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Archives for January 2009

What now, Mr President? - a US version

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Derren Lawford | 12:02 UK time, Wednesday, 28 January 2009

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We've received a few emails from people in America and Canada about a recent Panorama, What now, Mr President? They were all desperate to view it online.

Then the Huffington Post's John Tepper Marlin blogged about the programme and not being able to view it too .

The last time we had this kind of interest from an overseas audience was for Jane Corbin's one hour special - Daylight Robbery which looked into the $23billion that had been stolen, lost or just not properly accounted for in Iraq. You might have seen the BBC One trail for it on You Tube.

Given the significance of our recent film on President Barack Obama, namely the challenge he faces in providing affordable healthcare to all American citizens - we are making What now, Mr President? available online outside of the UK. At the moment this will only be for a month, but if we can, we'll try and keep it up for a year.

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Censorship, swearing and the 1960s

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Eamonn Walsh | 12:15 UK time, Tuesday, 27 January 2009

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US comedian and political satirist Lenny Bruce once said "life is a 4-letter word".

Between you and me he said funnier things in his time. Many of which really can't be posted here.

Bruce made his career in the 1960s trying to push the boundaries over what could and couldn't be said. He claimed he was trying to reduce the power of language to cause offence. Others claimed he was actually just offensive.

Which is quite apt in the week where Panorama looked at taste and decency on British broadcasting in the aftermath of the return of Jonathan Ross to the BBC.

Criticised in some quarters and celebrated - after a fashion - by others, his return has placed the issue of swearing in broadcasting centre stage again. With Ross the current poster boy.

Tv anti-hero Alf Garnett had similar problems in the 1960s. His creator - the "Til Death Us Do Part" screenwriter Johnny Speight - was interviewed by Panorama in 1968. Speight spoke of his dilemma of not being allowed to let Garnett speak as a real, working class east Londoner would have spoken - crudely and with lots of 4-letter words.

Speight was interviewed in a Panorama looking at the wide-ranging issue of censorship - in books, on the stage and of course on television. In typical-fashion the programme went to permissive Europe - in this case Copenhagen - to look at more liberal attitudes there.

However, rather than a direct contrast with the Danes, Panorama rather surprisingly found liberal attitudes in the UK too among the supposedly more conservative Brits. Watch an abridged version here:

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In a strange twist, the very fact that Panorama broadcast some footage - rather tame by today's standards - that some would seek to censor (an autopsy and a Danish love film to name a couple), led to the reporter David Dimbleby and a senior editor facing a panel the following week to defend their actions on the BBC's right-to-reply show "Talkback".

An abridged version of the debate - featuring a youthful future Cabinet minister David Blunkett - can be seen here:

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Panorama guest presenter Frank Skinner also had to defend his position when news broke that he was fronting the show. He called it "comedianist prejudice" recently - perhaps not entirely seriously. Richard Dimbleby was not concerned by the "dumbing-down" debate when he tried his hand at - rather relevant it turns out - comedy in 1965:

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Bad comedy aside, Panorama had clearly hit a nerve in 1968 as concerns over apparent broadcasting permissiveness grew. Forty years on the nerve still seems to be jangling.

Jailed for a knife: thanks for the response

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Derren Lawford | 18:02 UK time, Wednesday, 21 January 2009

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Panorama's Jailed for a Knife has attracted an overwhelming reaction from you, the viewers.

The programme went out on January 12 and since then over 3000 people have contacted us to request a copy of the film. Organisations from schools to youth groups, the prison service to outreach projects and many more have been in touch asking to use the footage to help address the issue with the young people they work with.

Thank you to all those who have contacted us. Our reporter Raphael Rowe set out to contribute to the national debate on youth violence and the response is testament to the strength of the material.

It is very rare to get access within the walls of a Young Offenders' Institute and the insight of the five young men Raphael interviewed makes powerful viewing.

All those he spoke to had been convicted of knife offences, including murder, and from their cells they spoke candidly about their motivations, remorse and ideas on how to tackle the problem.

Having distributed over 3000 DVD copies, we are unfortunately unable to provide any further copies on DVD. Instead we have decided to make the entire film available as a permanent special feature on our website.

