Dafna Lemish
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Featuring narration by actor Alec Baldwin, an award-winning documentary that pays tribute to thousands of World War II veterans will be featured on a Chicago television station next week.
“The Tragedy of Bataan,” a 30-minute documentary written and produced by Jan Thompson, will air on WTTW Channel 11, at 5:30 p.m., Sunday, April 8. The documentary will air once again on the station at 4:30 a.m., April 10. Thompson is an associate professor in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Department of Radio-Television.
The first-person documentary features accounts of more than 20 Bataan Death March survivors, archival photos, and never-before-seen Japanese propaganda film footage. Between 5,000 and 15,000 of the more than 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners did not survive the 65-mile forced march following the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese in the spring of 1942.
A three-time Emmy-award winning documentary producer and writer, Thompson began working on the project 20 years ago; her father was a POW who surrendered on Corregidor, but was not in the Bataan Death March.
The documentary began airing on Public Broadcasting Service stations throughout the country on Veterans Day 2011. Approximately 125 stations have aired the film. The documentary is also one inspiration behind legislation re-introduced late last year by Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, to grant the Congressional Gold Medal to troops who defended Bataan during World War II. The documentary is part of a one-hour program that will air this month on New Mexico Public Broadcasting Service stations that will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the fall of Bataan.
A website, www.tragedyofbataan.com/ includes profiles of the men and women who shared their stories, information on the Bataan Death March, the fall of Corregidor, and additional resources.
The documentary includes first-hand accounts of Bataan veterans, including excerpts from the unpublished diary and interviews with 101-year-old Albert Brown of Pinckneyville. Brown was an Army captain at the time of the surrender, and the oldest living survivor of Bataan until his death in August at 105.
Thompson earlier this year earned several awards in the Broadcast Education Association’s (BEA) Festival of Media Arts competition for “The Tragedy of Bataan.” A five-piece companion radio series earned “Best of Festival” honors in the Faculty Audio competition; the documentary earned an “Award of Excellence” in the “Short Form” category; and received “Best of Competition” in the Interactive Media “Documentary/Promotional/Informational” category. She also earned an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-America Regional Chapter for her work on an earlier version of the documentary that aired in spring 2010.
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The hard work and dedication of Southern Illinois University Carbondale students involved with “alt.news 26:46” continue to earn professional recognition.
The student-produced television program earned two nominations for regional Emmys earlier this week from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-America Regional Chapter Emmy Awards. The award-winning half-hour alternative TV news magazine earned nominations in the magazine program and specialty program categories.
Alt.news has earned an Emmy in the competition’s magazine news show category the past four straight years, and five out of the last six years.
In addition to the student recognition, Jan Thompson, an associate professor in radio-television and documentary unit director, earned three nominations for her half-hour documentary “The Tragedy of Bataan,” which aired in spring 2010 on WSIU-TV. Thompson is also the alt.news 26:46 faculty adviser.
Thompson earned nominations in the documentary/historical; musical composition/arrangements; and writer: program/program feature (non-news) categories. The documentary features first-hand accounts from 15 Bataan Death March survivors. Between 5,000 and 15,000 of the more than 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners did not survive the 65-mile forced march in the spring of 1942.
The 35th annual awards ceremony is Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Renaissance Grand St. Louis. Actress Nikki Boyer, who also earned a regional Emmy and is a graduate of Webster University in St. Louis, will host the awards.
The chapter is comprised of television markets primarily in Southern Illinois, central Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri, and surrounding designated market areas, or DMAs, according to event organizers.
Alt.news’ tradition continues with the nominations for professional Emmys, said Gary P. Kolb, dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts.
“We couldn't be more proud of these students who research, create, and produce this award- winning program year after year,” he said. “Literally hundreds of students have been involved with alt.news since its inception and it is a great example of the hands-on opportunities that our students have in the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts. These folks go on to be the media industries leaders of the future.”
The continuing success is a source of pride, said Dafna Lemish, chair of the Department of Radio-Television.
“They are a dedicated, hard-working and creative group of students who are just committed to producing exciting and meaningful media content,” Lemish said. “It only goes to show how the hands-on opportunities provided to our students, combined with talents and hard work, give them a huge advantage in the professional world even before they make their first step in the market searching for jobs.”
