Robert A. Hooper
rhooper@ucsd.edu
Phone: (858) 534-1734
Fax: (858) 534-3939
Office: #1302
Education
J.D., University of California, Davis, 1974 (law)
M.F.A. University of California, Los Angeles, 1982 (motion picture and television production)
B.A., University of California, San Diego, 1969 (economics)
Programs and Centers
Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC)
Biography
CV
Professor Hooper is an award-winning television producer and international educator whose research examines the role of media in interethnic conflict resolution, terrorism, environmental policy, and human rights. A Fulbright Senior Scholar to Indonesia (2001), Fiji (1994), and Malaysia (1989–90), and an Eisenhower Fellow in Media and Education to Malaysia (1996), Hooper serves as an adviser to the Press Institute of Bangladesh, where he develops current affairs television programs and educates reporters for the nation’s television networks.
In recent years, Professor Hooper has worked closely with the broadcast media and universities of Iraq (Kurdistan), Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia and Laos to develop news and documentary programming and to strengthen academic programs in media and journalism. In Laos, Hooper trains reporters and producers for Lao National Television, while advising the National University of Laos on curriculum and infrastructure for a new television and journalism degree program. In Iraq, with support of the Kurdistan Regional Government and the U.S. Department of State, he conducts workshops on television news and current affairs program production to help strengthen democratic institutions, civil society, transparency and the rule of law. Recently, he addressed associations of journalists in Central Europe and the Pacific Islands on issues of media freedom, ethics and investigative journalism. He is currently working with broadcast media and university journalism programs in Fiji, under a grant from the U.S. Department of State.
A graduate of the School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA, Hooper produced the award-winning national PBS documentary, Alaska's Killer Whales, hosted by actor William Shatner. Other groundbreaking documentaries cover nuclear waste disposal (Decisions at 1000 Fathoms), uranium and public health (Uranium, the Aftermath), toxic chemicals (Voices from Love Canal), land use conflicts (Battle at Webber Creek), Pacific islanders (Skin Stories) and historic railroads (The Impossible Railroad). His work has aired nationally and locally on PBS, ABC News 20/20, and CBC Current Affairs (Toronto). Hooper’s articles appear in international media journals and his newspaper columns appear in the Los Angeles Times and leading domestic and international newspapers. His article on working with the media in Iraq appeared in the April issue of the Journal of Media Education (JoME), published by the Broadcast Education Association, an affiliate of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). Click here to read more about the article. He is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the State Bar of California.
Reporting exercise: Suicide bombing of the Palace Hotel, Sulaimaniyah, Iraq
Broadcast Journalism Workshop, Press Institute of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Perspectives
Hooper can provide commentary on the role of media in fragile states, including the use of domestic television to strengthen democratic institutions, promote national unity, protect the environment and respond to terrorism and ethnic conflict in the Asia-Pacific region.
Broadcast Journalism Workshop, Press Institute of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
