Frank Koller
Encyclopedia
Frank Koller is a Canadian
journalist
. He has worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
since 1982 and is currently based in Ottawa. He was a Foreign Correspondent for CBC Radio News in
Washington from 1998 to 2005. He has reported widely from across Canada, the USA, East and Southeast Asia
and Latin America
. Koller was
based in Jakarta
, Indonesia
from 1985 to 1988. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ)
.
in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and a bachelor's degree
in Civil Engineering
from Carleton University
in Ottawa.
Koller lives with his wife in Ottawa. Prior to his work with CBC, Koller spent 10 years as a professional jazz musician and recording artist.
and its successor, This Morning
.
In 1990, Koller was a recipient of a Media Fellowship from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
; he spent three months conducting research in Vietnam
. In an article on Singapore
for Inroads Magazine, Koller interviewed former Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew.
In 1996, Koller was awarded the Media Award from the Canadian Association for Community Living. In 1997, he was the winner of the Canadian Nurses Association
Media Award for Excellence for his documentary
"Death of the Worker's Friend", Sunday Morning
.
From 1996 through 1999, Koller was a board member
of the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists (now called Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
). From 1998 through 2001, Koller was a member of the board of the now-disbanded Canadian Consortium on Asia Pacific Security Studies (CANCAPS).
In 2003, Koller was part of a CBC Radio team which produced Water for Profit, a special series on the privatization of water
, produced in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which is a project of the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity.
In 2007, Koller was recognized by the Canadian Nurses Association
and Canadian Medical Association
for his work as part of a CBC Investigative Unit including David McKie, Susanne Reber, Phil Harbord, Bob Murphy, Karina Roman
, Tyana Grundig and Rachel Gaulin. The group was awarded the Media Awards for excellence in Health Reporting (Excellence in Radio - In-depth) for their series "Dying for a Job".
In a series of investigative reports for CBC News in 2007 and 2008, Koller and several CBC colleagues examined Canada’s continuing production of asbestos
and its export to developing countries around the world, despite widespread condemnation from international health experts of the risks of cancer
to those exposed to the chemical.
In 2009, Koller was presented the Canadian Association of Journalists
award for faith and spirituality along with fellow CBC journalists including Curt Petrovich
and Vik Adhopia
for their work on CBC Radio's Where is God Today?.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. He has worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
since 1982 and is currently based in Ottawa. He was a Foreign Correspondent for CBC Radio News in
Washington from 1998 to 2005. He has reported widely from across Canada, the USA, East and Southeast Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. Koller was
based in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
from 1985 to 1988. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ)
Canadian Association of Journalists
The Canadian Association of Journalists or L'Association Canadienne des Journalistes in French is one of several Canadian organizations of journalists. It was created to promote excellence in journalism and encourage investigative journalism...
.
Personal life
Koller holds a Master's DegreeMaster's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
and a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Civil Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
from Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
in Ottawa.
Koller lives with his wife in Ottawa. Prior to his work with CBC, Koller spent 10 years as a professional jazz musician and recording artist.
Career
From 1988 to 1998, Frank was foreign editor and documentary producer for CBC Radio's Sunday MorningSunday Morning (radio program)
Sunday Morning was a Canadian radio news and information program, which aired on CBC Radio One. The magazine style program was one of the highest budget shows on CBC Radio and featured documentaries, interviews, round table discussions, book reviews, arts reports, puzzles and various features...
and its successor, This Morning
This Morning (radio program)
This Morning was a Canadian radio program which aired from 1997 to 2002 on CBC Radio One. It was not always successful with CBC audiences, and underwent several format and hosting changes during its lifetime....
.
In 1990, Koller was a recipient of a Media Fellowship from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, created by an Act of Parliament in 1984, is an independent, not-for-profit think-tank on Canada's relations with Asia.-Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada:...
; he spent three months conducting research in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. In an article on Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
for Inroads Magazine, Koller interviewed former Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew.
In 1996, Koller was awarded the Media Award from the Canadian Association for Community Living. In 1997, he was the winner of the Canadian Nurses Association
Canadian Nurses Association
The Canadian Nurses Association is a federation of 11 provincial and territorial registered nurses associations representing more than 139,893 Canadian registered nurses and nurse practitioners...
Media Award for Excellence for his documentary
Radio documentary
A radio documentary or feature is a purely acoustic performance devoted to covering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentary and sound pictures. It is broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD...
"Death of the Worker's Friend", Sunday Morning
Sunday Morning (radio program)
Sunday Morning was a Canadian radio news and information program, which aired on CBC Radio One. The magazine style program was one of the highest budget shows on CBC Radio and featured documentaries, interviews, round table discussions, book reviews, arts reports, puzzles and various features...
.
From 1996 through 1999, Koller was a board member
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the Canadian Committee to Protect Journalists (now called Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression is a Canadian non-governmental organization supported by Canadian journalists and advocates of freedom of expression. The purpose of the organization is to defend the rights of journalists and contribute to the development of press freedom throughout the...
). From 1998 through 2001, Koller was a member of the board of the now-disbanded Canadian Consortium on Asia Pacific Security Studies (CANCAPS).
In 2003, Koller was part of a CBC Radio team which produced Water for Profit, a special series on the privatization of water
Water privatization
Water privatization is a short-hand for private sector participation in the provision of water services and sanitation, although sometimes it refers to privatization and sale of water resources themselves . As water services are seen as such a key public service, water privatization is often...
, produced in collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which is a project of the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity.
In 2007, Koller was recognized by the Canadian Nurses Association
Canadian Nurses Association
The Canadian Nurses Association is a federation of 11 provincial and territorial registered nurses associations representing more than 139,893 Canadian registered nurses and nurse practitioners...
and Canadian Medical Association
Canadian Medical Association
The Canadian Medical Association , with more than 70,000 members, is the largest association of doctors in Canada and works to represent their interests nationally. It formed in 1867, three months after Confederation...
for his work as part of a CBC Investigative Unit including David McKie, Susanne Reber, Phil Harbord, Bob Murphy, Karina Roman
CBOT (TV)
CBOT-DT is a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television station in Ottawa, Ontario. The station's studios are located in the CBC Ottawa Broadcast Centre.-History:...
, Tyana Grundig and Rachel Gaulin. The group was awarded the Media Awards for excellence in Health Reporting (Excellence in Radio - In-depth) for their series "Dying for a Job".
In a series of investigative reports for CBC News in 2007 and 2008, Koller and several CBC colleagues examined Canada’s continuing production of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
and its export to developing countries around the world, despite widespread condemnation from international health experts of the risks of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
to those exposed to the chemical.
In 2009, Koller was presented the Canadian Association of Journalists
Canadian Association of Journalists
The Canadian Association of Journalists or L'Association Canadienne des Journalistes in French is one of several Canadian organizations of journalists. It was created to promote excellence in journalism and encourage investigative journalism...
award for faith and spirituality along with fellow CBC journalists including Curt Petrovich
Curt Petrovich
Curt Petrovich is a Canadian journalist. He has worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation since 1986.Petrovich is currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia...
and Vik Adhopia
Vik Adhopia
Vik Adhopia is a Canadian journalist who reports from Newfoundland and Labrador for CBC Radio.He attended Port Credit Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario...
for their work on CBC Radio's Where is God Today?.