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Global Brief
The latest news from the international broadcasting industry
China/Yugoslavia discuss co-operation
A delegation of China Radio International has
met with senior officials at Radio Yugoslavia
to discuss expanding cooperation between
the international broadcasters.
China Radio International is reportedly
interested in having its Serbian language
programme carried by Radio Yugoslavia while
the Serbian station hopes that China will take
part in reconstruction of its transmitters as
well as providing new equipment.
Vatican Radio cleared
Regular readers will recall that there has been
an ongoing battle between Vatican Radio and
the Italian government over electromagnetic
emissions from the station’s transmitter site
at Santa Maria di Galeria. In an official
statement, the Italian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs has announced that the emissions are
“now within the safety limits set by the Italian
law”. Local residents in the area around Santa
Maria di Galeria, north of Rome, claimed that
local cases of leukaemia were caused by
pollution from Vatican Radio’s transmitter
site. Vatican Radio reduced the power on
some frequencies and moved certain
transmissions to other sites.
Radio Vlaanderen unveils new web site
AIB member RVI [Radio Vlaanderen
Internationaal, the Flemish external
broadcaster] has totally revamped its website.
The new site carries news in text,
supplemented with photos and sound
excerpts: first the major Flemish and world
news, then local news, sport, a daily press
review and a review of the past week.
The RVI website also provides links to all sorts of
organisations and institutions that offer useful
information about Flanders and Belgium, such
as travel advice from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, information about flights or train journeys
to Brussels, information about art and culture.
Moreover the RVI site has an interactive section,
where surfers throughout the world can comment,
react to what others have to say, give helpful
hints and suggestions. RVI’s slogan “at home in
the world” is now more appropriate than ever.
Pages are in Dutch, English, French and
German. The text stream is accompanied by
audio information. RVI’s radio programmes
can be listened to both via live stream and
by clicking up programmes “on demand”.
RVI continues its “traditional” radio
broadcasting with radio - via short wave,
medium wave, satellite, DAB and cable-FM -
remaining a core activity.
United Nations Radio on WRN
A daily English programme from United
Nations Radio has started on AIB member
broadcaster World Radio Network. The 15-
minute programme, produced in New York
by eight journalists from seven countries,
seeks to reflect the voices and information
that make up the United Nations family -
from the Secretary-General to relief workers
in Africa, from farmers in developing
countries who are helped by small grants
from UN agencies to international experts
on health and the environment.
MTV increases investment
MTV has announced that it will double spending on original programming in European markets.
This follows an increase in underlying profits produced in the region by around 40% last year.
The investment will cover the principal MTV brand, plus Nickelodeon (the children’s channel)
and VH1.
“Eight out of ten viewers on MTV are outside the US,”
says Bill Roedy, president of MTVNetworks International.
“We’re seeking a 50% increase in our earnings this year
from the non-US operations.”
In addition to a 20% increase in programming investment
outside the US, MTV plans to develop new niche genre
channels on digital platforms and introduce additional
regional services, such as MTV Africa. The development
plans will be implemented over the coming two years. It is
understood that the senior management at parent company
Viacom believes that MTV International provides one of the company’s main growth
opportunities.
BBC and al-Jazeera deal on news
The BBC’s news division has signed an agreement with Qatar-based al-Jazeera that will see
both broadcasters sharing facilities such as al-Jazeera’s satellite uplink in Kabul. In return the
BBC is likely to offer assistance and advice to al-Jazeera’s new English-language website,
launching in February, and help in training and safety.
“Al-Jazeera has established itself as a major international broadcaster,” saidAdrian van-Klaveren,
head of newsgathering at the BBC. “By working alongside them in our newsgathering activities,
we will be able to provide an even more comprehensive service to the BBC’s audiences.”
New mission for Radio Netherlands
Radio Netherlands, Holland’s international broadcaster, has announced major revisions to its
global mission. These are intended, says the station, to ensure that the activities of RNW remain
focused and relevant in a changing world.
In the last decade Radio Netherlands has built relationships
with more than 6000 partner broadcasters. An active dialogue
is now in place between people in The Netherlands and selected
audiences in foreign countries. Radio Netherlands will now
focus its production on selected global themes, making increased
use of Dutch expertise both at home and abroad.
“The thematic approach to our work will give us new opportunities in the increasingly complex
media markets.” explains Lodewijk Bouwens, Radio Netherlands’ Director General. “Our policy
of building partnerships in Latin America has succeeded. We have already established ourselves
in that region as a catalyst for discussion on such issues as migration, democratisation, globalisation,
and religious tolerance. We now want to strengthen the number of active partners in selected parts
ofAfrica andAsia. Daily production in three languages is essential for this task: the world languages
of English and Spanish, plus Indonesian. Indonesia has historical links with the Netherlands. It is
an important economic force in Asia as well as the world’s largest Muslim country.”
Radio Netherlands will also organise more thematically driven events and projects. Activities in
Arabic involving TV production and websites will be initiated. Successful French language
educational projects and co-productions in Africa will continue. “We expect to start new projects
in countries such as Turkey, Morocco and the new members countries of the European Union”
says Bouwens. “ Our existing audio and video networks will also offer a global broadcast platform
for discussions produced with other partners. For instance, we’ve recently done co-productions
and training with UNESCO, Bernard van Leer Foundation, and Médecins Sans Frontières.
Lodewijk Bouwens stresses that although the organisation will see many changes between now
and March 2004, Radio Netherlands will retain its journalistic independence. High value is
placed on the trust and respect Radio Netherlands has built in the last 55 years. However, when
the plan was announced to the station’s staff, there was widespread unhappiness with the
proposals. Some staff suggested that the plan could jepordise the broadcaster’s editorial
independence. Heads of department will work with the editor-in-chief to develop a new plan
that will be submitted to Radio Netherlands’ management.
