- “Euronews Witness” will be a character-centric series that takes viewers on the ground, where the world’s latest and biggest news stories are unfolding.
- The series will have a distinctly immersive style, in an unconventional storytelling format, designed for a joint digital-television experience.
- The first episode, airing on 15th July and produced by Anelise Borges, will focus on the frustrations and aspirations of Iranian citizens in the context of the 2021 presidential elections.
Lyon, France – 15th July 2021 – Euronews, Europe’s leading international news media, is launching “Euronews Witness”, a new current affairs series focused on the most burning crises and conflicts unfolding across Europe and around the world.
The series will explore the underlying causes of these crises, the motives of the leading characters and the impact on the lives of ordinary citizens who bear the brunt. “Euronews Witness” will be a reactive series: the channel will deploy its correspondents as soon as a crisis or international conflict erupts so that they can be the “viewers’ eyes” and gather first-hand accounts where some of the world’s biggest crises (be they humanitarian, political, social, economic) are unfolding.
The first “Euronews Witness” episode will air on Euronews on Thursday, July 15, at 21:45 CET and is produced by Anelise Borges, Euronews’ international affairs correspondent, who will be a recurring presence in the new series.
In the 10-minute-long premiere episode, Anelise travels to Tehran, Iran, to foray the Iranian society through first-hand accounts, about hopes and feelings for the country’s future in the context of this year’s historic presidential election, which marked the end of Hassan Rouhani’s administration and the rise of Ebrahim Rais, a turn which is set to trigger major regional and global consequences. The report witnesses the effect of the crushing prices for ordinary Iranians, which, together with other factors, explains why many of them are disillusioned with politics and why voter turnout hit a record low in this election.
“Euronews Witness” will have, first and foremost, a character-centric, intimate approach, giving priority to the individual stories of those triggering the crisis and those suffering its consequences.
Anelise Borges, Euronews’ international affairs correspondent, said: “I want to take viewers with me to where the biggest news stories are breaking and go beyond the headlines and into people’s homes – to understand what it all means to them, and how these news events are likely to change their lives.”
The series will favour a raw and immersive style. Episodes will be entirely shot on a hand-held smartphone camera, highlighting the movement, change and volatility inherent in any crisis. Altogether, these traits will give “Euronews Witness” a strong, unique visual identity and help highlight the immediateness and urgency of the topics covered.
“Euronews Witness” will air on prime time across Euronews’ nine TV language editions. The series will be available in 12 languages on a dedicated hub on euronews.com with additional accounts, angles and videos as well as in-depth analyses. Euronews’ social media platforms and daily newsletters will regularly share the episodes with their followers/ subscribers in order to stimulate conversation.
Following its July launch, “Euronews Witness” will return after summer with new episodes centred on crises and international conflicts taking place in Europe and other regions of the world. The series will also tackle and expose lesser-known problems across the Old Continent.
Euronews is a leading international news channel and one of the best known and most trusted news brands operating across Europe. Worldwide, Euronews is broadcast in 160 countries and distributed in almost 400 million homes – including 67% of homes in the European Union + UK. Every month, Euronews reaches over 140 million people, both on TV and digital platforms, according to the Global Web Index (2020).