30 April 2015
Journalism has never been more dangerous and journalists have never felt more unsafe, according to the findings of a major report published by the International News Safety Institute.
Under Threat: The Changing State of Media Safety provides an in-depth, multi-media look at the main changes in the journalistic safety landscape over the past decade. It does this through more than 30 interviews with journalists who work in some of the world’s most dangerous places and the news executives who make the difficult decisions to deploy them.
These interviews were supplemented by a survey of nearly 200 media workers around the world and 10 years of INSI statistics on journalist casualties, revealing the most deadly countries to be a media worker.
“In 2003 we published Dying to Tell the Story, which paid tribute to those journalists killed in the early stages of the Iraq war. After witnessing the horrific murders of our colleagues in places like Syria and Iraq, the insecurity in Ukraine, and the rampant impunity that accompanies the killings of most journalists, INSI felt compelled to look at how different media safety was from a decade ago,” said INSI Director Hannah Storm.
“In an industry under threat from so many different sides, we wanted to know what the main changes and challenges were and what if anything had stayed the same. The results of our research were substantial and deeply sobering.”
The INSI report reveals that:
- Journalism has never been more dangerous, and journalists have never felt so unsafe.
- Terror groups are using new technologies to control the “information battlefield” and have declared war on journalists.
- The frontlines in places like Syria and Iraq have become unclear, meaning journalists don’t know who to trust and where they can go safely.
- For their part, news executives aren’t sure who to turn to for information and help when reporters go missing or get hurt in today’s chaotic conflicts.
- Technology helps journalists deliver their messages, and in some situations is keeping them safer, but makes them increasingly vulnerable to the powerful entities that seek to track and harm them.
- The advent of user-generated content has blurred the role of journalists and confused the industry and general public alike.
- Audiences more than ever expect to be instantly and accurately informed about even the remotest corners of our world – pushing journalists into ever more dangerous places.
You can find more information on the INSI website and on Facebook and Twitter under the hashtag #underthreatmedia.
28 April 2015
Globecast, global content contribution, management and distribution provider, and Arabsat have today announced the launch of Arabsat TV Everywhere, a new multi-platform OTT TV service with live streams of the best Arabic channels.
Powered by Globecast’s OTT Live solution, Arabsat TV Everywhere is an expansion of the already popular Global Arabic Bouquet (GAB), a grouping of premium Arabic channels from the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU). The new service, which is available to watch for free from almost anywhere in the world on PC as well as iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, will enable more people to enjoy the great content the GAB has to offer at home and on the move.
Globecast, which has been ARABSAT and ASBU’s partner for the worldwide distribution of the GAB since 2004, designed and developed the complete TV everywhere service. The end-to-end solution, which includes content preparation; content management; application design and development; delivery and a player, will enable Arabsat to deliver a seamless experience across all devices.
Giorgio Giacomini, Managing Director Globecast Middle East said, “This is a very exciting development in our relationship with Arabsat and the ASBU. Arabsat’s decision to make many channels of the GAB available on smartphones and tablets reflects the growing desire of audiences around the world to consume content when and where they want. Because of this we have carefully designed our solutions to provide both technical and business acumen allowing our customers to easily expand with innovative new OTT services while concentrating on what they do best: create and develop world class content.”
Khalid Balkheyour, ARABSAT President and CEO, added, “The world of OTT service delivery is one that’s growing rapidly. You only have to look at the growth in the sale of connected devices to see why. Globecast has always provided us with excellent distribution services and we are very pleased to announce the extension of our partnership.”
Since the launch of their partnership, Globecast, ARABSAT and ASBU have expanded the Global Arabic Bouquet’s potential viewership and footprint, offering a single global coverage to ASBU members. Arabic language channels are now able to join the bouquet and reach viewers on all five continents free to air. It reflects Arabsat’s commitment to help Arabic viewers stay connected with their roots and culture from anywhere in the world.
27 April 2015
CNNI is now offered across the Middle East & North Africa via the superior coverage of ARABSAT BADR-6 in an agreement between parent company Turner Broadcasting and Arabsat. The agreement gives Middle Eastern audiences the opportunity to watch CNN International’s award-winning mix of breaking news and news, business, sports and feature programming via the minimum dish size.
CNN International has dedicated editorial and broadcast hubs in London, Atlanta, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, and provides round-the-clock coverage of the most important international stories for its diverse global audience.
“After being present in the region for many years we’re delighted to expand our reach in the Middle East still further through this new partnership with Arabsat,” said Rani R. Raad, Chief Commercial Officer CNN International. “As the region’s leading international news provider this is just our latest commitment to ensuring CNN is widely available in the region and we’re very pleased to welcome Arabsat viewers to the channel.”
Khalid Balkheyour, President & CEO of ARABSAT said “It was always our ambition in ARABSAT to bring CNNI on board. CNN has a long & professional history of covering the Middle East news & critical events. We are pleased to deliver CNNI to ARABSAT viewers across the Middle East & North Africa combined with an extensive offering & wide varieties of the prime Free-To-Air international and regional news channel on ARABSAT hotspot at 26⁰ E .”
