By BBC World Service International Publicity
Published August 28, 2009

On September 15, 2008 one of the world’s oldest and most respected investment banks ‘New York-based Lehman Brothers’ filed for bankruptcy protection. It was the largest bankruptcy filed in US corporate history.  One year on from this pivotal event, the BBC’s global news services (BBC World Service, BBC World News and BBC.com)are launching Aftershock, a season investigating the impact of the global recession on all facets of life since that seismic day.  BBC WORLD SERVICE INTERNATIONAL PUBLICITY has he details.

The Aftershock season launches on September 5, 2009 with the premiere of The Day that Lehman Died, a new 60-minute radio drama which marks the anniversary of the collapse of this iconic bank.  It is a fictionalised account of events over the weekend prior to the bank’s demise; where bankers argued and negotiated, all too aware that Lehman was not the only one of its kind in trouble.  This drama looks at how the critical decision to let Lehman die was made.

Written by Matthew Solon, an award-winning writer whose work has featured on BBC World Service and Radio 4, The Day that Lehman Died is directed by John Dryden, whose previous credits include the 10-part serialisation of Vikas Swarup’s ‘Q & A’ (Slumdog Millionaire) for BBC Radio 4, which won the 2008 Sony Award for Best Drama.  The Day that Lehman Died was recorded on location in and around Wall Street, including at the New York Stock Exchange, with cast members including John Shea and John Rothman and was made with the assistance of WNYC Public Radio in New York

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Special editions of Business Daily from September 7, 2009 feature BBC Business Correspondent Steve Evans in Las Vegas, examining the state of the US housing market, one year on from the collapse of mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.   On 9 September, four former Lehman employees talk about their careers pre and post the collapse, while on 11 September, Lesley Curwen in Dalian, China, reports from the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of New Champions.

In Assignment on September 10, 2009, Ed Butler examines the growing demand for reform of the world’s leading business schools.

During September, BBC World Service will reveal the results of a migration study, commissioned from the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, which examines the impact of the financial downturn on the movement of people around the world.  Focusing on the performance of government and business leaders, BBC World Service’s Aftershock Poll will find out how people have rated the performance of those in the power and the measures that have been introduced to address the crisis.

The financial crisis affected different parts of the world in different ways.  BBC World Service will focus on the regional impact of the financial crisis.   Highlights include special reports and in-depth analysis by the Central Asia and Caucasus services; BBC Azeri, BBC Kyrgyz and BBC Uzbek will assess the political fallout of the downturn and whether it has enhanced the authority of the leaders in countries such as Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

BBC Russian examines why Russia’s initial reaction to the crisis was a denial and focuses on the experiences of ordinary people during the past year, including Russian-speaking City workers in London and businessmen in Omsk.

BBC Hausa explores the impact of the significant reduction in Nigeria’s earnings which has forced the federal government to slash its allocations to the states and local governments.

BBC Hindi will focus on how the Indian economy has survived the slump and follow the people who lost their jobs in the Indian credit market.

BBC Kiswahili examines the impact of the financial downturn on both Kenya’s flower trade to Europe, the tourism trade to Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda and its effect on mining in Tanzania.   There will also be a focus on the tightening of diaspora remittances to Uganda.

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BBC Arabic focuses on the impact of the recession on the Arab world and especially the Gulf States, across radio, online and TV.   Audiences across the Arab world will be invited to share their stories on a special Have Your Say on bbcarabic.com. These stories will form part of the multimedia program Noqtat Hewar, live on TV and radio. A special index for Aftershock will be published on bbcarabic.com with stories and in-depth analysis and an interactive timeline.  A special edition of the Open Agenda programme on BBC Arabic will discuss the impact of the recession on the Arab world and especially the Gulf States.

BBC World News, the BBC’s international 24/7 news and information channel, launches the Aftershock season on September 7, 2009 across its news programmes.

