13 December 2010
IBM Deutschland GmbH (IBM) and S4M – Solutions for Media GmbH, a subsidiary of arvato systems and RTL Television, want to tighten cooperation on an international level. The partners are planning joint sales and marketing activities to bring in their long business experience.
With this collaboration IBM and S4M want to harness both companies’ strengths regarding hardware, software and services and offer integrated solutions for national and international media focused customers. Furthermore both companies want to cooperate to be compatible for the Framework for interoperable Media Services initiated by AMWA (Advanced Media Workflow Association) and EBU (European Broadcast Union).
Customers benefit from synergies in consulting and service as well as from optimizing the joint IBM/S4M technical solution portfolio such as server and storage components as well as software modules. Furthermore all offered solutions will be an integral element of the IBM Media Enterprise Framework (MEF).
By including S4Ms products into the IBM Media Enterprise Framework we are creating integrated solutions for tomorrows complex media business. These solutions can easily be configured and expanded to adapt to new challenges, says Thomas Ross, Manager Media Industry, IBM Global Business Services. “Customers will benefit from this cooperation”, says Holger Noske, VP Digital Media Management at S4M. “Within the media industry, S4Ms and IBMs products and services perfectly complement one another.”
10 December 2010
Al Jazeera English, the award-winning 24-hour global news and current affairs channel, is pleased to announce that the channel has been granted a downlinking license to broadcast in India. The decision, which was made by Indias Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, allows cable and satellite companies in India to add Al Jazeera English to their current line-up of channels.
The announcement from the Indian Government follows a formal application process by Al Jazeera English, which was initiated in 2006. Cable and satellite platforms will now be able to begin distributing the channel immediately, and Al Jazeera has already received indication from a number of providers that they will air the channel.
This is an exciting breakthrough that has been in the works for several years, and we are extremely pleased that Al Jazeera Englishs groundbreaking news and programming will soon be available in India, said Al Anstey, Managing Director of Al Jazeera English. We know there is a great demand for our award-winning content. Through our dedicated resources in India, Al Jazeera is already presenting important stories from India to our global audience in more than 100 countries. We are delighted that we now have the opportunity to present viewers in India with Al Jazeera Englishs in-depth coverage and rich context of todays most important global events.
Al Jazeera English currently has a bureau in New Delhi which has covered major stories of international significance including The Mumbai Siege, The General Elections, The Commonwealth Games, the impact of the global Recession on India, and President Barack Obamas visit to India. Additionally, Al Jazeeras reporting from India follows the Networks goals of presenting important stories that are too often overlooked by other mainstream media outlets.
Anmol Saxena, Al Jazeera Englishs Bureau Chief in New Delhi stated that With Indias increasing engagement in world affairs and strong interest in international events, we are certain that Al Jazeera English will have a substantial following throughout the country. Diana Hosker, Head of Distribution for the region added: We look forward to working closely with distribution platforms to bring the channel to India soon as possible. With the prospect of reaching an estimated 115 million households in India, this important market will be significant as we continue to expand our global reach.
Since launching in 2006, Al Jazeera English has become a world leader in the coverage of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. With more than 65 news bureaus around the world, the majority of which are located in the Southern hemisphere, the channels aim is to provide independent and impartial news for a global audience.
Al Jazeera English has more than 1000 employees worldwide, representing more than 50 nationalities. The channel is currently available in more than 100 countries, reaching more than 220 million households around the world, a number that will continue to grow as the channel expands throughout India.
10 December 2010
The Associated Press, the worlds leading source for news and information, announced today a new major agreement to market Los Angeles-based agency CelebrityFootages video archive. The deal is part of APs strategy to build the worlds leading entertainment stock footage offering.
Under the terms of the agreement, AP Archive, the APs footage sales division, will distribute CelebrityFootages video to the APs global customer base. The videos will be sold alongside videos by the AP and its content partners. The CelebrityFootage archive dates back two decades and is refreshed with new footage every day. The entire collection has been added to the AP Archive website where it can be searched and viewed alongside all of APs existing entertainment video. AP currently produces four daily entertainment video news feeds and its own entertainment news archive comprises approximately 100,000 videos.
AP is committed to expanding content and coverage to meet the changing needs of our customers. We are firmly in the age of the celebrity and entertainment content accounts for a rapidly growing proportion of our total sales, Alwyn Lindsey, APs director of international archives, said. By adding the CelebrityFootage collection to our own entertainment content, we have created the definitive one-stop-shop for celebrity-based video and I dont believe that any other supplier can claim to be close to the depth and breadth that we now offer.
