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Global Brief
The latest news from the international broadcasting industry
Deutsche Welle celebrates 50
th
anniversary;
inaugurates new building
Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international broadcaster, celebrated its 50
th
anniversary in Bonn on
27
th
June in the Bundeshaus, the home of the German government before its move to Berlin. In a
series of speeches before an audience ofmore
than 600German Parliamentarians, officials
and international guests, DW was
congratulated on reaching its first half
century. ‘Fit, firm and 50’ was how Fritz
Pleitgen, theDirector General of the regional
public broadcaster WDR, described DW,
while Johannes Rau, the German Federal
President said “We need DW. It is a
necessary and important investment, an
investment which we should not do down
under any circumstances.” Rau continued:
“the picture of Germany abroad is often
contained in just a few firm conceptions –
the Nazi period, the national soccer team
and economic power.” DeutscheWelle, Rau
said, has a large task ahead of it to change these perceptions.
Interviews with politicians from across the German
political spectrum on the roof of the Reichstag –
broadcasttotheBonncelebrations,andacrossGermany
on Phoenix TV - demonstrated cross-party support
for DW. The politicians’view of the role it should play
on the world stage seemed at odds with the work of a
modernday international broadcaster. Perhaps, saidone
of the politicians, DW could explain that Bavaria is
different from Schleswig-Holstein. However, the
support is important to note, given the cuts imposed
by the German government on DW in recent years.
DW is currently calling for a three to five year budget
settlement to allow it to plan ahead and deliver better
value to its stakeholders.
After the speeches at the Bundeshaus, President Rau and the invited guests moved next door – to
the accompaniment of military bands from Cologne and Bonn – to the new DW building which
was opened after a short religious ceremony.
Inside, Deutsche Welle laid on an extensive exhibition showcasing the entire range of the
organisation’s activities, from
transcription to media training.
International guests – including
senior managers from the BBC,
Radio Netherlands, Swiss Radio
International, the Voice of
Nigeria, Radio Vlaanderen, the
Voice of Russia, SBS Australia,
Radio France Internationale,
TRT and the EBU together with
Simon Spanswick, Chief
Executive of the AIB – were
given a tour of the new facilities.
Equipped as a fully digital
production centre, the new DW
building has 9 radio production
studios, 7 of which can go on
air. Each studio has a digital
mixing desk supplied by Lawo
AG of Germany and studio installation was carried out by BFE Studio und Medien Systeme,
also of Germany. The production studios have access to Dalet, the newsroom system deployed
across DW, while complex audio editing is carried out on SADiE. Analogue open reel tape
recorders are provided in each studio for legacy material and emergency back-up.
German President Johannes Rau prepares
to open the doors of DW’s new headquarters
President Rau (front right) meets world broadcasters
- from left David Jackson, VoA, Taiwo Allimi, Voice of
Nigeria, Jean-Paul Cluzel, RFI, Erik Bettermann, DW,
Lodewijk Bouwens, RNW, Simon Spanswick, AIB
Something old, something new in Bonn
Deutsche Welle
BBC World goes free to air on Astra
BBC World
, the news and information
channel, is now available free-to-air across
Europe via Astra at 19.2 degrees East. This
increases the channel’s reach to around an
additional 2.4 million households, notably
in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland
and Austria.
Jeff Hazell
, Director of
Distribution, BBC World, said: “We are
delighted that BBC World is now being
broadcast in digital on Astra 1H. This new
orbital location will further strengthen our
distribution in Europe, making the channel
more accessible to cable and satellite
platform operators.”
BBC World is part of the
BBC’s Global News
division, a
member of the AIB
.
Chile gain for BBC Mundo
Radio Chilena
in Chile is rebroadcasting the
output of
BBC Mundo
, the BBC’s Latin
American radio and online service, on its
ChilenaSoloNoticias service which broadcasts
across the country. BBC news bulletins are
broadcast on the air from 0500 together with
a range of other BBC output throughout the
day.
James Painter
, Head of BBC Latin
American Service, said “[This agreement] will
help further extend our presence in Chile,
offering our valued Chilean audiences
extensive news coverage and programmes
instilled with the impartiality that
characterises the BBC.”
Jaime Moreno Laval,
Managing Director of
Radio Chilena, adds: “With this new
partnership we will be able to offer a wide
perspective of Europe and the world to
millions of Chileans through programmes of
the highest quality, including politics, culture,
art and science, with experienced journalists
and analysts from the international Spanish
speaking media.”
France and Britain launch in Budapest
Radio France Internationale
and
BBC World
Service
have launched a joint initiative
bringing RFI and BBC programming to
Budapest on FM. Equal time is given to the
two stations, with RFI output in French and
German and BBC output in English and
Hungarian. BBC World Service is part of the
BBC’s Global News
division, a
member of
the AIB
.
Radio Liberty gains Russian extension
Radio Liberty
, part of the US-funded Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty organisation (an
AIB member
) has gained a five year
extension to its broadcasting licence in
Russia.
Yelena Rykovtseva
, editor-in-chief
of the Radio Liberty Moscow office, hailed
the decision, saying “this decision is
particularly welcome for us, as three weeks
ago we received a letter from the Press
Ministry saying there was a candidate for
our frequency. And although we received no
warnings and believed that our licence would
be extended, some uncertainty remained.”