Premiering on BBC World News, in Lehman’s: How a Busted Bank Changed the World, the BBC’s Business Editor Robert Peston will examine what happened and what we’ve learned since the day the money stopped. In this new documentary, he meets many of the people who witnessed the demise of Lehman’s, from bank bosses, to Wall Street Lawyers and Government Regulators and ask them a year on, if anything has changed.  Lehman’s: How a Busted Bank Changed the World will transmit on BBC World News on September 12, 2009 (and BBC World Service’s Business Daily on September 15, 2009).

Marking the start of the week which saw the real crisis in the financial markets, BBC World News begins its extensive news coverage with reports across the globe including Shanghai, Mumbai, New York and Japan. Special reports on how the credit crunch has affected the housing market and small businesses will also be aired from the USA in conjunction with Labour Day.

BBC World News’ World Business Report, from 06.30 GMT on September 10, 2009, will bring viewers live news from Dalian in China on the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of New Champions.

On the weekend of September 12 /13, 2009 India Business Report, BBC World News’ special programme devoted to business news from Mumbai, provides in-depth analysis on the big Indian conglomerates that took advantage of the credit crunch by buying Western companies.

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In an ambitious and truly global production, BBC World News will broadcast a series of live reports from the channel’s expert presenters across the world on September 15, 2009 from 15.00 GMT. Mishal Husain (Singapore), Nik Gowing (Mumbai), Matt Frei (New York) and Jonathan Charles, Lucy Hockings, George Alagiah and Tanya Beckett in (London) will report on: Where is the banking system now and where is it going? What happened to the big Wall Street players? How much did the banks eventually write off and who were the winners and losers? The shifting of power to China and Asia? Could this happen again? And how much did banks eventually write off?

BBC World News broadcasts Working Lives: Dubai, a co-production with BBC Persian TV, on September 12, 2009. The programme follows the experiences of five people including a taxi driver and a billionaire, who have to deal with life’s current economic realities in a land of economic promise.

Our World: Hollywood or Bust airs on September 16, 2009 and provides an analysis on how Hollywood’s movie industry can survive the recession. The programme also broadcasts a candid interview with Sumner Redstone, the head of one of the world’s largest media conglomerates, VIACOM.

BBC World News America marks the one-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse and ensuing global economic meltdown with two special programmes anchored live from New York by Matt Frei:  September 14, 2009 (from the BBC’s New York bureau) and September 15, 2009 (from Wall Street). In addition, special features leading up to the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh include an in-depth report from Washington Correspondent Katty Kay addressing a crucial question: is the U.S. government’s massive economic stimulus programme actually working? The recovery in China also comes under the spotlight in a report that asks if the Chinese might be replacing America as the world’s dominant economic player. And BBC World News America meets three people who personify the links in the financial chain that led to last year’s economic collapse – the American homebuyer, the Wall Street financier who repackaged their sub-prime mortgage, and the Chinese investor who bought it.

BBC World Service’s daily news interactive discussion show, hosted by Ros Atkins, World Have Your Say on September 11, 2009 will find out first-hand from people around the world how the global recession has impacted on their lives.   People can join this global conversation via telephone, online, via mobile and Twitter – BBC_WHYS to share their experiences with others and follow the debate on BBC World Service and BBC World News.

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From New York, the BBC will host the Aftershock Debate, with panellists Lawrence McDonald, a former Vice-President at Lehman Brothers, Nouriel Roubini , New York University professor, Chairman of RGE Monitor, and famed as one of the few economists who anticipated the housing meltdown and subsequent recession in the US, and Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Laureate, former Chief Economist at the World Bank and leader of the UN’s Commission of Experts on Reforming the Global Economy.   The debate will be chaired by Matt Frei with Stephanie Flanders and premieres on September 15, 2009 on BBC World Service, at 17.00-18.00 GMT and BBC World News America, and September 19, 2009 on BBC World News.

During September 2009, the Aftershock website bbc.com/aftershock will feature interactive graphics, charting the impact of the financial crisis around the world including graphics tracking the spend of governments’ money on bank bailouts.  The website will offer audiences the opportunity to share their personal experiences of the past year via a global interactive mood map.