2 December 2014
In the Service of the Public, a new study released by DW Akademie, examines the transformation of state broadcasters into independent media in various countries, including those in Moldova, Mongolia and Myanmar.
Determining whether the transformation of a government broadcaster into an independent media organization has been successful or not can be a challenge. It’s also often unclear whether public service media are the only ones capable of carrying out their public responsibility, or whether private and community media can also take on this role.
The series Edition DW Akademie has just published In the Service of the Public – Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries, a study offering recommendations for future projects involved in transforming state media. The authors take a closer look at broadcasters in twelve countries: Afghanistan, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Moldova, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria and Serbia.
DW Akademie is the Deutsche Welle’s internationial centre for media development, media consulting and journalism and has been accompanying the transformation of state broadcasters in developing countries for many years. “Supporting reforms like these is not always easy,” says Director of DW Akademie Christian Gramsch, pointing out that “transformation processes can come to a halt. As a media development organisation we often have to look at alternative approaches to take.” The new comparative study is an important orientation guide for DW Akademie’s worldwide activities, says Gramsch.
The publication takes a critical look at the stakeholders involved in each transformation process and the extent to which they have contributed to its success or failure. There’s a special focus on analysing approaches taken by media development organizations.
“One of the study’s major findings is that transformations are possible under certain conditions,” says Petra Berner, head of DW Akademie’s Strategy and Consulting Division, and co-editor of the publication. However, she points out that transformations require a long-term strategy supported by all stakeholders involved in the process: political elites, management and employees of media outlets, civil society groups and the general public.
The authors stress that greater efforts are needed to create the political and legal frameworks conducive to effectively developing public service media, and that improvements are required for implementing the reforms in the media outlets themselves. “Media development organisations have often failed to recognise the role of organisational development, and that restructuring broadcasters is a long term-process,” says Berner.
Edition DW Akademie is a new publication series focusing on the areas of media development, media policy and journalism. In the Service of the Public
was edited by Jan Lublinski, Merjam Wakili, Petra Berner.
Read the report in full as a digital publication (ISSUU) or PDF.
2 December 2014
AFP CHAIRMAN EMMANUEL HOOG HAS APPOINTED MARIE-NOËLLE VALLÈS DIRECTOR OF VIDEO TO STRENGTHEN THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS ACTIVITY WHICH IS AFP’S NUMBER ONE STRATEGIC PRIORITY AND KEY GROWTH DRIVER.
Reporting to the global news director, the new video director will be responsible for pursuing the development of video, with an ongoing focus on types of production, production formats and business strategy. She will also contribute to the discussion on how jobs within the Agency are changing. The director will be assisted by two deputies, one responsible for international development and the other for live video development.
Marie-Noëlle Vallès has directed AFP’s video service since 2010. In the context of the Agency’s worldwide multimedia development strategy, she has overseen the reinforcement of the international video network, the three-fold increase of video production in six languages, live video production and the strategic repositioning of AFPTV from a service offering French features and news to one providing worldwide news coverage. Marie-Noelle joined Agence France-Presse in 1989 as a text reporter and has been based in Paris, London and Madrid, also reporting as a special correspondent in Latin America and the Middle East. She was a deputy to AFP’s global news editor before joining the video department as a reporter in 2009.
About AFP
AFP is a global news agency delivering fast, accurate, in-depth coverage of the events shaping our world from conflicts to politics, sports, entertainment and the latest breakthroughs in health, science and technology. With 2,260 staff spread across almost every country, AFP covers the world 24 hours a day in six languages. AFP delivers the news in video, text, photos, multimedia and graphics to a wide range of customers including newspapers and magazines, radio and TV channels, web sites and portals, mobile operators, corporate clients as well as public institutions. (Source: AFP press release)
2 December 2014
Arqiva, the communications infrastructure and media services company, has announced its existing Connect TV channels; Motors TV, SonLife Broadcasting Network, RTDoc and Vintage TV are now available via on demand TV service YouView .
Viewers of Motors TV, RTDoc and Vintage TV are able to access the channel content via the red button from the same LCN as other free-to-air TV services, as well as discover them in the EPG in the same way as any other channel on YouView. This means channel numbers can be retained, so viewers have consistency whatever TV service they use – Motors TV is available on channel 240, SonLife on channel 239, RTDoc on channel 135 via the red button, and Vintage TV on channel 242.
Tom Cape, Arqiva’s Director of Connected Solutions said, “Launching our Connect TV services on to YouView maximises the hybrid capability of the platform. Together we will be delivering high quality streaming channels over IP to YouView devices as part of a coherent user experience with the DTT channels. Viewers expect greater breadth and depth of content on their TV service and adding Connect TV to YouView helps extend the platform’s content proposition with a range of exciting IP channels.”
David Faulkner, Head of Business Development at YouView said, “We’re pleased to now offer additional TV channels, delivered via the red button, giving customers even more programme choice on YouView.”
Arqiva Connected Solutions (which includes Capablue) has a broad portfolio of products servicing an unmatched variety of broadcast and on-demand content delivery platforms. The combined expertise of Capablue’s Internet-based services, with Arqiva’s pedigree in broadcasting and infrastructure, provide a robust streaming back end to deliver high quality IP solutions on any device.
People can gain access to the YouView platform if they have a broadband connection and a digital television signal. They can check eligibility for the service by visiting the YouView website. (Source: Arqiva press release)
1 December 2014
Regional broadcaster Channel NewsAsia launches its first feature film, Little People Big Dreams. Shot in High Definition, the documentary is the first original production under the banner of ‘Channel NewsAsia Feature Films’. It goes behind the curtains of a controversial theme park, Dwarves Empire, in China’s Yunnan province. The multi-million dollar theme park simulates a fantasy land where dozens of little people are hired to perform for paying tourists. The controversy surrounding the theme park is an obvious one – does it provide the little people with a stable livelihood at the expense of their basic rights?
Little People Big Dreams will premiere in Asia at the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) held at the National Museum of Singapore, Gallery Theatre, on Sunday, 7 December 2014 at 7.15pm. Following the screening, a discussion with the audience will be held with the film’s Director, Mr Mak CK, and Channel NewsAsia’s Vice President of Network Programming and Promotions, and Commissioning Editor of Little People Big Dreams, Ms Mok Choy Lin. This Asian premiere comes at the heels of an immensely successful world premiere at the CPH:DOX Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival. Little People Big Dreams was the first-ever Singapore-produced film to be featured at the Copenhagen festival. It saw two sold-out screenings on 11 and 14 November 2014. A third screening on 17 November was added following the overwhelming response.
Apart from the world premiere, Little People Big Dreams has also received numerous international accolades. In May this year, it was selected for the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program-CNEX workshop in Beijing. The documentary was also awarded ‘Best Project Pitch’ at the CNEX Chinese Doc Forum in Taipei in October. It is slated for various international festivals, including the International Festival of Audiovisual Programmes in France in January 2015.
Mr Mak says, “When I first read about the theme park online, I was immediately intrigued by the existence of such a bizarre attraction in this day and age. I have always been interested in microcosms of society and communities that are discriminated or gravely under-represented in the media. Through this film, I’ve had the privilege of learning about the lives of little people in the world’s most populous nation. The personal life stories featured in the film are both heartbreaking and inspiring. Over the course of making this film, I struggled with how I feel about the park. And I’ve come to realise that many a time, morality comes in different shades of grey.” Ms Mok comments, “This feature documentary marks a production milestone for the channel and has already attracted extraordinary interest from worldwide distributors. We are delighted to be one of the few broadcasters in Asia to support feature-length documentaries and encourage filmmakers in the region to send us their incredible stories.”
Little People Big Dreams will air on Channel NewsAsia in early 2015. (Source: Channel NewsAsia press release)
1 December 2014
Globecast announced today the launch of Téléfrance, its French television package, in the UK. The package is now available via a range of Pay TV platforms, including Now TV box, Roku Box, iOS/Android mobile devices and Samsung Smart TV.
The Téléfrance package was launched on Beaujolais Nouveau day, 20 November, at the London French Institute. It includes 11 major French TV channels, giving the UK’s large French-speaking community access to the most popular French television content.
Viewers can now access a wide variety of content genres, covering arts, culture, health and wellbeing, news, general entertainment and cinema d’auteur, across a choice of devices. The service draws from channels such France 24, TV5 Monde, Eurochannel, MyZen TV, The Museum channel, RFM TV & MCM Top (Lagardère Active) and Montagne TV. Additional channels will be added to the Téléfrance offering in the coming months.
“More than 400,000 French expatriates live in the UK and London has one of the highest concentrations of French residents in the world. This means demand for French content is huge, and this doesn’t even take into account French speakers from Africa, Belgium and Switzerland,” said Didier Mainard, VP Sales, Globecast. “We’re very excited to be entrusted with delivering their favourite content, bringing the very best of what French TV has to offer to the UK and look forward to enriching the Téléfrance package with more channels and across more platforms in the months ahead.”
In the Service of the Public, a new study released by DW Akademie, examines the transformation of state broadcasters into independent media in various countries, including those in Moldova, Mongolia and Myanmar.