The student nominations are for outstanding achievement by individuals and programs broadcast between April 1, 2010, and March 31, 2011.
“It’s always exciting to see the students recognized for their hard work and their talent. It’s even more exciting when it’s in the professional world,” Thomson said.
Dylan Damian and Kelly E. Reed were the program’s executive producers for the two shows nominated. Damian, who is from Carbondale, is a senior with a double major in television production and cinema, and will graduate in May 2012. Reed, who is from Grayslake, graduated in May with a degree in cinema.
The alt.news 26:46 magazine program nominee is for episode 1203, which aired Jan. 30. The episode includes a look at the Hotel Louisville Downtown, which is not only a full-service hotel, but also serves as a transitional living facility for women and families, charging only a penny a night; the Museum of Bad Art in Boston, the history of pinball machines, and Eoto, an “electronic dubstep band.” The episode captured the national student College Television Award for the best collegiate television magazine news show in the nation at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation’s 32nd annual College Television Awards in April. Segment producers for the show were Susan Shirclifff, Kevin Ryan, Jenna Tromburg, and Kathryn Voves.
Shircliff is a senior in cinema from Prospect, Ky.; Ryan is a senior in cinema from Springfield; Tromburg is a senior in cinema from Centennial, Colo., and Voves is a sophomore in cinema from Glen Ellyn.
The specialty program nominee is for episode 1205, which aired March 27, and took a look at the music scene with “Less Than Jake,” “Here Come the Mummies,” “The Punch Brothers,” and “Dickwolf.” Segment producers for the program were Shircliff and Ryan.
According to current alt.news records, the show won five national College Television Award in the last 12 years -- 2000, 2001, 2008, 2009, and 2011, to go with two second-place finishes and one third-place finish. In addition, since 2001, the program has earned 29 regional Emmys -- 27 from NATAS’ Mid-America chapter in St. Louis, and two from the Chicago Midwest Chapter.
The program begins its 13th season Oct. 9 with the season premiere set for 10 p.m. on WSIU-TV Channel 8. More information is available at http://an2646.com/. Damian, Beth Radtke, a junior in television production from Tinley Park, and Kyle Loughrin, a senior in television production from Loves Park, are the executive producers.
Thompson’s work, meanwhile, sets a tone as an example for the students, Lemish said.
“She herself is an active documentarian who is putting out high-quality work on topics of social significance that attracts national attention well beyond our region,” Lemish said. “Her recent work ‘The Tragedy at Bataan’, being nominated for three different awards brings her -- as well as the department of Radio-TV as a whole -- great prestige and pride. With so many award-winning and dedicated faculty and students, this is a great place to be in for your professional education these days.”
During the project, Thompson interviewed more than 65 veterans over a 17-year period.
“It’s nice to be recognized in the best historical documentary category, but it’s even more special when you are recognized for writing the music and writing the script,” Thompson said.
“Professor Thompson's new project on the Bataan Death March will be recognized as the definitive media piece on this tragic chapter in history,” Kolb said. “We are very proud of her determination to bring recognition to the heroic efforts of the American and Filipino soldiers who lost their lives and those who struggled through this tragedy. She continues to be a mainstay of our documentary production tradition at SIUC.”
An updated version of the half-hour documentary will air nationally on PBS stations this fall with actor Alec Baldwin doing the narration. WSIU-TV will broadcast the documentary at 8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 11.
Master of Arts
Master of Science
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My name is Zubedah Nanfuka, I am from Uganda and I am an M.S. student in Professional Media and Media Management with a concentration in video documentary production.
I would say that my passion would be to use video documentary to basically inspire anyone in their rights, be it political activists or humanitarian agencies to basically foster social change in whichever way that they can.
Yes, I do have a final project and it's actually a video documentary I filmed in Uganada. Northern Uganda to be exact, and it basically focuses on former GOU soldiers who were kidnapped by a rebel group and how they are now back in the community and their integration process and what the community is doing to help them.
I'll have to say that the best class I have taken is the "Media Management" class and that is a core class in the M.S. program. I liked it specifically because it simulated a media environment and we worked in a team, which is a very real concept in the media world. We had to create projects from scratch and pitch them to possible funders, so I liked that about it. It really stimulated me intellectually and I learned more from it.