There is also more information on our website including results from a poll Panorama commissioned about tackling knife crime:

Reporter Raphael Rowe has been blogging about the making of the programme.

And Panorama's Deputy Editor Tom Giles has also contributed to the debate on the Editor's Blog.

The Charles Wheeler legacy: from Westminster to Washington

Eamonn Walsh | 16:52 UK time, Wednesday, 21 January 2009

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Rather fitting in some ways that the memorial service for Charles Wheeler took place at Westminster Abbey yesterday as the eyes of the world were on events in Washington.

Wheeler was of course for many years the BBC's Washington correspondent and among the many stories he brought into our homes was the often painful progress of the US civil rights movement through the 1960s:

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A movement which reached a peak with the inauguration of President Obama.

Wheeler also played a large part in the early success of Panorama, working as both producer and reporter as the programme became a permanent fixture in UK television schedules in the mid-1950s.

His biggest coup during this time was his report from inside Hungary during the uprising of 1956 when neither BBC News or ITN were able to get their cameras across the border to record events. Wheeler and Panorama did. The man himself talks about it here:

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After Panorama, Wheeler enjoyed an illustrious career with many highlights. There's a tribute to Wheeler on Newsnight's website.

Such was his impact on the world of journalism that Mark Thompson, the BBC's director-general said on Wheeler's passing last July, that he was "simply a legend... he is utterly irreplaceable."

In fact, only this week, a Panorama viewer felt compelled to mention Wheeler when writing about our latest US film.

A small illustration of the legacy of a great man.

Obama, Nixon and a tough first year...

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Eamonn Walsh | 09:53 UK time, Monday, 19 January 2009

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There's nothing quite like the expectation and hope that comes with the inauguration of a new US president. President-elect Obama's train journey from Philadelphia to Washington is likely to increase that expectation with large crowds predicted to throng the route. Indeed, every hotel room in Washington itself has been booked for months. The city is gearing up for quite a party.

Obama will be well aware that the party may not last and that's something Democrats like Jennifer Granholm, Governor of Michigan are fully aware of too.

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Obama's election-winning mantra was one of "change" and he's continued that theme in recent speeches, not surprisingly putting his plans for the lurching US economy centre stage. Economic decisions will be key in his first year.

40 years ago another man assumed the mantle of US president in similar circumstances. Richard Nixon was inaugurated on 20 January 1969 and also inherited a country embittered by an unpopular overseas war, a country deeply divided economically and racially.

Not that I'm trying to make an ideological link between the two men. Different political persuasions and a vastly changed world make that a nonsense. Obama comes to office on a wave of genuine popular public support, something Nixon never really enjoyed. He was seen as a safe candidate advocating law and order, acceptable to both wings of his party and voted in by a country hungry for stability after a turbulent year.

Despite that, Panorama was of course as interested in Nixon then as it is in Obama, who's been the subject of three films in less than two years:

Is America Ready For A Black President? Well we know the answer to that now.

Obama and the Pitbull

And our latest programme, What Now, Mr President? which examines some of the key challenges Obama will face.

In fact Panorama's appraisal of Nixon's first year in office, broadcast on 26 January 1970 saw Robert MacNeil note that Nixon "faces more and graver problems than any president before him". The same sentiment could be applied to Obama today. There's an archive clip from that show on Nixon below:


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MacNeil's take on Nixon's relationship with the media is pretty fascinating too. What MacNeil calls "Nixon incorporated" we would probably call the start of modern "spin". The sequence also hints at the sinister manipulation by men "in dark suits with short haircuts" which would prove to be part of Nixon's inescapable legacy, Watergate.

But that scandal often clouds the fact that he proved popular enough to win a second term. Panorama caught up with Nixon again on the eve of his re-election in November 1972 and found Julian Pettifer posing the question of "how is it that Tricky Dicky, that two-time loser, finds himself in this apparently commanding position?". Pettifer's report from the Nixon-supporting town of Alliance, Ohio goes some way to explaining why - middle America was enjoying a steady hand in charge. There's an excerpt from that film below:


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Pettifer's report does however highlight concerns that would soon prove to be Nixon's downfall when he points out almost "daily accusations of impropriety" from his political opponents.

