1 September 2015
BBC Russian service’s iconic presenter, Seva Novgorodsev, will sign off from his programme, BBSeva, for the last time on Friday 4 September 2015, culminating his 38-year broadcasting career with the BBC.
Seva says: “It is really hard to wrap up my 38 and a half years as a BBC broadcaster. How do I say goodbye to my listener? With their response over these decades, my audience have also shaped up my broadcasts and my life. So I’ll just say: we are all temporary but the BBC is forever.”
Seva started to present BBC Russian’s Pop-music Programme from London in 1977, later transforming it into his celebrated Rock-posevy, introducing major recording artists such as Queen, David Bowie, Deep Purple etc to the Soviet audience. A unique window on Western, and especially British, pop-culture for people in the Soviet Union, the programme made Seva a household name for millions. With his trademark informal, wisecracking style, Seva won himself – and the BBC – a vast fan base from across the USSR. The programme also shaped up his fame as the ‘first Russian DJ’.
The weekly music-and-chat show, Sevaoborot, which Novgorodsev initiated and authored in 1987, turned into a cult among Russian-speaking radio listeners. Since 2003, Novgorodsev’s daily live programme, BBSeva (which has been available on bbcrussian.com), has been bringing ‘news with a human face’. It has been looking at current affairs from a human-interest angle, with a special focus on arts and culture.
In 2005, Seva was awarded an MBE for services to radio broadcasting.
BBC World Service European Hub Editor, Artyom Liss, comments: “Seva Novgorodsev represents the best the BBC has to offer. Informative, witty, relevant – his broadcasts have been truly legendary. For decades, they occupied a very special place in millions of hearts. Seva is signing off as a broadcaster, but we are not saying farewell – his association with the BBC will continue, albeit in a different format.”
Seva’s unique contribution to BBC Russian will be marked with dedicated output. His last broadcast will air live from Pushkin House in London – an event with invited guests which will celebrate the pivotal points of Seva’s career. The programme will feature many of the people Seva interviewed over the years.
A specially commissioned TV documentary – with the title echoing Seva’s famous sign-off “Seva. Seva Novgorodsev. The City of London. BBC” – will air on bbcrussian.com and BBC World Service’s partner TV station in Russia, Dozhd TV on Friday 4 September. Filmed in London, Tallinn and St Petersburg, it tells Seva’s amazing story, from childhood in the family of a Soviet sea captain, to ship’s officer, to jazz musician, to BBC broadcaster. It features, along with Seva, major Russian cultural figures who speak about the role of his BBC broadcasts in their formation as musicians and as personalities.
Also on Friday 4 September, Seva will hold a live conversation with audiences on the BBC Russian Facebook page.
BBC Russian is part of BBC World Service.
(Source: BBC press release)
1 September 2015
A Baku court today sentenced investigative journalist and RFE/RL contributor Khadija Ismayilova to seven and a half years in prison on charges widely believed to be retribution for her reporting on corruption linked to Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and members of his family.
Ismayilova was convicted on charges of criminal libel, tax evasion, illegal business activity, and abuse of power. She was barred from holding public office for three years and fined the equivalent of 300USD for court-related expenses. She was acquitted of the charge of incitement to suicide.
“Khadija’s case is an example of politics, not law. There was no merit, ever, to any of the charges against her and there was no due process during her trial.” said Nenad Pejic, RFE/RL’s editor in chief. “The authorities simply decided to silence her at any price.”
In her final testimony in court on August 31, a defiant Ismayilova delivered her own blistering indictment of Azerbaijan’s justice system, mocking the prosecution for failing to put together a convincing case and schooling the judge on the charges against her. She called the trial a “poor quality scam” and said, “I am more successful in this business of finding proof than is the notorious prosecutor’s staff.”
During the trial, not a single witness testified against Ismayilova in court.
In a public statement condemning the sentence, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, called on the Azeri government “to stop targeting journalists.” The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists stated that the sentence would have “gravely serious” consequences for Azeri journalists. Speaking as a member of the Sport for Rights Coalition of media advocacy and human rights groups, the PEN American Center’s Karin Deutsch Karlekar called on the Azeri government to stop “this unprecedented witch-hunt against journalists.”
Ismayilova was arrested on December 5, 2014 for inciting an individual to attempt suicide Her accuser sought to withdraw the allegation, testifying in a pre-trial hearing in July that he had “defamed” her under pressure from law enforcement agencies, but the court rejected a defense motion to drop the charge.
Additional charges of money laundering, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and abuse of authority, all purportedly related to her work for RFE/RL, were brought against her in February, 2015. Ismayilova ridiculed the charges in her closing statement for their arbitrariness and lack of proof. They were previously refuted by RFE/RL in a point-by-point statement sent to Azerbaijan’s general prosecutor and the judge presiding in the trial.