I took part in a special project, which doubles both as a class requirement where we had to create a video documentary as a group of 9 students about lead poisoning in Herculaneum, Missouri. It aired on WSIU, and i liked that we actually got to talk to the people who live in the mining town and find out what their concerns were about living in an area that is constantly polluted by lead.
The other opportunity that I got to volunteer with was the River Region Evening Edition here at SIUC. It's a student-run newscast. We had a summer camp in 2009, and we had a group of 15 high school students and they got to try out different camera work options including producing and filming their own news that was actually aired on WSIU.
I learned a lot in my program. I have no regrets in the choice I've made in terms of a school and also the kind of program that I'm doing right now because of the things that I'm taking away but also how applicable that the knowledge that I've learned is going to be in my future career.
Yes, I do have a graduate assistantship in the Director of Graduate Studies' office. This office basically helps in advisement of graduate students here in the college of Mass Communication and Media Arts. It's not just an administrative job or assistantship. It also exposes me in terms of being experience in working in a multi-cultural environment which are the students who come from all over the world.
My name is Lauren Selmon Roberts. Originally I am from Norman, Oklahoma and I am an M.F.A. candidate in Media Arts.
My background is in broadcast news. Now in the Master of Fine Arts program I really love combining the news world with the world of fine art.
My thesis project is a full-length documentary that was shot in Liberia, West Africa. It tells the story of one woman who saved the lives of over 250 kids during Liberia's war.
I initially found the M.F.A. program in a film school book and what drew my eye to it was that the M.F.A. program specifically has a three-year assistantship program for its students.
So when you compare it to similar programs across the country, it's very affordable.
One of the favorite classes that I've taken is a digital documentary class with professor Angela Aguayo.
In that class, it was really incredible because each student in the matter of a semester put their own documentary together and at the end of the semester we had a public screening where we invited the public to come and check out our work.
Because of my background in news, when I came to SIU I really wanted to stay involved with news and some on-camera work. So I got involved with River Region Evening Edition and did some volunteer reporting.
I also was the host for Scholastic Hi-Q, which is a game show that we have on campus here for high school students
Also, I was involved with the Big Muddy Film Festival. Two years, I served on the selection committee to see which films got into the festival.
For my assistantship, I helped out with documentary classes and some news courses.
It was really interesting to be a teacher, it was my first time doing that.
I had a fantastic time mentoring students through the creative sides of their news projects and their documentaries.
A few highlights of publicly showing my work: I showed one of my photo series' at the Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival in Los Angeles, I presented some of my writing here on campus at the Global Media Research Center Conference, some research that I had done about the coverage that Africa receives here in the West.
In the future, I still want to combine my background in news with my newfound knowledge of fine art.
I'm going to be looking for some news jobs and some jobs that are more focused on long format work ... just sending my application out and seeing what doors open.
If you want to really learn how to think outside the box in experimental ways, alternative ways, ways that you don't think you've ever thought about before, I think this Masters of Fine Arts program will be a good fit for you because the professors here, at least for me taught me how to see things with a new lens, and by having my work critiqued by a diverse group of people day in and day out, it really teaches you to see what you make in a whole new way.
James Chressanthis said he has finally achieved all of his childhood dreams.
“When I was kid my dream was to be either an astronaut, a race car driver or a cameraman,” Chressanthis said. “I’ve been in the space shuttle. I’ve driven those cars. I did achieve my dreams.”
Chressanthis, who received his master’s degree in 1977 from the SIUC School of Art and Design, has worked on more than 30 projects as a cinematographer.
His projects range from the Academy Award-winning film “Chicago” to television shows like “The Ghost Whisperer” and music videos. He also served as assistant director to N.W.A.’s debut single “Straight Outta Compton.”
“’Straight Outta Compton’ was a serious political show,” Chressanthis said. “It was a bit of an act.”
Chressanthis said he saw N.W.A. not as gangsters, but rather as artists using fear as a necessary tool. It was on the set of “Straight Outta Compton” that Ice Cube got his first taste of directing, Chressanthis said. He said it was Cube who instructed the director how to give the video’s depiction of police brutality a greater sense of realism.