And next week while Obama adorns millions of TV screens, a portrayal of a certain Richard Milhous Nixon will be on the big screen across the UK.

Such has been the meteoric rise and historic significance of Barack Obama that it is only a matter of time before he's the subject of a Hollywood biopic, like the outgoing president, George W Bush who got the cinematic treatment last year.

Heathrow's Third Runway: the latest fight over flights

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Eamonn Walsh | 18:53 UK time, Thursday, 15 January 2009

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Over the years, the battle lines have been drawn many times over airport expansion. 2009 seems set to continue that trend, with news that the government is backing the building of a third runway at Heathrow airport.

Panorama reported on this very occurrence this last July in a programme called Friends in High Places. If you missed it you can still catch it online.

We also reflected on the roots of post-war airport planning online, revisiting Panorama's 1985 film Blot On The Runway - the themes are still eerily prescient - as you can see:

After Cubblington was dismissed as a possible site, an inquiry led by Graham Ayre QC put Stansted back in the frame.

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The decision whether Stansted should be developed into a major airport became a long battle between local residents and Whitehall.

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Finally, with an announcement due on the development of Stansted, a debate raged about whether a fifth terminal should be built at Heathrow.

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Learning lessons from knife crime

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Derren Lawford | 14:43 UK time, Wednesday, 14 January 2009

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This week's Panorama on young people jailed for knife crimes definitely had an immediate impact on the audience and we've since had over 2,300 requests for DVDs from schools, prisons and youth organisations.

The response was indicative of the views in our specially commissioned poll, in which 84% of those surveyed thought that young people would benefit from hearing the views of young offenders involved in knife crime. This increased to 90% for the 16-24 year olds that were polled.

Now as was alluded to in the Panorama programme, many of the offenders felt that it was only when they were already caught up in the criminal justice system that their behaviour was tackled. While making the film Raphael spoke to one of the many people who support young offenders in jail, Joan Gibbs who works as the Head of Risk and Offender Management at HMP Moorland. You can watch exclusive highlights from their conversation below

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One of the points she made was that it's vital that work is done with young people before it's too late. There are lots of projects across the UK that are trying to do that. We've made a short film about one called Lyrical Expression facilitated by the Prince's Trust. It was set up by twenty-two-year-old Hadel.

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Deputy Editor, Tom Giles has also been blogging about the editorial challenges his team faced in making this film on the Editor's blog.

Jailed for a knife: help at hand

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Derren Lawford | 12:19 UK time, Wednesday, 14 January 2009

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This week's Panorama , Jailed for a Knife, looked at young people convicted for using and in some cases killing with a knife. If you've been affected by the issues in this programme, check here to find what further resources are available.

Victim Support

Smart Justice

Support After Murder & Manslaughter

Direct Gov

Knife Crimes

Mothers Against Violence

Obama: a picture perfect President?

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Eamonn Walsh | 17:29 UK time, Thursday, 8 January 2009

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Seems like the Barack Obama legacy campaign has begun early with news today that the Smithsonian Institution museum has purchased an iconic portrait of the US President-elect.

Time magazine actually used the image on its recent front cover when naming him its prestigious 'Person of the Year' for 2008.

No surprise in Time's decision I suppose given the very obvious impact the man has made - in fact a real no-brainer.

That image acts as a lead into a Time gallery of just some of the 100,000 or so images of Obama that have been posted on the image sharing website Flickr. Team Obama's skilful use of the web - and Facebook in particular - was also something the Panorama web team looked at last year.

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As for the Panorama programme, two films have been made on the man himself - Obama and the Pitbull as the race for the Presidency reached its climax and Is America Ready For A Black President? which looked at the problems Obama would have to overcome to even receive the Democratic Party's nomination, let alone win the Presidency. Overcome of course, he did.

With President-elect Obama's inauguration less than two weeks away, we're about to return to him again and what he might be able to deliver in the testing times ahead.

Cut up about statistics

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Verity Murphy | 17:32 UK time, Wednesday, 7 January 2009

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The New Year notion of putting the past behind you and moving on doesn't seem to apply to the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) which has reignited a pre-Christmas row about knife crime figures.

