The U.S. Embassy is now accepting proposals for the 2014 TV/Radio Coop program.
TV/Radio Co-ops are cooperative ventures in which the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs section, broadcast journalists from national, regional or independent TV and radio stations, and Washington’s Office of Broadcast Services (OBS) jointly develop program proposals for original production in the United States. The program is open to TV and radio stations around the world.
TV/Radio Co-op provides an opportunity for candidate stations to send producers and crews to the United States to produce original documentaries and news features on jointly planned topics.
Co-op grantees receive U.S. Government funding to cover expenses related to the production including domestic airfare, hotel and food allowances, temporary health insurance, and miscellaneous production expenses. Teams coming to the United States are usually expected to pay their own international airfare.
The typical cooperative project results in at least one or, frequently, a series of prime-time documentary-style products, plus multiple short unplanned feature stories, generally slices of American life captured during the two-week trip. Many successful productions invigorate a national conversation and often stimulate follow-up local radio and television programs, newspapers, and magazine stories. Co-ops serve as a training tool, familiarizing journalists, producers, and crews with U.S. broadcast production techniques.
Successful proposals will address issues of common concern to the United States and Suriname and consider ways that the documentary will offer an in-depth perspective on a certain aspect of American culture, society, history or policy to Surinamese viewers. The Public Affairs Section welcomes inquiries and is available to consult with interested parties. For more information, please contact
Ingrid Hill (HillIK@state.gov) or Virginia Elliott (ElliottVL@state.gov).
The deadline for submitting Co-op proposals is March 20, 2014.