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Derek Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | Derek Paul Williams 13 September 1946 Queenstown, New Zealand |
| Died | 22 July 2026 (aged 79) Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Occupations | Television news cameraman, sound recordist, producer |
| Years active | 1960s–2017 |
| Known for | CBS News, Vietnam War coverage, Tiananmen Square protests, AsiaWorks |
| Spouse | Tran Thi Thu Ha (m. 1975) |
| Children | 2 |
Derek Paul Williams (13 September 1946 – 22 July 2026) was a New Zealand television news cameraman, sound recordist and producer. He spent more than four decades covering international conflicts, political upheavals and major news events, primarily in Asia and the Middle East.
Williams worked for CBS News for approximately 20 years, covering events including the Vietnam War, the 1976 Thammasat University massacre, the Soviet–Afghan War, the 1986 People Power Revolution in the Philippines, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre and the Gulf War. During the 1989 crackdown in Beijing, Williams and CBS correspondent Richard Roth were detained by Chinese authorities.[1]
After leaving CBS, Williams co-founded AsiaWorks, a Bangkok-based television production company, in 1996. He continued working as a cameraman and producer until his retirement in 2017.[2]
He was associated with Emmy Award- and Peabody Award-winning television journalism, and was remembered by colleagues for his conflict coverage and mentorship of younger journalists.[3]
Early life
[edit]Williams was born in Queenstown, New Zealand, on 13 September 1946. He was the son of Philip Williams, an Anglican minister, and Jean Williams (née Bell), a nurse and dietitian. His family lived in several towns in the Otago and Southland regions, including Lawrence, Roxburgh, Waikouaiti and Gore.[2]
He attended King's High School in Dunedin before transferring to school in Gore. Rather than pursuing a university education, Williams entered the broadcasting industry as a trainee radio technician with the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC).
He initially worked at Radio 4ZA in Invercargill before transferring to Wellington, where he joined the broadcaster's film sound department during the early development of New Zealand television.
His early television sound work included the dramas Green Gin Sunset (1969) and The Killing of Kane (1970).[2]
Career
[edit]CBS News and early conflict coverage
[edit]In June 1971, Williams moved to Hong Kong to join the CBS News bureau as a film sound technician. Initially recruited for a three-month trial, he subsequently established a long-term career with the American television network.[4]
One of his earliest assignments involved covering refugees fleeing East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, into India during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Williams subsequently worked across Indochina, covering the final years of the Vietnam War and the conflict in Cambodia. During the Easter Offensive of 1972, he accompanied CBS crews operating in South Vietnam, including in areas surrounding Huế and Quảng Trị.[4]
In April 1975, shortly before the fall of Saigon, Williams travelled to South Vietnam to help evacuate his Vietnamese partner, Tran Thi Thu Ha. The couple married on 20 April and left the country shortly before the collapse of the South Vietnamese government.[5]
Political unrest in Thailand
[edit]Williams covered political upheavals in Thailand, including the 6 October 1976 massacre at Thammasat University in Bangkok.
During the massacre, security forces and right-wing paramilitary groups attacked student demonstrators. Williams was among the foreign television journalists who filmed the violence.
In a 2017 interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Williams described witnessing the killing of demonstrators and the difficulties of reconciling the events with ordinary life continuing elsewhere in Bangkok.[4]
More than three decades later, in 2008, Williams filmed an interview with former Thai prime minister Samak Sundaravej for Al Jazeera's 101 East. During the interview, Samak disputed the extent of the 1976 killings, an account that Williams publicly challenged based on his experience covering the massacre.[3]
Afghanistan and the Middle East
[edit]Williams covered the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.
After travelling to Kabul, he filmed Soviet military activity in the city. According to a retrospective interview published by Scott Murray in 2021, Williams managed to pass his footage to colleagues before being detained by Soviet authorities and ordered to leave Afghanistan.[5]
He subsequently covered conflicts in the Middle East, including the 1982 Lebanon War and the Iran–Iraq War.
