32
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ISSUE 2 2014
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THE CHANNEL
tanding at the top of
the Norman Foster-
designed pyramid in
the Kazakhstan
capital in June, it
struck me – not for the
first time – that
running the AIB is a real privilege,
in more ways than one. Visiting a
wide variety of places in the world,
meeting so many interesting people,
discovering how media operates in
different markets – all this adds up to
making my job varied, stimulating,
and worthwhile. Yes, I can operate
sitting at my desk a lot of the time –
with BBC studio clocks and other
treasures acquired in auctions
benignly looking on – but I do get
to travel to places that aren’t on the
usual tourist route, which can be a
challenge and a unique opportunity
to broaden one’s horizons at the
same time.
ASTANA
I’ve been lucky enough to spend
time in Astana twice this year and
on each visit I’m reminded just how
remarkable a place the city is. It’s
one of the world’s youngest capital
cities in one of the world’s youngest
countries that’s also the world’s
ninth largest, although the
population numbers only around
19m. It also has the most
extraordinary weather – winter
temperatures dip to minus 40c
while in the (rather short)
summer, they hit highs of plus
40c. Whatever time of year you
might visit, Astana’s architecture
astonishes. It mixes myriad styles
and colours and shapes. The city’s
centre has been designed as a
grand project, with principal
buildings running along an east-
west axis from the remarkable
pyramid – formally known as the
Palace of Peace and Reconciliation
– past the Presidential Palace, onto
the astonishing Baiterek Tower
and on towards the world’s
largest tent, the Khan Shatyr
entertainment centre. To the north
is the new Astana Opera – an
immense performing arts centre
that blends La Scala with the
Bolshoi. The city centre also boasts
a significant number of tall tower
blocks, many clad in shimmering
green, blue or gold glass. Among
these is the new Kazakh Media
Centre, a 22-floor high building
that houses the two state-owned
broadcasters, Khabar Agency and
Kazakshtan Republican TV and
Radio Corporation. The Media
Centre incorporates no fewer than
7,000sq/m of studio space – TV
and radio – and a 1000sq/m
concert hall, with edit suites,
MCRs and offices. Outside, giant
displays show a selection of
output to passing drivers and
pedestrians, day and night.
The views from the top of the
tower are spectacular, looking
across Astana and on to the Steppe
that surrounds the city.
The Media Centre also houses
the press centre of the Kazakh
government and it was in this area
that I spoke about the rebranding of
Kazakhstan TV during my last
visit. I was honoured earlier this
year to be asked to join an
international experts’ group that
was being formed by Kazakhstan
TV and Radio Corporation to help
it devise its future strategy and to
ensure that it meets the needs of its
audience in the age of digital media
consumption. Others on the group
come from the AIBD, BBC and
Rossiya Radio. The digital future –
or perhaps the digital “now” – is
clearly in evidence in the Kazakh
cities I have visited. In Astana,
there’s wi-fi just about everywhere
you go, from shopping malls to the
pyramid and, just like everywhere
else in the world, people are
constantly looking at their mobile
screens.
ARUSHA
This year AIB has been doing a wide
range of work in Africa. Early in the
year, I travelled to Arusha for the
Commonwealth Telecommunications
For as long as he can
remember Simon Spanswick
wanted to be involved in
media. As an eight year old
he had ambitions to be the
voice behind the clock on TV
(a continuity announcer, as
he later discovered the job
was called) – so no surprise
that in later life he is living
and breathing media
wherever his job as CEO of
the Association for
International Broadcasting
takes him. Here he shares
some impressions from
recent trips
MEDIA
-LOGUE
S
The digital
“now” is
clearly in
evidence
in Kazakh
cities
“
”
Save the date
AIB Global
Media Summit
2015
18-19 February
