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Global briefing
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OSCE asks Kazakhstan to withdraw restrictive media bill
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Arab Broadcast Forum co-hosted by Al Arabiya News Channel
and Abu Dhabi TV
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Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma appoints Bruce Shapiro as new Global Executive Director
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Australian radioad revenuestill growing Italiangovernment intends to revokemedia-reformlaws
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NewFrench international
news TV channel to be called ‘France 24’
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GlobeCast provides satellite delivery of the 2006 Tour de France for France
Télévisions and the EBU
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Taiwan’s new pay-TV regulator NCC to relax regulations
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RAI elects Claudio Cappon as new
Sliding down the freedom scale
It does not look good for independent media
in the countries of the former Soviet Union. ‘Freedom Of The Press 2006’, the latest edition of
Freedom House’s annual global survey of media independence, makes grim reading. Only Georgia and Ukraine are categorised as ‘Partly Free’
while no country in the region achieves the designation of ‘Free.’ The downward trend was particularly evident in countries with regimes that
place a premium on controlling the airwaves. Azerbaijan, Belarus, Tajikistan experienced declines, with Uzbekistan and Russia suffering the
most dramatic backslide. Chris Walker, Director of Studies at FH, called for “keeping lifelines open,” to help journalists who are “under siege” in
these countries. In Russia, an informal self-censorship exists among journalists. Three state-controlled television networks
supply the news to 79% of the Russian population. The head of the Russian Agency for Press and Mass Communications
recently hinted that the major state companies would dispose of theirmedia assets in the near future. The largest media owner
in Russia is the state natural gas monopoly Gazpromwhich owns stakes in the nationalTVchannels NTVandTNT, EchoMoskvy
radio station, Izvestia daily and othermedia. The State Raiload Corporation is also a big media player. A further unsettling signal
about the state of press freedom in Russia is the fact that authorities have dramatically curtailed the number of stations
broadcasting RFE/RLandVOA news programmes. Russian officials say the matter is simply one of stations’ conforming to their
broadcast licences. But radio station owners feel the restrictions close down an essential source of information, particularly in
far-flung regions where media outlets are fewer than in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Between May 2005 and May 2006, the
numberof stations broadcasting programming by Radio Liberty fell from30 to ‘nomore than a handful,’according toJeffreyTrimble, the service’s
acting president. For VOA, the 42 affiliates that used its programmes in August 2005 has dwindled to just five.
First Al Arabiya forum
On 21 June in Dubai, the first Al Arabiya
forum entitled
The Challenges: Academia and
Media
brought together students, media professionals and educationalists to examine the
challenges faced by academia and the media industry. In his inaugural speech, His
Excellency Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher
Education and Scientific Research, emphasised that there is need for
immediate action from both media and academic establishments to
cooperate and create a bridge between theoretical learning and
practical training. His Excellency added: “Universities are primarily
responsible for defining the demand for highly skilled media reporters
and provide the adequate training in this regard. Academic institutions
should collaborate with existing media organisations to provide scholars and students with
the knowledge and understanding that is required for them to perform efficiently as this
will help elevate the standards of Arab media industry to international levels. This can be
done by focusing on the following issues: first: the need to practise proper journalism,
which can be achieved by researching the facts, evaluating and verifying the source and
being able to differentiate between facts and personal opinions. Second: the ability for a
journalist to present the news in an organised and
orderly manner in correct and proper language.
Third: media professionals should know a second
language as well in order to stay connected with the
rest of the world. Fourth: reporters should be aware
of worldwide issues in several fields and sectors, in
order to have a better understanding of the matters
they are dealing with. Fifth: media scholars should
be geared to keep up with any technological development in the work field, regionally and
globally. Sixth: media professionals are to give more importance to team work. Seventh: No
efforts are to be spared when it comes to gaining professional experience, be it during
academic training or professional work. Both media professionals and scholars are to abide
by the ethics of this noble profession, regardless of circumstances.” His Excellency the
Sheikh expressed his greatest appreciation to Al Arabiya Channel for initiating what
described as an unprecedented gathering. Dr Nabil Al Khatib, Executive Editor of Al
Arabiya commented on this unique opportunity to create the next generation of Arab
broadcasters: “I hope a time will come when we will witness the emergence of an academic
or press publication which is not a direct reflection of its owner’s opinion, and which serves
its community freely. The board members of such a publication should include academics,
who have earned their professional titles thanks to their know-how and invaluable
expertise, rather than pure theoretical research”. During the day-long forum, interactive
debates analysed the differences between media studies in the region and the
practicalities of working in the field. Leading regional experts exchanged knowledge and
best practice, and conclusions and recommendations were presented by Dr. Nabil Al
Khatib at the end of the forum.
Copying ideas is good
Media consultant JonathanMarks
of Critical Distance said broadcasters
should be quick to realise that they
have good on-demand content as
well as to set up the required
infrastructure to cash in on the
current publicity generated by the
technology companies. Radio
broadcasters should adopt ideas seen
in other media such as search
engines, digital recording via TiVo,
iPods and mobile
broadcasting in
order to stay
current and
relevant to the
consumer.
Speaking at
RadioAsia 2006 in
Singapore, he
said: “Let the newly rich technology
companies pay for the expensive ads
to launch the technology. It’s all
useless without relevant content. That
means a great future for speech, as
well as music,” he said. Marks
believes radio broadcasters must
have a better understanding of
people’s entertainment and
information needs and how
alternative platforms such as mobile
and the web are already targeting
their audiences. There is no single
strategy for radio - the balance
between analogue and digital
distribution technologies will differ
from country to country. According to
Marks, organisations such as the ABU
and the EBU have a major role to play
in coordinating metadata from its
members, and ensuring that search
engines such as Google, Blinkx and
Technorati are able to access it.