The Link: Uncovering Our Early Ancestors - Mega Coup or Mega Hype?
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Thursday, Dec. 3
session room: Savoy 2
When the world was first introduced to IDA the fossil this past May the headlines screamed “extraordinary find is missing link in human evolution.” Following the news conference came the book, the website, the television program and then – controversially – the scientific paper. No documentary in history had such pre-launch publicity, and the phenomenal ratings on History Channel, BBC and ZDF reflected that impact. Nor has any documentary so blatantly preempted the accepted system of peer review in such science journals as Nature. The man who masterminded the deal, CEO of Atlantic Productions and producer of the documentary Anthony Geffen, as well as other members of the blockbuster’s team, will take delegates through all stages of the production - executed over two years under a tight blanket of secrecy - and will confront the critics who questioned whether the whole process was an incredible coup or incredible hype.
Session Producer
Jonathan Hewes, Deputy Chief Executive, Wall to Wall (UK)
Moderator
Robyn Williams, Producer/Presenter, ABC (Australia)
Panelists
Darren Curnoe, Co-Director,Palaeosciences Laboratory, School of Biological, Earth and
Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales (Australia)
Anthony Geffen, CEO and Executive Producer, Atlantic Productions (UK)
Jorn Hurum, Associate Professor of Paleontology, Museum of Natural History, University of Oslo (Norway)
Jens Monath, Editor, ZDF (Germany)
Sponsored by Screen Australia