AIB Media Industry Briefing | May 2022 |
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Welcome to the latest media industry briefing from the Association for International Broadcasting, covering news from our Members and the wider industry. |
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Mali withdraws RFI & FRANCE 24 licences |
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The Malian government has withdrawn the operating licences of the international radio and TV services RFI and France 24.
The ruling means that the two services cannot be carried by any Malian TV or radio distributor, and it also means that the online services of the broadcasters cannot be carried on Mali-based mobile phone operators.
Reacting, France Médias Monde condemned the move, saying: “France Médias Monde strongly contests such a measure and intends to appeal this decision. It will use all other possible means of appeal."
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ABC releases online safety guidelines for journalists |
A ground-breaking collaboration between the ABC and Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has seen the release of best practice guidelines designed to help protect journalists and newsrooms from online abuse.
Launched on UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day on May 3, the guidelines align with this year’s theme of “Journalism under digital siege”.
The resources include tips for media organisations in supporting staff to manage and mitigate the risk of social media abuse. They include some of the practical steps the ABC is taking to prepare for and respond to social media abuse and continue the ABC’s leadership in the space following last year’s CyberSafety summit.
The ABC’s Managing Director, David Anderson, said the online abuse of journalists was a trend connected to the rise of disinformation, conspiracy theories and extremism.
“We have all felt and observed a rise in online hate and abuse directed at our media professionals, and we have seen the devastating cumulative impact of this daily bullying,” he said. “The ABC has made a significant investment in the structures and policies and processes to support journalists and staff. But all journalists need to know they’re not alone and that there are resources they can use for their protection.”
Read the full story and access the materials here
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The AIBs 2022 - open for entry |
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The 18th annual AIBs - the renowned and respected international competition for journalism and factual productions across TV, radio and digital platforms - are open for entry.
We are inviting entries to be showcased in 18 categories.
Work for any audience and in any language can be submitted.
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- BREAKING NEWS
- CONTINUING NEWS COVERAGE
- POLITICS and BUSINESS
- DOMESTIC AFFAIRS DOCUMENTARY
- INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS DOCUMENTARY
- INVESTIGATIVE DOCUMENTARY
- SPECIALIST FACTUAL
- HUMAN INTEREST
- SPORTS JOURNALISM
- NATURAL WORLD
- SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY
- SHORT FEATURE
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- NEWS COVERAGE – breaking or continuing
- INVESTIGATIVE DOCUMENTARY
- HUMAN INTEREST
- SPECIALIST FACTUAL
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- STREAMING DOCUMENTARY
- FACTUAL PODCAST
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Find out why you should enter or support the AIBs - watch the comments from entrants to the 2021 competition:
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Get full information at the AIBs website here
Sponsor these global awards - details here
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RFE/RL journalist killed in Kyiv air strike |
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RFE/RL journalist Vira Hyrych has died in Kyiv after a Russian air strike hit the residential building where she lived in the Ukrainian capital.
Hyrych’s body was found early in the morning on April 29 amid the wreckage of the building, which was hit by a Russian missile the night before, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting Kyiv on April 28 as air strikes hit the capital, including the apartment block.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of our Ukrainian Service staffer Vira Hyrych in Kyiv overnight. We have lost a dear colleague who will be remembered for her professionalism and dedication to our mission,” RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said in a statement.
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Soviet-era radio site hit by explosions |
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An attack on a major Soviet-era radio transmitting complex near Grigoriopol, in the unrecognised breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova, took out the antennae used for two medium wave transmitters.
The Grigoriopol site consists of a number of antenna arrays used for short and medium wave broadcasting. The site also has a large, rotatable antenna.
It is understood that the complex – in the area that is essentially controlled by Russia – is used to broadcast Russian-language domestic programmes of Vesti Radio, on 999 and 1413 kHz. Transmitters at the site are also believed to be hired out to third party broadcasters.
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Current Time launches in UK |
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Current Time, the Russian-language TV news service produced by RFE/RL, has launched in the UK on the country's Freeview digital TV platform. The service is carried on Channelbox TV, the aggregator of TV channels from around the world. Viewers can tune to channel 271 on Freeview to access Current Time on any connected TV set.
The launch of Current Time follows the introduction on Channelbox of United News, the Ukrainian TV news service that is being produced by seven Ukraine TV networks. The relay of United News was arranged by the AIB in conjunction with Channelbox. Read the story here. |
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Ukrainian journalists receive DW Freedom of Speech Award 2022
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Ukrainian visual journalist and novelist Mstyslav Chernov and photojournalist Evgeniy Maloletka are this year’s DW Freedom of Speech Award laureates. The prize recognises outstanding promotion of human rights and freedom of expression.