You may recall that in December the Home Office released figures claiming that there had been a drop in knife crime - a claim which was quickly savaged by UKSA chairman Sir Michael Scholar.

Sir Michael complained that the figures had been released prematurely and were incomplete. He said that officials had asked the government not to release "unchecked" and "selective" figures and that doing so eroded public trust.

It was anxiety over a lack of trust in government statistics which led to the creation of the UKSA - an independent watchdog whose job it is to ensure that official figures aren't used for political spin.

Days later Home Secretary Jacqui Smith apologised for the incident, telling MPs the government had been "too quick off the mark" in releasing the figures, which suggested a sharp fall in the number of teenagers caught carrying knives and a 27% drop in hospital admissions with stab wounds.

Then at the end of 2008, knife statistics made the front pages of The Sun with the headline "Knife kills 6 a week".

Fast forward to 2009 and far from the row dying away, we find that it's actually more a case of "ding, ding, round two". The UKSA came out slugging this week by broadening its criticism of the Home Office press release and saying that it had flouted official guidelines.

The BBC's Home Affairs Editor Mark Easton says that the UKSA concluded that far from playing fast and loose with the regulations, the Home Office and Number Ten "drove a coach and horses through them". Marks also blogs that the numbers "were being mangled and manipulated to make the case that the government's knife crime campaign was having a rapid impact".

Next Monday, Panorama will be adding its weight to debate on knife crime. As a result of rare prison access provided by the Ministry of Justice and HM Prison Service, our reporter Raphael Rowe has been able to conduct a series of interviews with youngsters now locked up for killing and wounding with knives. You'll also be able to see the full results of our survey on the public's latest attitudes to knife crime online then too.

What's the new Panorama website about?

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Derren Lawford | 11:38 UK time, Tuesday, 6 January 2009

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So much work goes into a 30 minute Panorama or a one hour special and the website struck me as the perfect platform to showcase the best of our journalism online.

If you're interested in finding out exactly what's different about the website and why we made the changes, you can read my blog post on The Editors Blog.

And if you've got any comments on the new website you can email panorama@bbc.co.uk with "website" as the subject - or leave a comment below.

Kids Behaving Badly: Help is at hand

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Verity Murphy | 11:18 UK time, Tuesday, 6 January 2009

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It will come as no surprise that bullying goes on in schools, but as Panorama reported this week, increasingly there is a new type of harassment taking place - sexual bullying.

Like any kind of bullying it can ruin victims' lives and the key to making it stop is for anyone who experiences it, or who knows it is taking place, to speak out.

But the sexual dimension of this kind of bullying means that it can be even harder to talk about.

If you are a student who is a victim of sexual bullying, or knows someone who is, there is a lot of help and advice available to you online. The same can be said for any adult who is worried that a child they know is being sexually bullied.

Here are some of the best places to seek help:

ChildLine is the free confidential helpline for children and young people in the UK. You can talk to ChildLine about anything - no problem is too big or too small. Their number is 0800 111.

Kidscape is the first charity in the UK established specifically to prevent bullying and child sexual abuse. It also offers a parents' anti-bullying helpline on 08451 205 204.

The NSPCC provides a host of advice and information for children, young people and families. Anyone concerned about the welfare of a child can call 0808 800 5000.

BullyBusters is an Anti Bullying helpline that was launched at the beginning of September 2008 to provide support for victims of bullying and their families. You can call the free helpline on 0800 169 6928.

Stop it Now! UK & Ireland aims to stop child sexual abuse by encouraging abusers and potential abusers to seek help, and by giving adults the information they need to protect children effectively.

Parentline Plus exists to help all parents - mums, dads, grandparents, stepparents, other friends and relatives - anyone who is bringing up children. They provide support and information on anything that is troubling you, including advice on what to do if your child is being bullied. You can talk things through by calling them 24 hours on 0808 800 2222.

Young Minds is a national charity committed to improving the mental health of all children and young people under 25. They offer various leaflets for parents and young people about sexual abuse on their website. You can also telephone the Young Minds Parents Information Service on 0800 018 2138.

