© BNR - Erik Borst
Most experienced America correspondent in the Netherlands
Bernard Hammelburg
With 40 years of experience, Dutch Academy Award winner Bernard Hammelburg is a veteran in the world of communication, news and documentaries.
Languages:
Employability:
Columnist,Facilitator,Interviewer,Masterclass,Moderator,Panel,Presenter
Employability:
Columnist,Facilitator,Interviewer,Masterclass,Moderator,Panel,Presenter,
About Bernard Hammelburg
As a war correspondent, he was stationed in Vietnam, the Middle East, Africa and China, as an eyewitness to such historical events as the Six-Day War, the Yom Kipur War, the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the Islamic Revolution in Iran.
In 1979 he became a correspondent in the United States for the Algemeen Dagblad, the NOS and the Flemish VRT. He co-founded Dateline Productions Inc., based in Amsterdam and New York, which focuses on producing documentaries, concerts, international co-productions, providing communications training and advice, and developing program formulas.
He produced and directed nearly twenty documentaries, and received the Dutch Academy Award for Het verdriet van Enschede, about the fireworks disaster. For American station Arts & Entertainment, he produced Anne Frank, the Last Chapter, a globally distributed, revealing documentary about five previously missing text sheets from the famous diary. For PBS and American Public Television, he recently produced several concerts: Andiamp, Love from Italy, and Libera in Concert.
Hammelburg caused great commotion when his interview with then Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen about a possible extension of the mission in Afghanistan led to the fall of the cabinet. He is a foreign affairs commentator and columnist at BNR Nieuwsradio, host of the weekly talk show BNR Bernard Hammelburg and a regular guest commentator in Dutch and foreign media.
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His specialties are the Middle East and the United States, as well as the role of the media in modern society. Popular are the comparisons he makes between the Anglo-Saxon media and the Germanic or Teutonic, to which the Dutch media belong. "The Netherlands and the Lack of an Independent Press" was a lecture with which he provoked fierce discussions.
His commentaries on BNR News Radio about the American elections now have a loyal listening audience. In his book 'The Other America' (Vassallucci, September 2004) he traces the causes of American conservatism. Naturally, by far the most requests are about the United States, where he has worked as a correspondent longer than any of his colleagues. The differences between America (and Americans) and the rest of the world is also a frequent subject, often focusing on particular topics such as entrepreneurship, marketing and other cultural differences.