“Mstyslav Chernov and Evgeniy Maloletka have a way of reporting that is painful to read and watch, but what really hurts is the truth that their reporting conveys: Russia brutally attacking Ukraine, and thereby Ukrainian civilians, under a fabricated pretence. While there are nuances to every story, there is no way facts can be negotiated. This is exactly what the Kremlin is doing: Distorting facts, spreading misinformation,” said DW Director General Peter Limbourg. “The Freedom of Speech Award for Mstyslav Chernov and Evgeniy Maloletka is to recognise their exceptional courage in standing up against propaganda and misinformation. It is to recognise that their fight for human rights and for the truth is a fight for democracy and free societies, for all of us, and it comes at a high price.”
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The AIBs 2022 | Masterclass |
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To coincide with the launch of the 2022 AIBs, we held a Masterclass that brought together a number of winners and finalists from previous years to share knowledge and provide inspiration and incentive for other programme makers, as well as offering encouragement to those entering, or hoping to enter, the journalism or factual programming industries.
Watch the sessions using the links below each session.
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Session 1
Global investigations – the key to success
Peter Charley, Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
Kiki Mordi, Investigative Journalist
Calliste Weitenberg, SBS Australia
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Session 2
Soundscapes – telling important stories
Robert Mulhern, Sky News Storycast
Tom Koenig, VP, US Podcasts, Somethin’ Else
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Session 3
Safety is key
Roger Macmillan, Volant Media
Simon Marr MBE, First Option Group
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Major broadcasters talk of importance of media freedom |
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“Journalists have a critical role to play in covering the climate emergency,” says Trendle. “Yet journalists cannot play this crucial civic role if our reporters are being killed, our offices bombed, and our freedom to publish and broadcast trampled.”
Watch the video by clicking on the image.
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On World Press Freedom Day, Liliane Landor, Senior Controller of BBC International News and Director of BBC World Service, said:
“As audiences continue to seek reliable information about the war in Ukraine, BBC content in any language, including Russian, has been blocked in Russia since early March. We continue to do everything we can to serve BBC News Russian audiences with trusted and impartial reporting, investigations and analysis. Despite blocking, there are still millions of people in Russia accessing BBC News content using circumvention and other means.
“This World Press Freedom Day we stand by journalists around the world as they fight to overcome the increasing challenges, threats and harassment facing our profession today.”
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“As we recognize World Press Freedom Day, let us first pause to remember Vira Hyrych, a journalist for RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service who was killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile struck her home on April 28, 2022. I join Vira’s family, the RFE/RL team, and the entire USAGM community in mourning her loss and we will honor Vira’s legacy and her work.
“Today is a day to pay tribute to all those who put themselves at risk each day to bring truth to audiences around the world. This year’s World Press Freedom Day comes at a crucial moment for media freedom and journalist safety. Restrictions on independent media are on the rise, and attacks on journalists and their families are skyrocketing. Despite these challenges, USAGM continues to experience an unprecedented demand for news and information from our audiences worldwide.
“At USAGM, we believe that freedom of speech is a right. As an organization on the frontlines of the war on information, we will continue to act as a lifeline by informing, engaging and connecting people worldwide in support of freedom and democracy.”
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AIB Member May programme highlights |
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Lisbon: How African music is breaking down racial barriers?
In February 2022, France and Portugal embarked upon a cultural season that will see nine months of arts events in both countries. To celebrate this international friendship, France 24 is exploring Portuguese culture in a special programme. The culture show Encore! is going on a musical journey to Lisbon to meet the country’s top artists.
This show zooms in on the new Afro-Portuguese scene, whose influences come from Portugal’s former colonies Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe.
Watch on France 24 on Friday 13 May at 1015 GMT
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The Power of Champuru
Barakan Discovers: OKINAWA
Peter Barakan meets with people in Okinawa, 50 years after its return to Japan from America following the postwar occupation. Residents worked tirelessly to heal the scars of war and reconstruct their heritage. That heritage is grounded in the Ryukyu Kingdom that Okinawa once was, surviving for 450 years as an independent entity between China and Japan. A Champuru ethos allowed the Kingdom to skilfully encounter and incorporate foreign influences, strategies that may be useful even today.
