7 March 2011
TVNZ and SKY have partnered to launch a 24 hour pre-school children’s channel on the SKY platform from 1 May called TVNZ Kidzone24.
TVNZ Kidzone24 will feature trusted educational and inspiring content for pre-school children in an advertising-free environment.
Chief Executive Rick Ellis is delighted that SKY has made it possible for TVNZ to extend the popular Kidzone programming block beyond the two hours that are available on public service channel TVNZ 7.
“Kidzone has been an increasingly popular block of programming, providing educational and entertaining content for young New Zealanders, with a significant amount of locally produced programming.
“It is fantastic that we are now able to offer a commercially-viable, expanded Kidzone channel, on the SKY platform.
John Fellet, CEO of SKY Television, is equally thrilled to have Kidzone added to SKY’s existing offerings for family viewing.
“We are delighted to be working with TVNZ to assist them build what has been a very popular segment into a dedicated channel of its own. The addition of TVNZ Kidzone24 to our range of family viewing options underlines our commitment to providing the widest selection of quality programming for all age groups,” he said.
The Kidzone24 programme schedule will be released in April and features existing favourites including Kidzone with Kayne, as well as new content with a learning focus.
The channel will be located on SKY Channel 046, within the stable of family channels and will be available as part of the SKY Basic Digital Package. Select content will also be available on iSKY.
2 March 2011
The 2011 AIBs – our seventh annual international media awards – will launch in April.
These unique global awards attract entries from broadcasters, technology companies and independent producers on every continent. The promotional work for the AIBs reach more than 25,000 media leaders worldwide.
AIB is offering a limited number of partnership opportunities to companies and organisations that want to be associated with this global celebration of success as well as benefiting from the AIB’s constantly growing reach in media companies around the world.
See our highlights video from the 2010 AIBs here:
Using an iPad, or can’t see the video? Click here:
The 2010 AIBs – the highlights.
See our special partnership opportunities book online here:
2 March 2011
Forces loyal to Gaddafi appear to be fighting back in Libya, where they have retaken a number of towns close to Tripoli, including Gharyan and Sabratha, creating a buffer zone around the capital.
The rapidly-changing nature of events and the renewed intensification of the fighting pose a threat to news crews in Libya, coming as they do amid reports of aerial bombardments.
The International News Safety Institute is issuing this update at 1045 GMT on March 2. INSI is working with news organisations with staff throughout Libya and is coordinating a email forum for more confidential and rapidly-changing information involving the safety of journalists. For more on this, please contact Hannah Storm at hannah.storm@newssafety.org
To the east of Libya, which has been mainly under the control of rebels since last week, the situation is increasingly complicated and confused with control of the town of Brega apparently shifting between opposing sides. Earlier today, there were reports that the north-eastern oil town had fallen to pro-Gaddafi forces, but later reports suggested it was back under the control of opposition forces, with government troops controlling its airport.
The latest town to come under attack is the strategic Ajdabiyah, home to a large ammunition depot, and ninety minutes drive from Libyas second city of Benghazi. Some reports suggest the Gaddafi has deployed fighter jets to the town, and that the ammunition dump has been bombed.
It is not immediately clear what the attack on Ajdabiyah, which is itself poorly defended, might mean for the larger city of Benghazi, which has been the centre of many of the evacuations of foreigners fleeing Libya, and where many journalists have based themselves since the city fell to the rebels, but foreign media should be ready to evacuate if necessary.
Away from the fighting, there is a growing humanitarian crisis on Libyas western border with Tunisia, where — as of this morning — 80,000 people had fled. This situation brings its own specific risks, which journalists should be aware of — because of the vast numbers of people, levels of hunger, desperation and the possible outbreak of disease.
2 March 2011
Voice of America has a new on-line destination for Russian speakers who want to learn English.
The Russian edition of VOAs popular goEnglish.me language learning program is now on-line and it is loaded with useful tools that makes learning English fun, and easy. The program is free.
What makes goEnglish.me so popular is that users get a glimpse into everyday American life, while learning things they might need if they were traveling or studying in the United States. The site, which also has editions for Farsi and Mandarin speakers, is interactive and users can download lessons and information for use later or to share with friends.
The site is aimed at Russian speakers who have some knowledge of English, but are interested in learning how it is spoken in everyday American life. It also includes forums, blogs and group pages to allow users to dig deeper into American society through conversation.
Students use a headset and microphone to converse with avatars in the goEnglish.me lessons. Each lesson has phrases and sentences along with short exams. As users become more advanced they hear more English and less of their own language.
VOA Director Danforth W. Austin says, The Russian version of goEnglish.me is just the latest example in an expanding array of digital learning tools that visitors can find on our websites. Austin says, goEnglish.me is one more way for VOA, which employs an all-digital strategy to reach out to Internet users in Russia and the former Soviet Republics, to engage young Russians interested in dialog with Americans.
1 March 2011
Alhurra Televisions broadcasts of
the historic events in Libya have been jammed on the Nilesat satellite
system since Feb. 23. The Nilesat system, one of the most popular
satellite systems in the region, also carries Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.
The radio signals on Nilesat of Radio Sawa (in Arabic), Radio Farda (in
Persian), Radio Free Iraq (in Arabic) and Voice of America (in Kurdish)
have also faced intermittent interference in Nilesat.
The right to freedom of information is universal and essential amidst the tumultuous events in the region, said Walter Isaacson, chair of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees all U.S.
international broadcasting including Alhurra TV, VOA and RFE. Efforts,
including satellite jamming, to prevent people in the Middle East and
North Africa from getting much-needed accurate news and information are
abhorrent.”
Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle have reported similar deliberate, harmful
interferences with satellite transmissions.
The jamming of the satellite system comes at the height of U.S.
international broadcastings extensive coverage of the uprising and
violence in Libya. Alhurra has provided live, continuous coverage since protests began Feb. 16. Surge broadcasting has included first person
accounts from Tripoli, Benghazi, Tubruk and Misratah. Alhurra is also
soliciting feedback from viewers in Libya and asking them to call in and
report what they are witnessing, as well as sending video and still
images through Facebook and YouTube. Alhurras correspondents in
Benghazi are interviewing protesters who say they are demonstrating
because they want Libya to be a free country and their children to live
in a democracy. Alhurra is also providing viewers with the American
perspective through talk shows and analysis from American experts on
Libya and the Middle East.
The coverage of Libya follows Alhurras in-depth reporting from Egypt, where surveys showed that 25 percent of Egyptian adults were tuning into Alhurra for the latest news on the demonstrations in Tahrir Square and across Egypt.
Intermittent but sustained interference to Alhurra Television meant viewers first lost images and then their screens went black between Feb. 23 and 27. Radio channels continued to be jammed on Nilesat as of Feb.28. Jamming this month has also affected TV and radio broadcasts to Iran for VOAs Persian News Network and Radio Farda.