The following also offer online advice and support:

Bullying UK
The Anti-Bullying Network (Scotland)
Beat Bullying
Anti-Bullying Alliance
StopTextBully.com

Panorama 2008: Review of the year

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Derren Lawford | 21:23 UK time, Friday, 2 January 2009

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Seeing as Panorama is on almost every week of the year, you'd be forgiven for having missed the odd episode. But don't worry, if there's still a programme from 2008 that you'd really like to watch, you can do so online.

And if you're wondering what kind of year 2008 was for Panorama, here are some of the highlights...

We started the year with One Click From Capture, a look at how safe it is for young people to be online. As part of the investigation one of our researchers posed as a 14-year-old girl on three social networking sites using the alias Jane Brown. Within three weeks she was being sent unsolicited, highly sexual pictures.

One person in particular using the nickname Swimcoach was so disturbing that Panorama alerted the authorities. His real name was Roger Kenneth Manning a 43-year-old man from a village in Devon. He's now been jailed after pleading guilty to three charges under the Sexual Offences Act. The programme also featured two teenagers Olivia and Ellie who were befriended online by a 55-year-old predatory paedophile, posing as a 26-year-old woman. They now give talks in schools advising young people how to safe online.

The Government waded into the debate about online safety for young people too, appointing Dr Tanya Byron to undertake a six-month review into the risks children face from exposure to harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and in video games. One of her key recommendations published in March was the establishment of UK Council on Child Internet Safety. By September it was set up.

Later in the year, the Government themselves were severely criticised in Panorama: Tested to Destruction. Barry Sheerman, the chair of the House of Commons Select Committee on Schools, Children and Families slated Standard Assessment Tests (SATs). Schoolchildren expressed their own feelings on SATs and testing for the programme with this poignant cartoon. Less than 6 months later, SATs were scrapped for 14 year olds.

There were a number of outstanding investigations in 2008, but in my opinion the most revelatory films of the year were about the Omagh bombing, Primark, China's relationship with Darfur and Baby P.

In May, after a 6 month undercover investigation, reporters Tom Heap and Dan McDougall exposed UK clothing firm Primark after it emerged that three of their Indian suppliers were using child labour to finish Primark goods. Primark have since sacked them, but despite continuing profits Primark have undoubtedly lost some of their ethical lustre with shoppers voting them Britain's least ethical clothing retailer in a recent survey for The Times. And months after the programme, Primark is still dividing opinion. You can follow one of the many debates about Primark on You Tube.

Hilary Andersson spent months investigating China's covert arms trade and in July provided the first evidence of how China is arming Sudan's killers, for the sake of oil. The day after the programme was aired, Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir was accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo.

August 15th 2008 saw the 10th anniversary of the Real IRA car bomb which killed 29 people in Omagh. In 2000, John Ware's award-winning film Who Bombed Omagh? named the four perpetrators.

The following year, a car bomb planted by the Real IRA exploded outside BBC Television Centre.

Undeterred, John returned to the case and unearthed new evidence that GCHQ had recorded mobile phone exchanges between the Omagh bombers on the day of the attack. Within days Gordon Brown announced a review of the intelligence material.

Then in November, after months of investigative work, Panorama proved that a senior social worker and police did not want Baby P returned home where he suffered severe abuse and died. Ed Balls reacted swiftly to the furore surrounding Haringey Council's handling of Baby P, sacking Sharon Shoesmith the head of children's services at Haringey and suspending among others, the head of children in need and safeguarding services, Clive Preece, first named by Panorama.

Never scared to try something different, Panorama enlisted unconventional reporters to explore age old problems. Alex James a member of Blur and a reformed cocaine user flew to Columbia to witness firsthand the impact of the drug trade. While Bill Bryson a passionate campaigner for the countryside and against litter, challenged the British attitude towards "rubbish".

The Good, the bad and the ugly side of war were all covered by Panorama this year too. Back on the Home Front saw Ben Anderson catch up with the Grenadier Guards after their posting in Helmand Province, including the likes of Jack Mizon, a young soldier who received a special commendation for bravery. Jack then became the subject of a one hour special about his life in and out of the army.

But Panorama received fierce criticism from the MOD for On Whose Orders? which explored allegations of abuse by the British Army against former Iraqi prisoners who are now claiming compensation. It also revisited the allegations of prisoner abuse surrounding the death of hotel worker Baha Mousa.

