RNW Media gives a voice to Syrian refugees
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Euronews now available in Japan
Hikari TV, the leading IPTV operator in Japan, introduces the international news media to Japan by offering Euronews in its basic package
Euronews and Hikari TV announced today that, starting this month, Euronews internationally acclaimed programmes will be available for the first time in Japan. Euronews will be part of Hikari TVs basic service with its English and French language services. Not only the channel premieres in Japan, Euronews is also broadcast for the first time in HD. Several millions of subscribers to Hikari TV in Japan will be able to discover international news from a European perspective and follow Euronews lifestyle and business programmes, including regular reports about Japan.
Appreciative of the channels’ values of diversity and independence, M. Koji Bando, President of Hikari TV, commented: “Our company offers seven international channels so that foreign residents and visitors to Japan may also enjoy watching Hikari TV. We are pleased to add Euronews to our line-up of broadcasting services, a media which has enormous popularity in Europe, and I am convinced that it will enhance the product competitiveness of our company. I also hope broadcasting Euronews will foster increased cooperation between the EU and Japan.”
Michael Peters, CEO of Euronews, commented: “We are very honoured to work with a strong and innovative partner like Hikari TV in Japan. Through its powerful service, Hikari TV will give its millions of subscribers the opportunity to access our independent international information everywhere in Japan and premier our HD offer. This shall contribute to making Euronews in Japan a long lasting and sustainable project.”
Arqiva supports Daystar TV’s HD launch on Sky
Daystar Television, one of the largest religious broadcasters in the world, has today announced the launch of its network in High Definition (HD) on Sky, in the UK, which is supported by Arqiva’s Direct-to-Home satellite solution. This launch makes Daystar Television the first religious TV channel to launch an HD channel, on the Sky platform, in the UK.
Marcus Lamb, Founder and President Daystar Television Network says: “We wanted to make available to viewers watching faith based television on Sky, in the UK, the best viewing experience possible. Daystar is the first Christian Television Network to launch in HD (High Definition) on Sky. We feel that Daystar viewers will appreciate this enhanced HD viewing option.”
David Crawford, Managing Director, Satellite & Media commented: “We have worked with Daystar Television since their UK launch in 2011, and we are delighted to partner with RUM’s Media Service to help Daystar continue their growth in the UK, by launching Daystar HD on the Sky platform. Arqiva’s commitment to service excellence will ensure that we deliver the very best viewing experience to Daystar’s viewers.”
Broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Daystar Television is available on Sky Channel 583 after 4pm GMT on Monday 23 November, 2015.
Euronews and Newstag sign agreement which means users will be able to share Euronews videos across social networks
Stockholm-based Newstag, an award-winning mobile first video news service, has announced an agreement with Euronews, the most-watched news channel in Europe. The global multi-year deal grants Newstag the right to share and distribute Euronews’ world news, business, European affairs, culture, science and technology videos. The content will be available in seven languages on Newstag’s mobile and online platform – English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic.
Newstag Chairman and Founder, Camilla Dahlin-Andersson, says: “Newstag is committed to providing global news coverage from truly distinct perspectives and we’re delighted that Euronews has partnered with us to offer our users access to a diverse range of European voices on international and European stories. Euronews is a leader and innovator in worldwide news and it’s exciting to have the opportunity to work with them to revolutionise the way in which audiences consume news.”
Six hundred Euronews journalists, from more than 30 countries, report round-the-clock in 13 editions (Arabic, English, Persian, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian). The channel, which is received by 420 million homes in 158 countries, joins professional content producers around the world on the Newstag platform, including AP, AFP and Reuters, as well as top brands.
By presenting news stories from different global perspectives, the platform sheds new light on international news as it breaks. Users can create their own personalised TV channel in seconds, organising, consuming and sharing stories among their social networks on the ‘mobile first’ platform.
Newstag aims to make journalism sustainable through a proper funding stream, radically rebalancing the traditional relationships between industry stakeholders. The platform also offers users a unique opportunity to make a difference.
In response to developing news, consumers can take direct action by supporting relevant causes and research since a part of Newstag’s revenues are available for users to allocate to charitable, NGO and NPO partners, including as WFP, the Red Cross and Oxfam.
In recent months Newstag has rapidly expanded its network of commercial and content partners as it gears up to launch. Last month the platform, which is currently in public beta, announced that it will be partnering with CNBC Africa – the pan-African financial and business news channel – on a multi-year deal granting Newstag the right to share and distribute CNBC’s news videos.
Newstag recently won the best start up category in the TVB Europe Awards in London. The company was also selected as a top international start up by Mobile World Capital Barcelona and as one of the best international news sites at the prestigious WAN-IFRA awards in Hong Kong, alongside Business Week and Singapore Press Holdings.
BBG Leaders urge Senate Committee to target smart reform of U.S. international media
Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman Jeff Shell, Governor Ken Weinstein and CEO and Director John Lansing testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on November 17 to discuss the importance of United States international media and options for reform.
Senator Bob Corker, who presided over the hearing, said in his opening remarks that the “BBG’s work is as critical as ever when authoritarian regimes around the world deprive their citizens of credible news and use sensational misinformation to undermine the credibility of democratic values and institutions.”
Ranking member Senator Ben Cardin added, “Despite the importance of U.S. international broadcasting, we have come to understand that the structure of the BBG has limited the effectiveness of its efforts….it is clear that reform is needed and that Congress has a central role to plays in strengthening its efforts.”
BBG Chairman Jeff Shell agreed and identified a number of structural improvements that would allow the agency to operate more effectively, including institutionalizing the position and power of the CEO and adding increased agility to the BBG’s operations to allow it to better surge its resources during overseas crises.
“While the Board has elected to delegate key powers to the CEO through its own volition, it is clear that we need to institutionalize this role through legislation so that all future Boards can benefit from expert operational leadership,” Shell explained.
Newly appointed CEO and Director John Lansing agreed, saying that the agency needs a CEO that is empowered to manage all operations and functions, including the ability to shift resources as needed and to appoint senior officials.
However, many improvements, he argued, have already been made.
“Regardless of these [needed] legislative fixes,” said Lansing, “My team and I have taken action internally to move the BBG into a more modern, impactful stance…. with the unanimous support of the Board, [I] am aggressively prioritizing five core themes to ensure the BBG is the 21st century media organization that the tax payers demand.”
He then outlined his strategic priorities: an emphasis on digital platforms, expanded coordination and content-sharing across the BBG networks and with other content producers, a focus on five key issue areas (including reporting on Russia, covering violent extremism, reporting on the expanding influence of Iran and China, and the promotion of fundamental freedoms in Cuba), and the emphasis on impact instead of simply reach.
Governor Weinstein also advocated for reform, citing the need to quickly respond to the technological changes and geopolitical crises that the BBG faces.
“US international media operates in an environment of rapid geopolitical change and growing instability in world affairs, he told the committee. “Last week’s horrific terror attacks in Paris are just the latest example of the challenging international environment, and one in which tragic events in one country are increasingly linked to those in others.”
The purpose of the hearing was to examine and get feedback on a reform bill introduced by the House Foreign Affairs Committee in May 2015, which includes a number of structural changes to the BBG. A second panel, which included former BBG member S. Enders Wimbush and former Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty President Kevin Klose, immediately followed. A recording of the hearing, as well as testimonies from both panels, is available on the SFRC website.