james arthur holt
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“BAGHDAD, CA”

broadcast on KCBS-TV as an episode of Studio 2 in August 2004.

 

                                On May 3, 2004, I was hired as a freelance writer/producer to research and

                develop a story on the violence in South Los Angeles, in response to LAPD Police Chief

                William Bratton’s public comments comparing the violence to the type of violence

                witnessed in Baghdad, Iraq.

 

I suggested we find a family in South LA and a family in Iraq, give them each a camcorder and a week’s worth of tapes and ask them to film their lives. I called it Baghdad, CA.

 

With the gracious help of CBS network correspondents dispatched to Baghdad, I was able to locate and develop a relationship with a man who lived in Sadr City.  Then, with the help of school officials in South LA I was able to foster a similar relationship with a young mother living in the most murderous part of the city.

 

The similarities were stark and compelling. The show aired as one of the first Studio 2 episodes in August 2004.

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OTHER   TV  NEWS  ITEMS:



  • “Friend of a Terrorist” broadcast in November 2002 by KCBS-TV as an episode of the investigative program SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT.  A prison interview with a man accused of helping two of the Sept. 11 hijackers.
  • “Trail of a Terrorist” broadcast in November 2001 in two parts by KABC-TV, the first part during the 6 o’clock news and the second part at 11 p.m., tracing the steps of  Al Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Ressam who wanted to blow up LAX and who  was apprehended in Port Angeles, WA, with a trunk load of explosives.
  • "Spider Silk" broadcast in May 2002 by KABC-TV.  News the U.S. military contracted scientists to develop body armour using spider silk.
  • “Mystery Womanbroadcast in May 1999 by KABC-TV Eyewitness News, having covered the 8-month trial of serial killer Charles Ng news emerged of a woman receiving immunity for 25 murders. Ng was convicted on 11 of 12 murder charges. The case of alleged victim Paul Cosner remains unsolved. His sister continues to look for him. 
  • "The Impossible Suicide" broadcast in May 1996 across Canada on the CBC as an episode of the investigative program THE FIFTH ESTATE. A 30-minute show examining the shooting death of Mark McAvoy.