May 28 Sat. 0:10 / 6:10 / 12:10 / 18:10
How to be Likeable in a Crisis
International viewers can now enjoy one of Japan’s most popular TV dramas with the English-dubbed version of How to be Likeable in a Crisis made available by NHK Drama Showcase on NHK WORLD-JAPAN. The dark comedy revolves around Kanzaki Makoto, who works in public relations for a prestigious university.
The screenplay was written by Watanabe Aya, who has been behind many hit shows. Award-winning actor Matsuzaka Tori depicts Makoto navigating the choppy waters of the workplace and his personal life in the series’ five episodes.
Ep 4 May 1 Sun. 0:10 / 18:10
Ep 5 May 8 Sun. 0:10 / 18:10
Hometown Stories:
Bomb Disposal Quest in Okinawa
An engineer in southwestern Japan has dedicated his life to removing dud explosives from World War II that still lie buried. It will probably take 70 years to remove them all. We follow his challenge.
May 15 Sun. 1:10 / 7:10 / 13:10 / 19:10
GRAND SUMO Highlights
DAILY DURING TOURNAMENTS
The best of today’s sumo! Enjoy daily highlights of this dynamic sport with background info and play-by-play commentary adding to the excitement!
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Paramount+ launch date for key territories |
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Paramount+, the global streaming service from Paramount Global, will launch in the UK and Ireland on 22 June 2022. There will also be launches in South Korea in June, and Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria in the second half of the year. In 2023, Paramount+ will launch in India in partnership with Viacom 18, as part of a recently announced agreement.
“Paramount is known for its leading portfolio of premium entertainment brands and a robust content engine that fuels our rapidly expanding streaming service, Paramount+. This year will be monumental for our streaming strategy as we accelerate our global ambitions, rapidly expanding Paramount+ in Europe beginning with the UK, Italy, Germany, France and more by the end of this year and debut in Asia with South Korea in June, followed by India in 2023,” said Raffaele Annecchino, President and CEO, International Networks, Studios and Streaming, Paramount Global. "With an already expansive global footprint and a strong, long-term market-by-market strategy, we are well-poised to continue our positive momentum.”
Maria Kyriacou, President, Australia, Canada, Israel and UK, Paramount, said, “The addition of Paramount+ to our strong portfolio of free-to-air, pay TV and streaming services will broaden the range of choice available to our audiences in the UK and Ireland. Paramount+ will be a one-stop destination for Paramount’s biggest brands, where fans of all ages can find exclusive original premium content, global hits, and discover a world of favourites from Paramount’s vast catalogue.”
The announcement comes soon after Netflix saw US$50bn wiped off its market capitalisation after the streaming service revealed a drop in subscriber numbers as rapidly rising consumer prices take hold around the world.
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DAZN gets wings with Red Bull TV |
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Global sports streaming service DAZN has agreed a distribution deal with Red Bull Media House to stream the Red Bull TV linear channel on its platform globally.
The multi-year agreement sees DAZN expand its offering into live extreme sports through Red Bull TV to include coverage of the Crankworx World Tour, the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series and the Drift Masters European Championship, among others.
DAZN will also stream a curated selection of Red Bull’s original documentaries, series, highlights and archive programming, to offer fans a greater breadth of sport storytelling from around the world. Programme availability will vary across markets but will include docu-series Driving Dirty: The Road to Baja, Red Bull Soundwave and Road To 55: The Drive To Become A Formula 1 Racer , alongside archive series, Red Bull X-Fighters and Red Bull Street Style, to name a few.
Where available, this will also include local language programming in DAZN’s core markets.
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Weather Channel blows towards Spanish-speaking audiences |
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At the AIB Secretariat, we talk about weather quite frequently. And the AIB website even tells you what weather we're experiencing (scroll to the bottom of www.aib.org.uk to check today's temperature!). Now Spanish-speaking communities across North, Central and South America have their own Spanish-language 24 hour-a-day weather service from The Weather Channel.
The Allen Media Group-owned television network The Weather Channel – which the company says is the #1 source for weather news and information on television – has launched a brand-new free television network The Weather Channel en Español.
The company says this is the first 24/7 Spanish-language free-streaming weather news network in the United States. The Weather Channel en Español makes its debut on the 40th anniversary of the launch of The Weather Channel television network. The Weather Channel en Español has signed major sponsors including Ford, GEICO, General Motors, Toyota, Walmart among others.