For the filmmaker, great cinematography is transparent to the story in that it doesn’t draw attention to itself and only helps to serve the story, he said.
“The camera is our mind’s eye,” Chressanthis said. “We use it as a tool as if we’re creating dreams. It’s a dream tool.”
Chressanthis returned to Carbondale last week to hold a series of screenings and lectures.
Chressanthis screened the film “No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos,” a project he produced and directed.
The film follows the lives of renowned cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond from their escape from the Soviet invasion of Hungary to the pair’s journey to Hollywood. It also highlights Kovacs and Zsigmond’s contribution to films like “Easy Rider,” “Five Easy Pieces,” “The Deer Hunter” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” via interviews with the films’ cast and crew.
The documentary has received recognition from a number of film festivals, including the 2008 Santa Fe Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Documentary Film. ‘No Subtitles’ was also given an official selection at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
Kovacs and Zsigmond were part of some iconic films of New Hollywood, a period between the 1960s and ’80s in Hollywood when a new generation of young filmmakers came to prominence, said Susan Felleman, associate professor in the department of cinema and photography.
“They were both people that excelled at working on location, and they both managed to capture qualities about the American landscape,” she said. “They did it in a way that outsiders are possibly able to do with more clarity than natives.”
Along with the screenings, Chressanthis said he taught a master’s class where he worked with students in cinematography to direct a scene at SIUC.
Ben Romang, a sophomore from Springfield studying cinema, was one of the students in attendance. He said it was cool to see everyone in specific roles working as an actual crew and that it was like a real set.
“It was really helpful to hear how he got started in the business,” Romang said. “He started off as an intern and said the right things; he just built from there.”
Aside from cinema, Chressanthis said he has explored photography, sculpture and studio art. He, along with his wife and fellow alum Robin Lynne Becker, will be showcasing their work until Friday in the Vergette Gallery in the University Museum.
Brendan Smith can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 536-3311 ext. 263.
My name is Lauren Selmon Roberts. Originally I am from Norman, Oklahoma and I am an M.F.A. candidate in Media Arts.
My background is in broadcast news. Now in the Master of Fine Arts program I really love combining the news world with the world of fine art.
My thesis project is a full-length documentary that was shot in Liberia, West Africa. It tells the story of one woman who saved the lives of over 250 kids during Liberia's war.
I initially found the M.F.A. program in a film school book and what drew my eye to it was that the M.F.A. program specifically has a three-year assistantship program for its students.
So when you compare it to similar programs across the country, it's very affordable.
One of the favorite classes that I've taken is a digital documentary class with professor Angela Aguayo.
In that class, it was really incredible because each student in the matter of a semester put their own documentary together and at the end of the semester we had a public screening where we invited the public to come and check out our work.
Because of my background in news, when I came to SIU I really wanted to stay involved with news and some on-camera work. So I got involved with River Region Evening Edition and did some volunteer reporting.
I also was the host for Scholastic Hi-Q, which is a game show that we have on campus here for high school students
Also, I was involved with the Big Muddy Film Festival. Two years, I served on the selection committee to see which films got into the festival.
For my assistantship, I helped out with documentary classes and some news courses.
It was really interesting to be a teacher, it was my first time doing that.
I had a fantastic time mentoring students through the creative sides of their news projects and their documentaries.
A few highlights of publicly showing my work: I showed one of my photo series' at the Mixed Roots Film and Literary Festival in Los Angeles, I presented some of my writing here on campus at the Global Media Research Center Conference, some research that I had done about the coverage that Africa receives here in the West.
In the future, I still want to combine my background in news with my newfound knowledge of fine art.
I'm going to be looking for some news jobs and some jobs that are more focused on long format work ... just sending my application out and seeing what doors open.
If you want to really learn how to think outside the box in experimental ways, alternative ways, ways that you don't think you've ever thought about before, I think this Masters of Fine Arts program will be a good fit for you because the professors here, at least for me taught me how to see things with a new lens, and by having my work critiqued by a diverse group of people day in and day out, it really teaches you to see what you make in a whole new way.
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- H.D. Motyl, an assistant professor in Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Department of Radio-Television, recently earned a fellowship that gives college professors unique access to the television industry.
Motyl received a 2010 National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Faculty Seminar Fellowship.
