ABU Radio
News Exchange (ARNE) contribute Asian perspectives
Kuala Lumpur, 7 December
2006 The ABU Radio News Exchange (ARNE) has gone from strength to strength in
facilitating news exchanges amongst radio broadcasters in the region.
Deborah Steele, a producer
from Radio Australia said at a recent workshop for radio broadcasters in the
Asia-Pacific organised by the ABU, that ARNE material will provide radio
broadcasters content that is relevant to their audiences needs. Broadcasters
can supplement their daily news bulletins with regional stories taken from the
radio news exchange and modify them to suit their audiences demands. Through
the unions radio news exchange, members can obtain timely and relevant stories,
stay ahead of their competitors, and broaden their audience appeal.
The ABU Workshop on Radio
News Exchange, held from 4-6 December was supported by UNESCO through a grant
under its International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC)
and was attended by radio news producers and editors as well as IT staff engaged
in web-based file transfer from Bhutan, Fiji, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal,
Pakistan, Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Workshop facilitators
included resource personnel from the ABU, Radio Australia, Deutsche
Welle-Germany and NHK-Japan and EBU who provided participants a glimpse of
elements of cutting-edge technology used in a modern IT-based newsroom.
As a fairly new initiative,
we have received a number of positive responses from our members. We hope this
workshop helped to instill a sense of ownership and further enhance members
participation, said Vijay Sadhu, ABU Senior Executive for Radio.
The workshop has recommended
the forming of a Radio News Group to be chaired by MediaCorp-Singapore. The EBU
will assist the ABU to set up an enhanced platform based on its Euroradio News
Exchange (ENE) for the further development of ARNE. ARNE aims to be a useful
source of radio news especially for radio broadcasters from less developed
countries who would otherwise have limited means of obtaining regional and
international news. Since its launch in 2005, ARNE has provided news coverage of
international interest including international sporting events such as the 2006
Commonwealth Games and the FIFA World Cup.
More information at
www.abu.org.my