The Weather Channel en Español features a variety of Spanish language weather content, including locally specific forecasting, storytelling that will help viewers understand the variation behind weather events, climate science, and its human impact.
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The AIBs - get involved in 2022! |
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The AIBs are the annual competition for journalism and factual productions across TV, radio and digital. Now in their 18th year, the AIBs attract entries from all parts of the world - more than 40 countries were represented in the 2021 contest.
The AIBs 2022 are now open for entry!
Now is the time to:
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become a sponsor of the AIBs in 2022 and align your brand with the world's leading journalism and factual programming. Full details are available here.
- nominate yourself as a member of the international panel of judges that will evaluate the shortlisted work.
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Contact the AIB Secretariat in the UK to explore ideas on how you can become involved in the AIBs 2022.
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Watch this short video compilation of what journalists, producers and executives from around the world say about the AIBs:
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AIB survey on IoT and journalism |
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Anjuli Shere, AIB research analyst and cyber security PhD student at the University of Oxford, and pre-doctoral fellow at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, is undertaking a major piece of research that will help members of the media understand and counter threats to journalism from novel networked devices, known as the Internet of Things.
This research is necessary because journalists face many threats – from physical attacks while covering protests and riots, to laws citing national security justifications that encroach on source protections, and increasingly, technologies such as spyware. All of these threats can be facilitated and exacerbated by the so-called “consumer Internet of Things” (the IoT): a variety of common networked devices that include gaming systems, smart cars and fitness trackers.
If you are interested in joining this important research project, please contact the AIB Secretariat on +44 20 7993 2557 or email
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John Lyons, one of Australia’s leading journalists and most experienced foreign correspondents, has been appointed ABC NEWS Global Affairs Editor.
Lyons will contribute expert analysis and reporting across all platforms and enhance on-the-ground coverage of the biggest world stories.
He will also help mentor the next generation of talented correspondents coming through the organisation.
Lyons, a former Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, joined the ABC in August 2017 as Head Investigative and In-depth Journalism, leading ABC NEWS’s current affairs teams at 7.30, Australian Story, Four Corners, Q+A, Insiders, Foreign Correspondent and the Investigative Reporting Team.
Previously he has worked as a foreign correspondent based in Washington, New York and Jerusalem for a range of media outlets.
Lyons will take up the new role in June, following the federal election.
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The South African Broadcasting Corporation has appointed Moshoeshoe Monare as the Group Executive for News and Current Affairs effective from June.
Mr. Monare has 25 years experience in the media industry and is currently the Managing Director Operations and Corporate Services at Arena Holdings.
Prior to assuming executive roles, he spent almost two decades in editorial operations, as a reporter for the Pretoria News, The Star, Sunday Times and the SABC before occupying senior editorial positions as The Editor of The Sunday Independent, Deputy Editor of Mail and Guardian, Group Political Editor of Independent Newspapers, Executive Editor of The Star and Managing Editor of The Sunday Times and The Times.
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The AIB's Big Tech Intelligence Group is exploring the challenges that AIB Members have in their relationships with and reliance on big tech platforms. It has developed a position paper to tackle issues around copyright and take-downs and to explore the potential of Big Tech platforms white-listing broadcasters. The Group brings together AIB Members across the world who are keen to collaborate on key issues around Big Tech.
With AIB Members reaching more than one billion people every week, working together to engage with Big Tech platforms is important. The AIB Intelligence Group examines Members' needs and establishes ways for them to collaborate.
For more information about how to participate, contact the AIB Secretariat in the UK. |
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The AIB’s mission is to support, sustain, promote and protect its Members, wherever they are in the world, via a range of specialist services.
The Association was formed to support organisations that face unique challenges by virtue of their remit to broadcast to and publish in multiple global jurisdictions and cultures. Today, thanks to the rapid developments in distribution and accessibility to content, this includes almost every domestic broadcaster since their services have become available to international audiences.
Our Members operate television, radio and online services in multiple languages that, every week, reach well in excess of one billion people in almost every country on the planet.
We help our Members to collaborate, and to innovate.
We help our Members to solve problems.
We help our Members to tell their stories.
We draw on 28 years of knowledge gathering, intelligence sharing and understanding in the international media market to deliver outstanding support to our Members.
To find out more about the benefits that Membership of the Association for International Broadcasting delivers, see our Guide to Membership booklet and talk to Tom Wragg at AIB headquarters in the UK.
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Association for International Broadcasting
PO Box141 | Cranbrook | TN17 9AJ | United Kingdom
T +44 20 7993 2557
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