Soyuz Launch – News Team Ep.85

Paula Slier is sent on a last-minute assignment to Erbil in Iraq. She plans to stay for 10 days, filing a different report each day. Their main focus will be ISIS and its blackmarket oil trade. The militant group managed to capture several oil refineries in Syria and now uses the profits from the oil it sells illegally to fund its terrorist activities. The town is safe and Paula has a local producer helping her, even so, working in a new place is still a challenge, especially when you’re in the business of being the first to break a story.

In the meantime, Ilya Petrenko who was recently promoted to a correspondent, goes to the famous Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Three Russian cosmonauts are preparing to board a rocket that will take them to the International Space Station. It’s the first time in his life that Ilya has seen a space ship launch. His new career as a correspondent is off to a good start and it promises fascinating trips and lots of adventure. 

News Team is not just a privileged view into how the news is made, but also provides unflinching insight into the personal lives of those who make it. After watching News Team, no RT broadcast will ever seem the same.

The series was independently filmed by Emmy-nominated Josh Silberman. Named Producer of the Year by the Producers’ Guild of America in 2011, Silberman has been a key figure on leading US shows Fear Factor, America’s Got Talent, and Dancing with the Stars. He has also produced acclaimed extreme series Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers, but says News Team is the most “extreme, real and unpredictable” show he has ever been a part of.