Twenty faculty members from across the United States will attend the seminar, Nov. 9-13, in Los Angeles. The five-day program offers "discussions, presentations and interactions with major studios, production companies, the networks and their top production and programming people," according to the organization website.
"It sounds like five days of really intensive, exhausting work but I think in the end it will be wonderful," Motyl said. "I'm really looking forward to it."
Motyl said the fellowship will offer additional insight into both the creative and business sides of the television entertainment industry. The fellowship fits in well with his classes, which includes a senior level, two-course television writing class for sitcoms and dramas. The first course deals with script writing; the second focuses on production where students take two of the class' scripts into production.
Students in his class sit around a writers' table and pitch their own work with the class providing further discussion and critiques.
"It's one thing to be on the outside looking in and say, 'This is how they pitch ideas and what they go through'," Motyl said. "It's another to actually get to be out there with the creators and producers of shows and find out how they deal with networks, and how producers deal with writers or the production staff."
Motyl also sees long-term benefits from the fellowship. It will allow him to build relationships with television faculty across the country and also provide some inroads to production companies. It could also offer the chance to obtain "show bibles" -- scripts and information about shows, settings, and character development for classroom use.
"We are very proud of Professor Motyl's acceptance to this prestigious industry seminar," said Gary P. Kolb, dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts. "It is testament to the quality of our faculty and our continuing relationship with the television industry at the highest levels. This opportunity to learn from industry insiders will provide invaluable insights for professor Motyl's teaching and creative work."
Dafna Lemish, professor and chair of the Department of Radio-Television, said the opportunity is exciting for Motyl and the department, "because it speaks volumes to the prestige of our faculty within the television industry."
The seminar will enrich Motyl's first-hand knowledge of the industry in all of its dimensions, allow him direct networking with "leading players in the field," and 
create connections that may facilitate possibilities for internships in the future and perhaps open up doors for future student employment," Lemish said.
"We believe this opportunity will be invaluable both for Howard as a central faculty member of our department, as well as for students -- both through him, but also through strengthening the department's ties with the industry."
Motyl came to SIUC in 2007. His previous work includes a full-time lecturer in television at Columbia College, Chicago, and an adjunct professor at Northwestern University's Department of Radio/Television/Film. Motyl earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in Film/Video Production and Screenwriting from Northwestern University in 1990, and his bachelor's degree in English from Penn State University.
His work also includes numerous writing, production, and directing efforts on documentaries, including several for National Geographic Channel, The History Channel, and the A&E Channel, including "Jonestown Tragedy," "Waco Tragedy," "9/11," "Warrant to Kill," "Lincoln Assassination," "John Glenn, An American Legend," and "Image of An Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film."
Motyl's current project is a documentary on steer wrestlers. He followed three professional rodeo cowboys for three weeks in summer 2009, and is currently editing the film. He hopes to have the documentary finished in December.
Original article:¬ http://news.siuc.edu/news/September10/092210par10133.html
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- An exhibit and weekend film presentation at Southern Illinois University Carbondale tell the story of a civil war, families it shattered and one woman's courageous efforts to save hundreds of children.
"Rainbow Town" is the graduate thesis film by Lauren Selmon Roberts, a master of fine arts graduate student from Norman, Okla. The film debuts in the Student Center auditorium at 6 p.m., Sunday, April 11. There is no admission charge, and the public is welcome.
The documentary tells the true story of Rainbow Town, an orphanage near Gbarnga, Liberia. Roberts said civil war took its toll on Liberia but a brave woman, "Ma" Feeta, soon found herself caring for a group of about 250 children who, fending for themselves, otherwise might have died. Through the movie, discover how Feeta and the children came together and how in 1989 "Rainbow Town" was born and gave a sense of normalcy to these children. After more than a decade of war, many of the children reunited with parents but more than 85 remain with Feeta, according to Roberts.
The Student Programming Council is sponsoring a reception at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Art Alley, located on the second floor of the Student Center. Those attending will be able to view paintings created by many of the Liberian children. The children's artwork will remain on display through April 22.
They said, "If you can't take the children, you will die." The true story of a Liberian orphanage.
Film Screening, Still Photography & Original Paintings.