One day before Ismayilova’s arrest, Rahmiz Mehtiyev, senior adviser to President Aliyev, published a 60-page tirade accusing RFE/RL journalists of treason. Three weeks later, on December 26, Azeri state agents raided and sealed RFE/RL’s Baku bureau, seizing documents, corporate stamps, and equipment. They then interrogated more than 20 members of its staff. The bureau is closed and, according to the prosecutor’s office, remains under investigation in connection with RFE/RL’s status as a “foreign agent.”
RFE/RL continues to gather news and report inside Azerbaijan for its website, www.azadliq.org. Several of its employees have fled the country in fear and others work under duress, subject to interrogations, frozen bank accounts, and threats.
(Source: RFE/RL press release)
1 September 2015
The international news channel raises its reach in Taiwan to 2,3 million households
Euronews has announced the signature of three new contracts in Taiwan. Already present since 2010 on the major IPTV operator, MOD Chua Hua Telecom, the English language version of Euronews has now been integrated by the digital operator Dafeng Cable in its basic offer, reaching an additional 200,000 subscribers in the country.
In addition, Euronews English has been selected to be part of the launch package of the new IPTV offer Spider.net, projecting a rapid growth amongst young influential Taiwanese consumers.
And for the first time, Euronews is also available on mobile devices in Taiwan. Fain TV, the most important mobile video platform in the country provides high definition video streaming services (live or VOD) to 640,000 mobile viewers in Taiwan.
Arnaud Verlhac, Worldwide Distribution Director of Euronews said: “Taiwan is a leading place for new technologies and a great opportunity to develop our services to this demanding audience. We are proud to have grown our reach in only 5 years to 2,3 million users in this highly connected country. This not only proves that our strategy responds to the markets needs but also demonstrates the appreciation Taiwanese people have for the European angle and the independent editorial view on international news that Euronews offers.”
Sabrina Mimouni, Euronews Regional Distribution Manager / Asia-Pacific added: “Taiwan is the perfect market to explore Euronews’ capability to tailor its content to different distribution supports. From cable at the beginning to mobile today, live or VOD, almost 1 out 3 Taiwanese can chose how and when to be informed thanks to Euronews.”
Read an interview with Arnaud Verlhac and Celine Rodrigues of Euronews in the latest edition of The Channel, the AIB’s international media magazine.
27 August 2015
New channel leaps to IP delivered content
Arqiva has announced the launch of a new hybrid IP-TV channel on the UK’s Freeview platform. The TV network ABN TV, which specialises in Black Television will provide content 24 hours a day to audiences with internet-enabled Freeview devices. ABN TV launched on Freeview channel 252 on 16 July 2015.
Tom Cape, Director of Connected Solutions at Arqiva said, “Audiences have for some time now embraced the seamless cross-over of linear and IP-TV content; thinking nothing of how their content is delivered. We’re now seeing a growing appetite to explore new models of distribution and ABN TV is leading the way to deliver a hybrid ecosystem. Using Arqiva’s Connected Broadcaster service, this delivery is now easier than ever.”
ABN TV was created to bridge the gap between ethnic and mainstream broadcasting and in doing so, reflects the interest and aspirations of the African-Caribbean, British and European communities. ABN TV puts emphasis on quality through the style and content of its programming to reflect strong family values. ABN TV aims to demonstrate empathy towards the ethnic audience group through its choice of programmes and programme makers.
Cynthia Appiagyei, Managing Director of ABN TV, said, “We have successfully provided content over satellite over the last couple of years, and we’re extremely excited to also bring our channel to Freeview audiences, via IP. As the leading Black channel in the UK, it was important that we broadened our viewership base, via airing on a number of platforms. With the future being in IP-delivered broadcasting, it made perfect sense to launch on Freeview’s hybrid ecosystem. By working with Arqiva, ABN TV has made a step in the right direction to provide a more seamless experience for our viewers.”
(Source: Arqiva press release)
27 August 2015
RTI is now offered across the Middle East, North Africa & Europe via ARABSAT BADR-4. The agreement between RTI and Arabsat gives African and Middle Eastern audiences the opportunity to watch RTI via the minimum dish size.
Nabil Shanit, Vice President & CCO of ARABSAT said “Africa is a large continent and Cote D’ivoire is one of the most fast growing states in Africa. We are thrilled to bring RTI to our viewers to enjoy a very original and native attractive African content. ARABSAT viewers across the Middle East & North Africa will receive RTI combined with an extensive offering & wide varieties of the prime Free-To-Air international and regional news channel on ARABSAT hotspot at 26⁰ E .”
RTI can be viewed on:
ARABSAT BADR-4 at 26⁰ E
Frequency: 12,072 MHz (Horizontal)
QPSK, Symbol Rate: 27.5MSymb/s, FEC: ¾
(Source: Arabsat press release)
