7 July 2010
Voice of America’s Hausa Language Service is now offering its exciting multi-media lineup of news, interviews and feature programs to on-the-go mobile phone users, one of the fastest growing segments of digital communication.
To find VOA Hausa programs on your mobile device go to http://hausa.voa.mobi/.
VOA’s New Media Director Rebecca McMenamin says, “The explosion of mobile phone use around the world makes the technology a perfect match for the delivery of news and multi-media content, and VOA is working to bring all of its 44 languages onto the mobile platform.”
McMenamin says, “The Hausa Service mobile site will offer not only news, but also health information. We think this can be very useful to our audience.”
The Hausa language is spoken by about 60 million people, most of them in the West African nations of Nigeria, Ghana and Niger.
The VOA Hausa Language Service reaches an estimated weekly audience of about 21 million with its line-up of newscasts, discussion shows, diverse stringer reports, interviews, feature programs, and special reports covering a wide variety of issues.
To get VOA in English on your mobile device, type http://english.voa.mobi into the browser on your phone. For other available languages, navigate to http://voa.mobi and select from the list.
2 July 2010
Al Jazeera English is pleased to announce that it has received the Freesat Award for Best News Channel. Presented on 30 June at a gala ceremony in London, the Freesat Awards recognize the very best channels and services available on Freesat, a not-for-profit digital satellite television service in the United Kingdom owned by the BBC and ITV. Al Anstey, Director of Media Development for Al Jazeera Network accepted the award on behalf of Al Jazeera English.
This is the second year in a row that Al Jazeera English has been recognized with the award. This years nominees included BBC News Channel, BBC Radio 5, CNN International and Bloomberg. The panel of judges for the award was made up of senior representatives from the broadcasting industry.
It is an honour to receive this award for the second year in a row and to be recognised by our peers in the industry as a leading source of news and current affairs programming, said Salah Nagm, Director of News for Al Jazeera English. In our short time on air, AJE has worked hard to fill a void in international news by providing coverage of key regions of the world. We are pleased to be part of Freesats strong line-up of channels and their rapidly growing UK platform.
The judging panel commended Al Jazeera for the following reasons: Al Jazeera was the standout channel for the panel, telling stories no-one else does and helping viewers discover things about other countries that just arent reported elsewhere. We like its journalism and impartiality and the way it shows a completely different window on the world.
Since its launch in 2006, Al Jazeera English has been recognized for its distinguished reporting and programming including being awarded Best 24 Hour News Programme at the 48th and 50th Annual Monte-Carlo Television Festival. AJE has also received awards from RTS, Amnesty International and YouTube and has received nominations for international Emmy awards in both the News and Current Affairs categories and the Royal Television Society awards as the 2009 News Channel of the Year.
30 June 2010
Al Jazeera English, the award-winning 24-hour global news and current affairs channel, will begin broadcasting free to air on Freeview on 1st July, airing the channel to more than 80% of homes in the United Kingdom.
Al Jazeera will air live from 6 to 11pm local time every day on channel 89. The output will be live news and programmes from AJEs studios in London, Washington DC, and Doha.
AJEs current affairs programming includes Frost Over the World, a weekly interview show hosted by Sir David Frost; Witness, a programme that focuses on the human stories at the centre of international events; The Rageh Omaar Report which focuses on in-depth coverage of stories neglected by Western media; People and Power, an investigative programme which looks at the abuse of power across the world; and Listening Post, an interactive show which provides insight and discussion on the global news divide.
Al Jazeera English currently reaches more than 200 million homes worldwide. The addition of Freeview is a significant step forward for AJE.
Commenting on the launch, Wadah Khanfar, Director General of the Al Jazeera Network said: We are extremely pleased that Al Jazeera Englishs groundbreaking news and current affairs programming will be available to more than 80% of UK homes. Providing content to the widest possible audience, free of charge, is part of Al Jazeeras ongoing mandate and mission. With a large network of bureaus, and with unique access to under reported regions across the world, Al Jazeera English will bring a much needed international perspective to this important and diverse region.
Ilse Howling, Managing Director, Freeview commented: “The addition of Al Jazeera English brings a new global perspective to our existing news channel line up, bringing Freeview viewers even more subscription-free news content.”
Al Anstey, Director Media Development for the Al Jazeera Network added: The UK remains an extremely important market for Al Jazeera. Freeview provides us with the platform to show our award-winning news and programming across the country. We know there is an audience for Al Jazeera English in the United Kingdom and we look forward to expanding our service throughout the country.
Al Jazeera English is recognized for its distinguished reporting and programming. AJE has won the RTS (Royal Television Society) Young Reporter of the Year Award, and has received awards from the Monte-Carlo TV Festival, Amnesty International and YouTube. Additionally, AJE has received several nominations for international Emmy awards in both the News and Current Affairs categories and the Royal Television Society awards as the 2009 News Channel of the Year.
In addition to being available on Freeview channel 89, Al Jazeera English is available in the United Kingdom on Sky Guide channel 514 and Freesat channel 203.
29 June 2010
At the request of broadcasters, production houses and technology companies across the globe, AIB has agreed to extend the deadline for entries to this year’s AIBs.
The final date for entries to arrive at AIB headquarters in the UK is now Friday 16 July at 1600 GMT.
We already have a great crop of entries from broadcasters on every continent and are looking forward to seeing more come in over the coming few days.
For more information, see the AIBs microsite at www.theaibs.tv.
28 June 2010
BBC World Service has expanded its use of the Pharos Mediator content management platform at its UK headquarters. An auxiliary system has been established to provide production and playout support in the event of an interruption to normal operations.
“Mediator is already used for ingest, media workflow, transfer management, router control and playout operations at Bush House,” comments Nigel Fry, Head of Transmission & Distribution at BBC World Service. “Our objective was to ensure that core programme output could be kept on air in an emergency affecting our normal operations. A rules-based data export ensures that the backup system is kept up-to-date with content which can be used at any time.”
The new configuration can be operated on a push-from-main or pull-from-auxiliary basis. Both the new and the existing Mediator installations are based on an enterprise architecture providing user-access from PC workstations running standard web browsers. Task-specific Web-based display screens guide operators through workflow and allow desktop search and browse of any material.”
Pharos Mediator is a complete broadcast content management and workflow platform capable of handling studio control, post-production and multichannel playout. Web-browser-based user interfaces running on desktop computers provide operators with the tools they need in a style which is easy to understand, including content browsing, task prioritising and automatic alerts. Pharos Mediator manages content efficiently for media logistics, streamlining library management, ingest and quality assessment, right through to compliance, promotions management and approvals.
The BBC World Service is the worlds leading international broadcaster. It provides programmes and content for radio, television, online and mobile phones in English and 31 other languages. Hundreds of reporters and specialist correspondents bring impartial news reports, documentaries and analysis from around the globe. BBC World Service also offers a mix of other programming from arts, business and culture to drama, science and sport. BBC World Service is one part of the collected international-facing television, radio and online services which form BBC Global News.
Founded in 1997, Pharos has pioneered collaborative desktop workflow and integrated third-party infrastructure management. Pharos solutions today handle millions of media assets across hundreds of television channels and an increasing number of new media distribution networks. Pharos is an open company embracing open standards. Pharos software architecture, integration and support services enable disparate broadcast and IT processes to be unified across the enterprise. The unique Mediator content management platform, with its integrated Playtime playout and Pilot control options, provides efficient tools to deliver multi-format content globally.
