Christopher Wenner
| Max Christopher Wenner | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Max Christopher Wenner 6 December 1954 |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Max Stahl[1] |
| Occupation | Television presenter |
| Known for | Blue Peter and international war coverage. |
Christopher Wenner (born 6 December 1954) is a British journalist and former British television presenter.
On 14 September 1978, Wenner joined the British children's television programme, Blue Peter. However, he left on 23 June 1980 (on the same day as his co-presenter Tina Heath), after the production team decided not to renew his contract as he was "deeply unpopular with the viewers."[2] He returned to acting, taking a part in the 1984 Doctor Who adventure The Awakening, although in the final cut, his role was reduced to that of a non-speaking character. He then focused on journalism.
In 1985, whilst working as a war correspondent in Beirut, he went missing; he turned up again, safe and well, after 18 days. In 1991, he shot footage of a demonstration in Dili, East Timor, preceding a massacre and during the massacre itself. He filmed inside the Santa Cruz cemetery among the dead and the dying, as soldiers advanced in a well-organised operation against a huge crowd of East Timorese engaged in peaceful protest. It was Wenner's footage that brought the plight of the East Timorese to world attention. In 1992 his work was awarded the Amnesty International UK Media Award for Yorkshire Television's First Tuesday episode "Cold Blood – the Massacre of East Timor".[3][4][5]
In 1999 Wenner returned to East Timor under the name "Max Stahl". For his coverage, he won the 2000 Rory Peck Award for Hard News.
Wenner was one of the first Western journalists to recognize the scope of tensions in Chechnya. He travelled there with cameraman, filmmaker and author Peter Vronsky in 1992 to report on the break-away republic and nuclear weapons materials smuggling for the Canadian produced television special The Hunt for Red Mercury.
In 1998, whilst working as an ITN journalist for Channel 4, Wenner was beaten by Serb civilians during a mass protest.
He returned to Blue Peter in 1983 and 1998 to celebrate the show's birthdays. He is now a father of two, and runs his own production company, and continues his career in journalism.
In April 2012, it was reported that he was receiving treatment for throat cancer. Members of the East Timorese National Parliament wished him a speedy recovery.[6]
References
- ↑ Sylvia Lawson (1 August 2012). Demanding the Impossible. Melbourne Univ. Publishing. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-522-85485-5. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ↑ Marson, Richard. "Blue Peter" 50th Anniversary Book: The Story of Television's Longest-running Children's Programme. Hamlyn Books 2008. ISBN 978-0-600-61793-8
- ↑ "'Cold Blood' AI Winner" (Press release). Reuters. 4 June 1992. Archived from the original on 9 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ↑ "FIRST TUESDAY (COLD BLOOD: THE MASSACRE OF EAST TIMOR)". ITN (Independent Television News). Archived from the original on 9 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
- ↑ Constâncio Pinto; Matthew Jardine (1997). East Timor's Unfinished Struggle: Inside the Timorese Resistance. South End Press. p. 270. ISBN 978-0-89608-541-1.
- ↑ "MP’s pray for journalist Max Stahl’s speedy recovery". The Dili Weekly. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
External links
| Preceded by John Noakes |
Blue Peter Presenter No. 9 1978–80 |
Succeeded by Peter Duncan |
|