Just over a month after the programme, the Government apologised to the family of Baha Mousa.

Meanwhile Alastair Leithead reflected on three bloody years of fighting in Afghanistan and explored whether the Taleban are any closer to being defeated. Panorama went back to Afghanistan later in the year for Jane Corbin's Britain's Terror Heartland. Jane came face to face with two would-be suicide bombers and spoke to generals in the US and Pakistan on the frontline of the War on Terror. In neighbouring Iraq, Jane investigated claims that as much as $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or not properly accounted for in Iraq.

But it was Africa that was the main focus of Panorama's foreign films.

Sorious Samura visited his homeland of Sierra Leone and Uganda to find out why so may people are still living in poverty despite £400bn of aid. Raphael Rowe spent his fortieth birthday in a Congolese jail interviewing rebel soldiers, accused of killing men women and children. And Paul Kenyon followed one of the most dangerous illegal immigration routes into Europe from Libya and caught up with a few of the thousands of migrants seeking a better life

Back in the UK, there was one story that was increasingly dominating the headlines; the economy and its worryingly rapid downturn. Richard Bilton delved into Britain's growing property nightmares in Bursting the House Price Bubble and Property - High Anxiety. Declan Curry assessed the first signs of Britain's troubled economy in Feeling the Pinch. Jane Corbin looked at the knock on effect of rocketing crude oil prices from Surrey to the Shetlands, and we heard how people from across the UK were personally affected.

Then more than 8,000 of you took part in our questionnaire to show how the economic downturn was affecting you in How The Economy Got Personal. While the experiences of people on the wrong end of tough tactics lenders are increasingly using to get their money back and the lengths others are going to avoid paying was the focus of Can't Pay, Won't Pay.
And following a dramatic week of economic turmoil in September, we asked and tried to answer the question on a lot of people's minds - How Safe Is My Money?

But the story didn't end there. The Government's unprecedented £400 bn rescue package of Britain's banks prompted a one-hour special - Britain in the Red: Your Questions Answered. The likes of Robert Peston, Alan Sugar and Stephen Timms from the Treasury were on hand to try to help make sense of what were becoming historic economic events.

Robert revisited the economy for the last Panorama of the year, reflecting on the big economic stories of 2008 and securing interviews with Sir John Gieve, Hector Sants, Alistair Darling and John Varley.

So what was the most watched Panorama of the year?

Well closely followed by Primark: on the Rack and Notes on a Dirty Island was Shannon: The Mother of All Lies which saw the programme secure exclusive access to the investigation, including the police interviews of Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan as well as revealing that social services had branded her an unfit mum but scaled down support.

And that was the year that was...

Talking About A Revolution

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Eamonn Walsh | 20:00 UK time, Friday, 2 January 2009

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This week sees the 50th anniversary of Fidel Castro's rebel forces entering the Cuban capital of Havana and taking control of the country. A month later, in February 1959, Castro became prime minister and the revolution was complete. Castro continued to rule Cuba until his retirement last year on health grounds.

Barely 90 miles off the coast of the United States, Cuba has long held a fascination with the world's media as has Castro and Che Guevara whose early days with the Cuban leader are the subject of a new feature film.

Over the years Panorama has made a series of programmes on Cuba. One memorable film broadcast a statement by Castro detailing his intentions within a few days of his successful revolution in January 1959, claiming to be neither ''a Communist or Marxist, but representing democracy and social justice''. Indeed Castro himself in a 1961 interview with Panorama's Robin Day defines himself as a socialist.

But it was the island's stormy relationship with the United States in the early 1960s which made it synonymous with the Cold War and perhaps most came to define the Castro legend: the foiled Bay of Pigs invasion attempt, the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962 and the many supposed CIA-sponsored attempts on Castro's life (638 if a 2006 documentary is to be believed ). Some of the fascinating films Panorama made in this period can be viewed here.

As the year's progressed the Cold War became consigned to history and the United States' concerns about the threat from what it regarded as a 'communist' neighbour diminished, Cuba became less of a thorn in America's side. However, the relationship between the two has never formally been resolved. With a new President arriving at the White House later this month, some feel this might be the time for change.

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