Nightline To Broadcast From Apple’s Production Lines On February 21, 2012
AppleInsider are reporting that the television network ABC have announced plans to broadcast a special edition of "Nightline" next week after having gained unprecedented access to document the working conditions inside factories at some of Apple’s suppliers.
AppleInsider explain that "Anchor Bill Weir received permission from Apple to visit factories in Shenzhen, China in preparation for the report, which will air on Feb. 21 at 11:35 p.m. Eastern on the ABC network. ABC News claims that Weir is the "first journalist go inside [sic] the factories" to watch Apple products being made".
"For years, Apple and Foxconn have been synonymous with monster profits and total secrecy so it was fascinating to wander the iPhone and iPod production lines, meet the people who build them and see how they live," Weir said.
"Our cameras were rolling when thousands of hopeful applicants rushed the Foxconn gates and I spoke with dozens of line workers and a top executive about everything from hours and pay to the controversies over suicides at the plant and the infamous "jumper nets" that line the factories in Shenzhen. After this trip, I’ll never see an Apple product the same way again."
This will be interesting to watch, especially as only this week Foxconn increased all workers salaries by up to 25%. Apple also very recently announced that they are the first technology company to join the Fair Labor Association. You can read more about their policies and human rights here.
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photographer, photography journalist, editor and curator and the founder and editorial director of TheAppWhisperer.com, an independent international photography publication established in 2009.Her journalism, criticism and commentary have appeared in The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, BBC, Vogue Italia, LensCulture, Popular Photography, Android Magazine, NikonPro, DPReview, Which Digital Camera and Which Camera. She has lectured internationally on photography and mobile art, served as a juror for international photography awards, and exhibited her own photographic work across the UK, Europe, South Korea and the United States.Alongside her editorial work, Joanne's photographic and postgraduate research explores death, grief, memory, representation and social inequality through contemporary photography, participatory practice and visual research methods, with the longer-term aim of developing this work through doctoral research.Through TheAppWhisperer, she continues to publish independent photography journalism spanning contemporary photographic practice, mobile imaging, photographic apps, computational photography and emerging imaging technologies.Joanne is available for editorial commissions, photography projects, judging, curatorial work, speaking engagements, consultancy and selected collaborations.
