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President, Director of Photography
After 31 years as a staff cameraman with CBS News (
1976 – 2007 ), covering most of the major World events, from wars to Papal trips, hurricanes to mudslides, presidential
campaigns to Winter Olympics, from dictators to democratically elected leaders, from royal weddings to riots , traveling through
64 countries, being based in 4 foreign bureaus ( Germany, Lebanon, Egypt and Israel ) and 3 domestic bureaus
( Miami, New York and Atlanta ), I decided that it was time for a change.
We have moved to beautiful Greenville, South
Carolina, established our own production company, and continue to work for the network’s news departments.
We’ve expanded our activity to include more of the magazine shows, documentaries, investigative units, corporate
video, remote transmissions and consulting.
After a brief period covering the countries behind the Iron Curtain, I covered the civil war in Lebanon, the invasion of
Lebanon by the Syrians, the Middle East Peace process ( while assigned to cover Anwar-el-Sadat and his incredible quest for
peace), the Iranian revolution and Khomeini’s return, the Iran- Iraq war, the West Bank and Gaza, the invasion of Lebanon
by the Israeli Army, Kenya, the war and Peace process in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), the amazing struggle of the Jewish community
in Marrakech, Morocco, the Soweto riots and the earthquake in Romania, just to name a few of the amazing
stories I had the privilege to witness through my viewfinder, that “ almost magical” little black & white
square !
While based in Tel-Aviv, I had the opportunity
to travel extensively, even going as far as Central America to cover the civil wars raging in that part of the world. Ireland,
the Manchester and Liverpool riots were also part of my travels!
In 1984, I moved to Miami, in order to be closer to Central and South
America, where the situation was deteriorating rapidly.
From Nicaragua to El Salvador, from the “war on drugs” in Colombia,
Bolivia and Peru, from Haiti to Panama and Cuba, from Brazil and Argentina to the hurricanes in the U-S and the Caribbean,
I was pretty busy! Oh,
and somewhere in that period comes Afghanistan’s conflict with the Soviets, the Gulf War, Tiananmen Square…Dukakis,
Clinton, Pat Buchanan, Al Gore . It was, at times, almost overwhelming!!!
But I have not been shot at on every story I have
covered … although I was born on a sunny island ( Santa Maria, Azores Islands ) and temperatures under 60 degrees are
not my favorite, I thoroughly enjoyed covering 5 Winter Olympic Games for CBS News and CBS Sports. I will never forget Innsbruck,
Calgary, Albertville, Lillehammer and Nagano, their beauty and their Olympic spirit!
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Then came the “Big Apple”… the
New York Bureau!!! During that period, I had the great opportunity of going back to Cuba for “Sunday Morning with Charles
Osgood” to shoot a special on Ernest Hemingway! He’s one of my favorite writers and there I am, tracing
his steps and interviewing the main character of “The Old Man and the Sea”. Sadly, a few months later, the
“Old Man” died … it was to be his last interview. Being based
at the CBS headquarters was an experience. Seeing, first hand, how the whole system works “back there” was an
eye opener! So many details that we do not even think about while in the field … Just
living in Manhattan was quite a thrill. New York has a unique energy, a complex yet simple way of life, in one word …fascinating!
And yes … I drove in New York City everyday for 2 years!!! Yes I did … Time
for warmer weather, (I am Azorean, after all!) I transferred to the Atlanta Bureau, CBS’s main hub in the Southeast. Great place to be based ... the Southeast is full
of stories waiting to be told but, once again, the “winds of war “ were in the air …
In February 2004, I was embedded with the 1st
Brigade Combat Team / 3rd Infantry Division, the tip of the spear of the US Military from Kuwait to Baghdad, reporting
for all the CBS broadcasts. A couple of months of preparation in the Kuwaiti desert with the 1st Brigade, getting
to know all the great guys, all the great units! When the "initial entry" kicked in, we were the first news team
to go live, while the Apaches, the MLRS's and the Tomahawks flew over our heads. From then on, we went through 7 major
battles, the Kifl bridge, the crossing of the Euphrates, the battle for the Baghdad airport and the takeover of Saddam's
palace. “Live TV” whenever possible, packages for all the CBS broadcasts, regardless of time-of-air.
After 11 days and 8 hours of combat, the cold "bucket" shower at the airport felt really good... One particular live shot was very rewarding …at the foot of the bridge over the Euphrates, during heavy
combat and we put Jim Axelrod (one of the best in the business) live to report it for the “Early Show”. Our team
(Jeff – Thorpe Willet, Jim Axelrod and I), prepared and rehearsed non-stop while in Kuwait, for the possibility of this
particular moment. It happened, and all the hard work paid off. While still in Kuwait preparing
for the war, we bought a used Hummer from a Kuwaiti gentleman, retrofitted it with a sand color paint job, a 5kw generator,
a couple of GPS’s, a 12 volt “tea kettle” for my good British friend and satellite engineer “extraordinaire”
Jeff ( can’t go to war without tea …) and a satellite dish on top. It was our home / office
/ transmission room / phone booth (yes honey, we are ok, how are the kids ) radio studio / counseling area and
planning area. Although limping heavily, the Hummer made it all the way to Baghdad and so did we! Another highlight of those years in Atlanta was covering Hurricane Katrina. My partner at the time, Darrall
Johnson, and I were two of only a handful of journalists who arrived before the hurricane hit and then stayed in downtown
New Orleans throughout the entire ordeal … quite interesting and challenging, to say the least. Oh yeah, politics again ...John Kerry from Convention night to election night ... what a ride!
From Boston MA to Portland OR by bus and train, from "sea to shinning sea" with a candidate ... now, that's
a trip.
During the 31 years I spent with CBS, I had the pleasure
and honor of working with some of the greatest television professionals in the world, from anchors to producers, from reporters
to technicians, from desk assistants to traffic personnel. Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Mike Wallace, the great Charles Kuralt, Harry
Smith, Charles Osgood, Leslie Stahl, Bob Simon, Susan Zirinsky,Tom Bettag,Leroy Sievers, Bill Geist, Jim Axelrod, Kurt
Volkert, Mario Biasetti, Joel Bernstein, Martha Teichner, Mike Orloff, George Kellogh, Bill Lee, Larry Doyle, Dan Kloss,Huxley
Galbraith, Frank Governale, Mel Olinsky, are just some of the people that I had the pleasure to work and learn with. But in March 2007, I decided to leave CBS News and, together with my wife Jane, start our own production /
consulting company, CAROLINAZOOM TV PRODUCTIONS! I am an avid sailor, love to play tennis, cook and eat well. I am a SF combat veteran (Africa 72-74 ) and
I currently serve as a Warrant Officer with the Georgia State Defense Forces ( GSDF). And
yes, I am an author!!! I wrote a book, a best seller no less …The title? “Inside
the Wars “ Here’s the catch … it is in Portuguese … if you can
read Portuguese, I will gladly send you an autographed copy. I promise!
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Give us a call ... let's make your project happen!
(864)991-9012
mdc@carolinazoom.com
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