SIUC Student Center Auditorium
Sunday, April 11, 2010 - 6 p.m.
a thesis film by Lauren Selmon Roberts
sound - Will Roberts, still Photography - Amy Elrod
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A first-person documentary that airs next week on WSIU TV and WSIU-FM will focus on the horrors of the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese and the Bataan Death March in the spring of 1942.
Between 5,000 and 15,000 of the more than 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners did not survive the 65-mile forced march.
Jan Thompson, an associate professor in Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Department of Radio-Television, produced "The Tragedy of Bataan," which is the first in a three-part series. Subsequent programs will look at the prisoner of war experience, and "hell ships," the unmarked Japanese ships used in transporting American POWs to Japan and China as slave labor, she said.
Media Advisory
For more information on the documentary or to arrange interviews with Jan Thompson, contact Monica Tichenor, public information and promotions coordinator for WSIU Public Broadcasting, at 618/453-6160.
The story of Bataan, the Death March, and the circumstances surrounding a three-and-a-half-year ordeal for those captured, is an important but little noticed part of America's history, said Thompson. Her father was a POW but was not in the Bataan Death March.
"It's a small slice of history but it is an important piece of history because it did happen to America," said Thompson, who interviewed more than 65 veterans during the last 17 years for the series. The first part features first-hand accounts from 15 Bataan survivors, including then 101-year-old Albert Brown of Pinckneyville. Now 104, Brown remains the oldest living survivor of Bataan.
"To me, it is unconscionable that we should forget this slice of history," Thompson said. "I think people are well aware what happened in Europe and the atrocities and cruelty that happened there. But they really don't understand what was happening in the Pacific. The Bataan Death March is just one. There are countless other death marches that happened."
Captured on the nearby island of Corregidor, Thompson's father, a medical corpsman, remained reticent and "very protective" of how much he shared with his daughter when she began attending POW conventions in the early 1990s, she said.
As she started to meet other POWs, Thompson said the importance of allowing everyone a chance to tell their story became apparent to her.
"There are no academics or historians. This is truly to me what a documentary should be all about on topics like this, if possible. You have eyewitnesses telling you what it was like to be in these unfortunate circumstances," Thompson said.
The largest surrender in U.S. military history, the story of Bataan is one of men whose forced surrender came after non-stop fighting for several weeks with reduced rations and no reinforcements or additional supplies. Gen. Edward P. King, Jr. surrendered the troops after Gen. Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines for Australia, and did so without informing the general left in MacArthur's command.
Even after surviving horrific conditions, those who remained still love their country, Thompson said.
"When you meet these men you are in awe that they still love their country; they still love what the flag represents, which is freedom," she said. "These guys are true heroes. They are incredible heroes, true warriors, those who gave, as Abraham Lincoln said, the 'last full measure of devotion' to their country."
Even with all the research, Thompson said it was only a few months ago that she discovered a "nugget of gold" -- survivor Albert Brown's diary of the ordeal. She uses his diary throughout the documentary and radio pieces. Jim Gee, WSIU-TV news director, reads Brown's diary excerpts.
"What is interesting about the diary is you can see the cynicism and the dark humor starting to surface because part of the survival mechanism in the prison camp was the dark humor," Thompson said. "You can really tell what is going on with these diary entries. Albert Brown is very, very powerful for someone who is 101."
The documentary shows the POWs' vivid memories, including fears of execution after surrender. Two soldiers recall during the march seeing a dead soldier who had become just a spread-eagle imprint splotch on the ground. The body was about an inch flat because trucks repeatedly ran over him, Thompson said.
Thompson's father is still alive, but more than half of the veterans interviewed are deceased, she said. In doing her research, Thompson came upon footage in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., of her father, clearly looking into the camera during the liberation of his prison camp in September 1945.
Local actors and colleagues, including retired professors Rick Williams and Alan Benson, include voiceovers for the diary selections. Kelly Caringer, a teaching assistant and graduate student in Associate Professor Phylis Johnson's Advanced Audio Production class, coordinated the five radio pieces that will air, Thompson said.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to premiere 'The Tragedy of Bataan TV documentary and radio series on WSIU," said Greg Petrowich, executive director of WSIU Public Broadcasting. "These programs are an exact mission match for public broadcasting.