CNN can be viewed on:
ARABSAT BADR-6 at 26⁰ E
Frequency: 11,785 MHz (Vertical)
QPSK, Symbol Rate: 27.5MSymb/s, FEC: ¾
CNN International’s arrival on Arabsat comes as the latest signal of CNN’s long-standing and evolving commitment to the Middle East region. The CNN Abu Dhabi bureau is home to flagship weekday show Connect the World with Becky Anderson and a number of locally produced feature shows dedicated to the region, and the CNN Arabic website based in Dubai was relaunched last year for its users with a refreshed responsive format. The network operates a number of newsgathering bureaux in the region. CNN has a portfolio of important commercial partnerships across the region and recently chose the Middle East for its first CNN Traveller café, based at Abu Dhabi Airport. (Arabsat Press Release)
24 April 2015
Since launching in February this year, Reuters-TIMA has provided global Location Services to over 25 clients across four continents. CNN, Nippon TV, Euronews and Seven Network are among the first broadcasters to have used the new service.
Reuters-TIMA Location Services provides every aspect of newsgathering facilities and support services on the ground during breaking news stories. Recent stories covered include the Germanwings crash, the Tunisia museum shooting, border unrest between Saudi Arabia and Yemen as well as migrant boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
The partnership between Reuters and TIMA, which launched at the 87th Academy Awards, also provides coverage of key global events and unprecedented access, as well as providing logistical and editorial services. In the last two months Reuters-TIMA have made 132 transmissions from five events. Upcoming events, booked by global clients, include the birth of the royal baby, the UK general election, the G7 Summit in Bavaria and the Russian Victory Day parade.
Reuters-TIMA Location Services was created in response to the increased demand for live content in a shifting media landscape. Combining Reuters’ unparalleled global editorial content, seen by over a billion people every day, with TIMA’s cutting-edge technology and considerable experience of service delivery for the international media industry, Reuters-TIMA Location Services form a vast news and editorial network.
From New York to Moscow and Rio to Singapore, plus a network of Middle Eastern offices, including TIMA’s facilities in Tehran, Reuters-TIMA Location Services has been set up to help broadcasters cover every major world event, from elections to summits, sports to national celebrations and breaking news such as war, natural disasters and militant attacks, providing every aspect of newsgathering facilities and support services.
Tim Santhouse, Reuters’ Global Head of Video Products, says: “We’re delighted that such a broad range of broadcasters – large and small, public and commercial – have taken up the service, letting them focus on covering the story while we take care of the operational side, including technical and local knowledge.”
Alla Salehian, CEO of TIMA, says: “With strategically placed broadcast and satellite resources in regional hubs around the world, we’re able to respond quickly to breaking news. Since our partnership launch, the last two months have been exciting and fast-paced, responding to important global stories and working with key broadcasters.”
Reuters-TIMA Location Services include:
> Breaking news facilities: Reuters-TIMA Location Services provide every aspect of newsgathering facilities and support services on the ground during breaking news stories throughout the year.
> Event facilities: The partnership also provides coverage of key global events and unprecedented access to events that are also of regional significance, as well providing logistical and editorial services and dedicated customer support.
> Studio space: The service also offers clients access to high-tech live studio facilities around the world, many with stunning city backdrops.
www.reuters-tima.com
Reuters
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider, reaching more than a billion people every day. Reuters’ 2,600 journalists in nearly 200 locations around the globe deliver unparalleled international and national news coverage with speed, impartiality and insight to professionals via Thomson Reuters’ desktops, the world’s media organizations and directly to consumers on reuters.com.
TIMA
TIMA provides a range of broadcast services from its offices and studios worldwide, including production facilities, content production and events coverage. Its London headquarters opened in Spring 2012 and was swiftly followed by bureaux in Washington DC, New York and Paris. TIMA also operates across the Middle East in Saudi, Sanaa, Damascus, Baghdad and Tehran, where it provides media services for accredited broadcasters. Everything TIMA does is aimed at developing new ways of producing and distributing content. www.tima.com
22 April 2015
France 24 has launched a new Android TV application compatible with the Nexus player and all the devices equipped with the Google operating system (OTT boxes, smart TVs, etc.).
Available for free on Google Play, this new service is already available in North America, France, Germany and the UK. It will be accessible in the rest of the world by the end of 2015.
Adapted to new practices in news consumption, this new trilingual application (French, English, Arabic) has been completely designed for navigation on television. It features streamlined design and fast video loading for greater user comfort.
This application offers access to France 24 livestream in three languages as well as the latest news bulletins on demand (World news, Africa news, Business news, Sports and Weather). In addition to these short programmes, all the channel’s magazines and debates are also available for free on VOD.
In addition, users can also get access to articles and personalize their navigation thanks to a new ‘Favourite’ function that lets them create a catalogue of content.
This new development is part of France 24’s innovative multi-platform distribution strategy on connected devices. Thus, the channel renews its presence on Android operating systems on which it is available since 2010.
