Killing the
messenger
Current Time
, a TV news
programme primarily for Russian-
speaking audiences in countries
bordering Russia, and also for
Russian speakers globally on
digital platforms, has a new week-
end edition with shows affording
viewers a fresh alternative to
Russian-controlled TV.
Voice of America and Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty share
the studio on
Current Time
's
daily show Monday to Friday, and
added weekend programmes,
with VoA hosting
Current Time
Week In Review
on Saturdays
and RFE/RL taking charge of the
Sunday programme,
Current
Time This Week
.
"With
Current Time
, our
networks are offering audiences
professional, independent
journalism that they cannot get
elsewhere. This includes
reporting from the front lines,
but also regional and global
issues that receive little
coverage on official channels,"
said BBG Interim CEo and
Director André Mendes.
Current Time
is carried by
more than 10 public and private
affiliate channels in Georgia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, and
Ukraine, and is available on
digital platforms, including
social media. The programme is
part of an effort by US
international broadcasting to
provide a balanced, credible
alternative to Russian
propaganda in the region.
Current Time
for
Russian audiences
THE CHANNEL
|
MEDIA MARKETS
A total of 60 media workers were
killed in the first half of 2015,
according to INSI’s biannual
report,
Killing the Messenger
,
which looks at the number of
journalists killed for simply
doing their job, how they died
and where they worked.
France, a peaceful Western
democracy, is listed for the first
time as the deadliest country in
the world to be a journalist with
eight killed following the
Charlie
Hebdo
attack. South Sudan and
Yemen were the second bloodiest
countries for journalists in the
first half of 2015 (six news media
killed in each), while five journalists
lost their lives in both Iraq and
Libya. In Syria the number is
down from 11 in 2014 to two
killed in the first six months of
2015. The country has become a
no-go zone for most reporters
since the beheadings of
Japanese and American free-
lancers, which is thought to be
the main reason for the decline.
INSI identified only five cases
in which suspects in the killing of
journalists were identified or any
arrests made. “Impunity remains
an overarching issue,” said INSI
president Richard Sambrook.
IN BRIEF
DENTSU WINS
OLYMPICS
Dentsu Inc, the Japan-based
advertising and PR agency,
has been awarded the broad-
cast rights for the xxIII
olympic Winter Games (2018),
Pyeong Chang, Republic of
Korea; Games of the xxxII
olympiad (2020) in Tokyo,
Japan; xxIV olympic Winter
Games (2022), Beijing, PRC;
and Games of the xxxIII
olympiad (2024), location
TBD, by the International
olympic Committee. The
deal covers 22 countries and
territories across Asia and
gives Dentsu exclusive rights
on all media platforms,
including TV, radio and Internet.
PAYWIZARD
EXPANDING
A £3.5m funding boost from
the Scottish Loan Fund will
enable Paywizard to roll out
its software and services
internationally as the
specialist in subscriber
management for pay-TV
capitalises on the growing
pay-TV and VoD markets.
Having recently announced
its launch into the Asia
Pacific market, Paywizard
plans to target emerging
markets such as Africa and
South America. Broadcast
and digital media veteran
Andrew Burke has joined
the team as Chairman.
ABU+ AIBDCLOSER
The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting
Union (ABU) and the Asia-
Pacific Institute for Broad-
casting Development (AIBD)
are opening a new chapter
in their relations following a
meeting between the two
organisations in Kuala Lumpur
in July. ABU Secretary-
General Dr Javad Mottaghi
and Mr Chang Jin who took
office as AIBD Director this
year said that closer cooperation
in training, programming,
research, social media and
disaster preparedness would
make both organisations
stronger and provide better
services to members. As a
next step, a joint calendar of
events is being set up.
HD colour in low light
Canon have launched the
ME20F-SH, a professional multi-
purpose video camera capable of
capturing full colour images in
extremely low-light environments.
Boasting an industry leading
maximum ISo in excess of 4
million (+75dB), the ME20F-SH is
designed to be as small as
possible whilst delivering high
quality professional grade Full
HD footage.
Supporting image capture in
situations where it previously
would not have been possible,
the ME20F-SH is ideal for
specialist TV productions of
nighttime wildlife, deep sea/cave
exploration, astronomy and
surveillance.
In the 30 months since TVC News
launched as Africa’s 24-hour
news channel the professionalism
of its work has been recognised
by over 40 national, continental
and global journalism and
broadcasting awards.
In 2014, barely 18 months in
business, a TVC ‘Short TV news
report’ was Highly Commended
at the international AIBs awards
and the channel also won the
ICFJ Award in Washington DC,
the Best Security Reporting
Award from the International
Institute of Professional Security,
and Station of The Year In Social
Media Usage at the Africa Digital
Awards.
This year, TVC News won
three awards at the Mohamed
Amin Africa Media Awards in
Nairobi : Best Newscast, Best
Magazine Programme, Best
Sports Content. 2015 also
brought the Best Documentary
Production award from the Wole
Soyinka Center For Investigative
Journalism.
These broadcasting awards
are further proof that the
Channel is embraced by viewers
Award-winning TVC News
for its fearless, factual, timely,
and fair reporting. Available
across the African continent on
cable and satellite platforms,
and in Europe on Sky Ch. 517,
the channel is in talks with an
American satellite carrier to add
TVC News to its line-up. It has
also recently made inroads into
Zambia where Covenant
Broadcasting Company has
begun carrying TVC News.
The 24-hour TVC News
operation is the continent’s first
truly African news channel –
African stories told by Africans.
08
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ISSUE 2 2015
|
THE CHANNEL
