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THE CHANNEL
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JANUARY08
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13
IN BRIEF
CHINA IN KENYA
China continues its march
into the media markets of
Africa, following in the
footsteps of the country's
commercial companies
tapping into the rich
natural resources of the
continent. CCTV9 is
starting joint programmes
with Kenya Broadcasting
Corporation. KBC's MD
David Waweru says the two
organisations have been
successfully working
together for the past five
years and it has been
"beneficial for both China
and Kenya." China Radio
International's first African
FM relay is in Nairobi.
BLANK SCREENS
European broadcasters
oppose a proposal by the
European Commission to
open radio frequencies to
mobile phone operators and
say digital TV screens could
go blank as a result. The
wide-ranging proposals aim
to boost competition in
broadband and wireless
services by giving national
regulators powers to split
dominant operators. The
reform would also treat the
radio spectrum as ‘service
neutral,’ opening any
frequency to whoever pays
for it - such as telecoms
companies, broadcasters or
the aviation sector.
BRAZIL ADOPTS
JAPAN STANDARD
Brazil started terrestrial
digital TV programmes in
December, the first foreign
nation to adopt Japan's
digital TV standard. Brazil's
six major commercial TV
broadcasters are now
delivering terrestrial digital
services to 1,000 households
in and around Sao Paolo.
Brazil is intent on having
DTT broadcasts nationwide
by 2013, blending Brazil's
own technology with the
Japanese technology. Chile
and Peru are also considering
the Japanese standard.
BBC poll finds world
divided on press freedom
RNZI's
awards
To celebrate the BBC World
Service’s 75th anniversary, the
BBC commissioned a poll of
11,344 people across 14
countries on the importance of
press freedom.
While an average of 56%
across all countries think that
freedom of the press is very
important to ensure a free
society, 40% believe that social
harmony and peace are more
important, even if it means
controlling what is reported for
the greater good. 56% think the
press and media in their country
is free to report the news
accurately without bias. Only
19% say there is little or no
media freedom in their country.
Private and publicly funded
news organisations receive
similar ratings from the public
when it comes to reporting the
news honestly and accurately. In
some countries the poll shows
concern over the ownership of
private media. Strong majorities
in Brazil (80%), Mexico (76%),
USA (74%), and Great Britain
(71%) believe that the
concentration of media
ownership in fewer hands is a
concern because owners’
political views emerge in
reporting.
Of the countries where press
freedom is most highly valued,
Western developed countries are
more critical of how honestly and
accurately the news is reported,
including Germany (28% average
rating for good performance of
public and private media), Great
Britain (29%), and the USA (29%)
whereas Venezuela (44%), South
Africa (49%), Nigeria (58%), and
Kenya (61%) rate the media
performance more positively.
GLOBAL BRIEFING
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THE CHANNEL
TV network devoted to death
German satellite broadcaster
Etos TV hopes to move reality TV
to the next stage with the world's
first bereavement channel.
Etos TV founder Wolf Tilmann
Schneider said: ‘Over 800,000
people die in Germany every year
but the death notices in the
paper say nothing about them.
The regular media completely
ignores this topic.’ Etos TV will
be based on three programming
pillars. The first will be short film
obituaries about the recently
deceased. Mr Schneider's
business partners, the German
association of undertakers, will
gather picture and video material
from relatives and help write
texts for voice-overs. The station
will broadcast the film for a fee
of EUR 2,000.
Another programming strand
will feature reportage about the
world's most beautiful
graveyards.
Finally, the station will
broadcast advice and discussion
programmes covering issues it
thinks will be of interest to its
target over-50s audience. The
station will broadcast for three
hours daily over the Astra
satellite from 2008 onwards.
Radio New Zealand International's
honours at the AIB Media
Excellence Awards (International
Radio Station of the Year and
Most Innovative Partnership)
made waves in New Zealand and
the Pacific.
Congratulations flooded in
from NZ stakeholders and media
partners and listeners across the
Pacific. NZ Broadcasting
Minister Trevor Mallard (above)
called it an “outstanding
achievement” and said the
broadcaster's service is now
“more valued than ever", as it
delivers independent news,
reporting and programmes to
residents of the Pacific.
In December, Tongan
journalist Anau Fonokalafi,
winner of the Pacific News
Association/RNZI Best Pacific
Junior Journalist 2007 award,
joined RNZI for an all expenses
paid working attachment with
the RNZI news team.