During the 1982 war in Lebanon, Williams worked with CBS correspondent Allen Pizzey, who later described Williams as an important mentor during his early international reporting career.[1]
Williams also covered the Gulf War and military operations associated with Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.[2]
Philippines and China
[edit]In February 1986, Williams covered the People Power Revolution in the Philippines, which led to the departure of President Ferdinand Marcos.
In 1989, he travelled to China to cover the state visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and the growing student demonstrations in Beijing.
As the protests developed, Williams joined CBS News crews covering events around Tiananmen Square.
During the military crackdown in June 1989, Williams and CBS correspondent Richard Roth were detained at gunpoint by Chinese authorities. They were taken for questioning and subsequently released.[1][3]
Following his release, Williams returned to Hong Kong, where he was met by colleagues and members of the foreign press community.
The incident became one of the defining episodes of his journalism career and was subsequently recalled in accounts of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.[4]
AsiaWorks
[edit]Williams remained with CBS News until 1991, after which he worked independently.
In 1996, he co-founded AsiaWorks in Bangkok with fellow television professionals Marc Laban, Heather Kelly and David McKaige.[3]
The company provided television production services, news coverage, camera crews and technical support to international broadcasters operating across Asia.
AsiaWorks established its offices in Bangkok's Maneeya Centre, which also housed the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand.
Williams continued to cover major international events while working with AsiaWorks, including the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
He also maintained a long association with the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand, where he participated in discussions about journalism and the history of international news coverage in Southeast Asia.[2]
Retirement
[edit]Williams retired from professional television production in 2017 after more than four decades working in Asia.
His career was the subject of a retrospective interview by Australian Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Liam Cochrane, broadcast in June 2017. In the interview, Williams discussed the psychological effects of repeatedly witnessing warfare and violence, as well as the changing nature of television journalism.[4]
He was also profiled by journalist Scott Murray in 2021 in an account of his experiences covering major historical events across Asia.[5]
Awards and recognition
[edit]Williams was associated with television news coverage that received Emmy and Peabody awards. The Otago Daily Times and the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand described him as an Emmy- and Peabody-winning CBS News cameraman.[2][3]
Specific award years and programme titles have not been independently established in the available accounts.
Following his retirement, Williams was recognised by colleagues and professional organisations for his contribution to international television journalism.
At a farewell event held by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand in 2017, New Zealand ambassador Ben King acknowledged Williams's longstanding role in journalism across Asia.
Following his death in 2026, former CBS News anchor Dan Rather paid tribute to Williams's courage and camerawork. Former CBS News president Susan Zirinsky and correspondent Allen Pizzey also recalled his work in conflict zones and his influence on fellow journalists.[1]
The New Zealand Cinematographers Society published an obituary recognising his career in international news coverage.[6]
Personal life
[edit]Williams married Tran Thi Thu Ha in Saigon in April 1975. The couple subsequently raised two sons.
After retiring in 2017, Williams and his wife moved from Thailand to Irvine, California, where they lived near family members.
In 2020, Williams was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He returned to New Zealand in 2025 and moved to a care facility in Christchurch.
Williams died in Christchurch on 22 July 2026, aged 79, following a diagnosis of oesophageal cancer.[3][2]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Frazier, Kierra (23 July 2026). "Derek Williams, longtime CBS News cameraman, remembered as "the mate you would want in any war zone"". CBS News. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Bringing history into people's homes". Otago Daily Times. 4 September 2026. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Derek Paul Williams, 13 September 1946 – 22 July 2026, RIP". Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand. 27 July 2026. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Cochrane, Liam (3 June 2017). "'You definitely get callouses on your soul': Derek Williams looks back over a 40-year career in Asia". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
- 1 2 3 Murray, Scott (23 June 2021). "Five decades of filming Asia's biggest stories". Retrieved 23 October 2026.
- ↑ "Vale – Derek Williams, legendary New Zealand foreign correspondent/cameraman". New Zealand Cinematographers Society. 9 August 2026. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
External links
[edit]- Derek Williams – 2017 career retrospective, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
- Five decades of filming Asia's biggest stories, Scott Murray
- Derek Paul Williams obituary, Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand