15 November 2013
From January 1, 2014, Dr. Alexander Kudascheff will be editor-in-chief of Deutsche Welle (DW). Kudascheff, who currently heads the Berlin studio, will take charge of DW’s television, radio and online content.
Director General Peter Limbourg said: “This is a further step towards streamlining journalistic content across all media, which will strengthen Deutsche Welle’s profile as an information provider in the international media market.” On November 1, DW already merged its two programming departments in Bonn and Berlin into one, which is now managed by a single director of programming.
Since 2007, Kudascheff has been in charge of DW’s Berlin studio and at the same time acted as a deputy editor-in-chief. Born in Buenos Aires to a Russian father and a German mother in 1951, Kudascheff studied philosophy, history, politics and Islamic studies in Munich, Hamburg and Cologne. After completing a journalistic traineeship, he initially worked in the Middle East department at Deutsche Welle. He later was in charge of reporting on domestic policy, then became chief reporter and finally editor-in-chief of the German-language radio programming before being appointed as head of DW’s studio in Brussels in 1998.
Director of Programming Gerda Meuer commented: “I am very much looking forward to working with Alexander Kudascheff, whose extensive experience as a radio, television and online journalist will foster the process of streamlining DW’s content.” Meuer thanked the outgoing Editors-in-Chief Dagmar Engel (53) and Ute Schaeffer (46) for their excellent work.
Dagmar Engel will retain her status as an editor-in-chief in her new position as head of DW’s Berlin studio. Previously, she led Deutsche Welle’s TV news service for 15 years and was editor-in-chief of overall TV programming for 12 years.” Dagmar Engel was instrumental in preparing and carrying out the successful reform of DW’s TV programming. Ever since, DW has been available to viewers around the world in four languages and on six channels. Engel’s biggest achievements also include the expansion of what is now a 24-hour Spanish TV channel,” said Meuer. Before she became editor-in-chief and head of the news service, Engel had worked in DW’s studio in Washington D.C. for two years. In the Berlin studio, Engel is set to expand international reporting on German politics and on the bilateral relationships between Germany and other countries.
According to Meuer, the new position the outgoing Editor-in-Chief Ute Schaeffer will take at DW is still being discussed. Schaeffer has “strengthened DW’s regionalized programming and shaped its multilingual online content journalistically,” Meuer said.
13 November 2013
Vizrt Ltd. announced today that it has entered into an indicative non-binding term sheet with TV2 Gruppen AS for the purchase of all of the issued share capital of Mosart Medialab AS (“Mosart”), a Norwegian private company active in the field of development and licensing of newscast automation software.
Mosart helps broadcasters streamline their workflow, automating a number of TV production tasks through software. The solution enables the creation of complex production with just a few operators through an easy-to-use software interface. Mosart takes input from the newsroom computer system to control systems and devices, while human resources remain in control and add the human touch.
“I am excited about the possibilities this proposed transaction can bring to Vizrt and our customers. Mosart’s technology is a perfect complement to our smart workflow solutions and will enhance our offering to broadcasters on a global scale. Vizrt continues to innovate and with this acquisition we further strengthen our position as the dominant player in the broadcast software market.” stated Martin Burkhalter, Vizrt’s CEO.
Burkhalter added, “This transaction makes sense for us both strategically and financially. Mosart has shown strong growth and we expect our due diligence to show the acquisition will be accretive.”
“Mosart’s technology will enable us to simplify content production for our current and future customers. The proposed joining of forces will not just add products to our portfolio; it will also enable us to develop new integrated products and workflows that have the potential of being highly disruptive for the broadcast technology market. Integrating Mosart’s technology with Viz Engine, for instance, would offer the market a very powerful and efficient tv-in-a-box-solution,” stated Vizrt’s CTO Petter Ole Jakobsen.
In consideration for the purchase of 100% of the issued share capital of Mosart, VIZRT shall pay, at the closing of the transaction, an amount of NOK 105 million (approximately £10.5 million). In addition, the sellers have an earn-out mechanism should the revenues for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 exceed certain thresholds.
As part of the transaction, TV2 Gruppen AS shall continue to be granted a license for Mosart’s software, in accordance with the current annual license fee charged by Mosart, of NOK 2.6 million per year for 7 years.
The indicative term sheet entered into is non-binding. The transaction is subject to a legal, financial, technical and operational due diligence review. Assuming the due diligence review is to Vizrt’s satisfaction, subject to board of directors’ approval, agreement on transaction documents, including a final share purchase agreement and receipt of all required approvals, including regulatory approvals, the parties aim to conclude the transaction by December 31, 2013.
1 November 2013
Increased collaboration is at the heart of a new agreement with Radio Netherlands Worldwide, the Broadcasting Board of Governors announced today. The agreement expands on the two global media organizations’ longstanding partnership and enhances their cooperation in the areas of journalism and media training, program distribution, audience and market research, Internet freedom, and others.
“We look forward to developing our relationship further with RNW in support of our shared mission of advancing freedom of information and expression worldwide,” said the BBG’s Director of Strategy and Development, Bruce Sherman. “Wherever we can pursue cost-effective synergies for mutual benefit, we will seek to do so.”
Commenting on the significance of the agreement for RNW, Director General Robert Zaal said, “For an online and social media organization such as ours, an exchange of ideas and cooperation in fields such as distribution and training is crucial. Teaming up is an explicit part of our strategy, and we expect to contribute to and profit from this agreement with BBG.”
The agreement includes a cooperative training program — to build indigenous journalistic capacity and support sustainable independent media — and shared distribution efforts aimed at improving reach to key audiences, particularly young adults.
Projects already in development include an exchange of innovation teams to pursue joint digital media ventures and journalism and media training for an upcoming international security summit.
Sherman and Zaal signed the agreement while attending the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union in Hanoi, Vietnam.
31 October 2013
Vizrt Ltd. announced today a deal worth worth USD 720,000 for the implementation of broadcast graphics products with a broadcaster in the Middle East. The broadcaster’s parent company has been a Vizrt customer since 2009, and this purchase will allow the customer to share resources, including a common graphics package, templates and image library, with other broadcasters in the group.
The deal includes products for creating a complete news graphics workflow from the newsroom to the control room. In the newsroom, journalists access and edit graphics templates and maps from their native newsroom management system using Viz Content Pilot and the Viz World template-based mapping system. This allows them to easily edit and add graphics and maps to a playlist for a news broadcast. The graphics are then played back in real-time during the broadcast using the playlist control version of Viz Content Pilot in the control room.
Additionally, journalists will also use Viz Ticker3D to create and control messages to be displayed on a live ticker.
The customer purchased multiple Viz Engines, Vizrt’s powerful 3D rendering platform to render all graphics live on-air and provide the journalism staff preview capabilities in the newsroom.
31 October 2013
Up front, in-depth and in tune, Radio New Zealand’s new online network,
THEWIRELESS, delivers multi-platform public service media to a generation of New
Zealanders who have grown up in a digital age.
THEWIRELESS marks a significant break from the past for public broadcasting in this
country with Radio New Zealand using video, text, and audio content to take its
informative, insightful and entertaining storytelling to a new generation.
The innovative online approach developed from an original concept for a youth radio
network which has been kicked around in New Zealand for the past 20 years. But the
time for a traditional radio network has passed says project leader, Marcus Stickley:
“We live in an age where you can tell a story any way you want on one platform – the
internet. THEWIRELESS is online only and has been designed with mobile phones in
mind, as well as tablets, laptops and desktops with stories told in video, photos, audio and
text. Some will be told in two types of media, some will be told in all four, or maybe
more depending on where technology takes us.” “We’ll be bold and up-front, covering stories that ought to be told not just those that are being told by other media”.
Radio New Zealand CEO, Paul Thompson, has emphasised the importance of providing
high-quality, impartial content targeted to the interests of a youth audience and delivered
in a way they prefer to receive it – on smartphones, tablets, and computers. He says
THEWIRELESS is the most exciting innovation from Radio New Zealand in recent years:
“THEWIRELESS is run by young New Zealanders for young New Zealanders.
“This new service is about informing and empowering young people and providing them
with journalism that cannot be found elsewhere. It’s about encouraging informed debate
and helping them have a say in decisions that affect them.” “This is a concept that will evolve over time but it’s a terrific way of bringing the values and quality of what we produce to an audience that we don’t serve well at present “.
www.thewireless.co.nz
