resulted in rapid worldwide awareness of the incident. The BBC shared their general appreciation of the NPR network of stations as a lively conduit for their programming.
Lois Jacobs, FITCH CEO commented, “FITCH recently had the chance to work with the BBC on branding their new UK offices, so it was a special honour for us to have the opportunity to co-host this event in our Phoenix studio. The popularity of BBC programming in Arizona is further evidence of the shrinking of the globe and the growth of the global neighbourhood.”
The event was well attended by local dignitaries and KJZZ donors, in addition to KJZZ and BBC staff. BBC Staff in attendance included James Coomarasamy, News Hour presenter; Andrew Whitehead, BBC World Service, Head of Rio News Operations; and Heather McClain, BBC World Service, Head of the Americas.