The CelebrityFootage collection represents a comprehensive video archive of Hollywood stars and international celebrities for the past two decades.
Michael Goldberg, CEO of CelebrityFootage, said, Were really excited to be working with AP and our video adds a new dimension to their already impressive portfolio. APs global distribution network exposes our footage to a vast international audience.
The content partnership with CelebrityFootage is the latest in a growing number of significant partnerships with broadcast and media organisations that AP Archive now represents, including Democratic Voice of Burma, ABC News, Chinese Central Television, Vatican Television and WWF, the conservation organisation.
6 December 2010
Journalists across the Democratic Republic of Congo are learning about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in a series of eight workshops organized by the Voice of America.
We are very happy with the VOA initiative and its contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS, said Dr. Aime Mboyo, coordinator of the national HIV/AIDS program in DRC.
The workshops, organized by Ferdinand Ferella of VOAs French-to-Africa Service, include a mix of information about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in DRC, along with practical information about covering health issues such as HIV/AIDS. The VOA workshops are supported by the U.S. Department of State through its embassy in Kinshasa.
Dr. Mboyo said, We are already seeing the first results. Participants in the Kinshasa and Lubumbashi workshops have decided to set up a network to stay in touch and exchange information. The role of the media is crucial, particularly community radio because 70 percent of the population lives in rural areas, she said.
The workshops also drew praise from participants, such as Zacharie Lunda of Radio Parec in Mulongo. I live in a remote town in Katanga, Lunda said, I was very touched to be invited to the Lubumbashi workshop, just the idea that someone out there cares for me.
The workshops began in Kinshasa, in late November, and more are scheduled for Goma, Dec. 7-8, Bukavu, Dec. 10-11, and Kisangani, Dec. 14-15. Early next year, VOA will also organize programs in Mbuji-Mayi, Kananga and Matadi.
The U.N. estimates between 400,000 and 500,000 in DRC are living with HIV/AIDS. There was a1.3 percent prevalence among adults at the end of 2007, and recent studies suggest the prevalence may be increasing. More than 40,000 children are born with HIV/AIDS each year.
6 December 2010
Al Jazeera Childrens Channel today concluded an agreement with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) that will give unique learning opportunities to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children across the Middle East.
The new initiative will involve the use of the educational website Taalam.TV, launched by Al Jazeera Childrens Channel in January 2010, across UNRWA schools in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. As part of an agreement signed today in Doha, students and teachers alike will be able to use tailor-made multimedia by Talaam.TV to support the normal curriculum.
The agreement also heralds a long term partnership, under which JCC would provide UNRWA and the young Palestine refugee students with special online educational material in their classrooms.
The project was given the green light after Dr. Caroline Pontefract, UNRWAs Director of Education and Mahmoud Bouneb, Executive General Manager of Al Jazeera Childrens Channel, signed an agreement at JCCs headquarters in Doha.
The signing event was attended by Dr. Yehia Al Agha, the Cultural Attaché of Palestine to Qatar.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Pontefract said, UNRWA is looking forward to using the groundbreaking online materials in its schools. Dr. Ayman Murad, Head of Partnership, Advocacy, Communication and ICT at UNRWAs Department of Education praised the spirit of long-term cooperation in which the agreement was signed.
For his part, Mahmoud Bouneb, Executive General Manager of Al Jazeera Childrens Channel thanked UNRWA for showing trust in Taalam TV. The agreement, he said, would allow thousands of Palestine refugee students to learn more through fun and interactive technology.
Bouneb also stated that JCC in collaboration with QF aim to make Taalam.TV the leading reference centre for Arab schools, educators and students all over the world. The aim of this, he said, is to improve upon traditional education in the Arab world, which is typically based on memorization and rote learning. Al Jazeera Childrens Channel is looking to deliver education that focuses on interaction, participation and specialization, he said.
Taalam.TV has been designed in collaboration with a group of Arab teachers and educational experts making it the first educational Video-on-Demand online platform in the Arab World. The websites rich database of educational audiovisual materials extracted from JCC TV content along with curricula-based supporting documents assist Arab educators in making teaching more stimulating and engaging allowing students to store, process and recall information more rapidly.
JCC has also signed a MoU with the Sultanate of Omans Ministry of Education in April 2010 granting schools access to its educational website. Taalam.TV is currently benefiting over 100,000 students in 178 schools across 28 countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, France, Britain, USA and Canada