"Jan Thompson has created a distinctive body of work, which we've been fortunate to air over the years. To work with her on bringing this very personal story to our viewers and listeners is an honor for WSIU."
In addition to learning more about "this forgotten corner of American history," Thompson hopes viewers and listeners appreciate the story of courage and survival by young Americans, and that heroism "isn't confined to fighting forces, but by those forced to serve in other ways."
"This is a story of true patriotism; the will to survive in order to serve the nation," she said.
Thompson is the president of the Descendants Group, a non-profit auxiliary of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor. The convention, hosted by the POWs' descendants, is next week in Reno, Nev. The organization's mission is education and ensuring that the legacy of what the POWs endured remains vivid, she said.
The two remaining segments in the series are nearly complete. Thompson hopes to generate national interest in the series in time for Veteran's Day.
"It's a labor of love. Even when I get these done I will probably not be done I have so much material," she said. One of the reasons the documentary took so long is due to the amount of material and trying to determine how to present it in the best way, she said.
"I always had in the back of my mind it has to be these guys telling their story," she said.
Thompson will discuss the documentary series on WSIU InFocus, which runs Friday, April 9, at 9 p.m. The documentary, "Tragedy of Bataan," follows at 9:30 p.m. A rebroadcast of the InFocus interview and documentary begins at 12:30 p.m., Sunday, April 11.
One of the five, six-minute radio pieces will air daily at 6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. and 5:29 p.m., Monday April 5 through Friday, April 9 on WSIU-FM. The broadcast will also stream live on wsiu.org.
The Tragedy of Bataan:
In the early months of World War II, over 75,000 U.S. and Filipino defenders on the Philippine Islands retreated to the Bataan peninsula to wait for reinforcements and supplies from the U.S. in order to continue their fight against invading Japanese forces. Ill-equipped for battle, the men were attacked earlier than expected and overrun in three months.  Their forces were surrendered to the Japanese by U.S. General Edward P. King, Jr.
Already weakened by hunger and illness, the defenders were forced by the Japanese to march under horrific conditions to prison camps over 60 miles away. They endured unimaginable physical and psychological abuse at the hands of their captors, who bayonetted, beheaded, and shot men if they stumbled or fell, assisted a fellow soldier, or tried to get a drink of water. Although there are conflicting reports on the total number of casualties, it is estimated that
between 5,000-15,000 of the men died or were murdered during the march.
The Tragedy of Bataan, the first of a three-part TV documentary series by Jan Thompson, an Associate Professor in Radio-Television at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), tells the story of the fall of the Philippines and the Bataan Death March as told through the first-hand accounts of 15 Bataan survivors. Among the men interviewed is now 104-year-old Albert Brown of Pinckneyville, Illinois, the oldest living Bataan survivor. WSIU InFocus will air
an interview with Thompson prior to the broadcast of the documentary. WSIU Radio will broadcast five companion radio segments all week long during the week of April 5.
Thompson also plans to produce two additional TV programs later this year that will focus on the prisoner of war (POW) experience and hell ships, which were unmarked Japanese freighters used to transport American POWs to slave camps in Japan and China.
Look for WSIU's Web pages for The Tragedy of Bataan at wsiu.org after April 5.
Radio-TV Good News
Lisa Brooten reported that two scriptwriting students from Howard Motyl's class placed in the BEA Festival 2010 in the Student Scriptwriting Competition for the Original Television Series Pilot Category. Daniel Cozza's "I'm Ryan Smith" placed second and Jason M. Barr's "Reality" placed 3rd
Jan Thompson's Documentary Production class received an Honorable Mention in the Student Documentary Competition, Long-Form Category for "Silent Monster"-- Melissa Coleman, Devin Miller, Eric Robinson,Lauren Roberts, Will Roberts, Victoria Carter, Nadia Samie, Zubedah Nanfuka, and Dawn Stricklin a PhD student in Anthropology.
Bret Beherns placed third in the Sports Anchor competition. Bret is the RREE Sports Director. He reports news as well as anchors the news one night a week.
Alum Zlatko Filipovic received an Honorable Mention in the Television: Hard News Reporting Category for his report on the 2009 snowstorm "Iced Out" that closed SIU campus and its impact on disabled students. According to Jim Gee, SIU was the only school in Illinois to place in Hard News category.
SIU Foundation