28 May 2010
On the eve of the new Apple iPad release in France and eight other countries, FRANCE 24 new application, exclusively developed for the iPad, has already been downloaded 8,000 times (including 6,000 downloads in the USA) since its release on April 3rd.
Acclaimed by the public and many professionals, the FRANCE 24 application is, for example, the only application with a score of 4 stars (on a scale of 5) in the classification established by an influential American blog. Ergonomically pleasing and offering innovative service, the application is ranked in the top 10 news applications.
Accessible on the App Store, FRANCE 24s application is free and allows users to tailor their approach to the news, choosing from a variety of innovative functions.
iPad users can enjoy the live broadcast of FRANCE 24s three channels (English, French and Arab) as well as watch the latest newscast (updated every half hour), business report, world weather forecast and sports flash. The application also offers them a wide range of videos available on demand in three languages (magazines, debates, special reports).
In addition, an innovative mapping tool allows users to find news according to their location thanks to FRANCE 24s automatic and geographical referencing of news articles and videos.
Building on its multimedia strategy FRANCE 24 was the first international news channel to broadcast live on the iPhone FRANCE 24s iPad application will evolve in the coming weeks to include more features and new services.
FRANCE 24s application was developed by the LAB, FRANCE 24s Multimedia Studio, in cooperation with Backelite.
28 May 2010
Considered the worlds largest non-sport television production, the Eurovision Song Contest Finale is being broadcast live from the Telenor Arena, in Oslo, Norway during several dates in late May. Started in 1956, the contest has since grown to include two live semi-finals, which are held on the 25th and the 27th of May. NRK, the national public broadcaster of Norway (the winning country in 2009), is the host broadcaster this year. The final broadcast consists of entries from 25 countries. The host nation is pre-qualified for the final, along with the UK, Spain, France and Germany, and the 20 qualifiers from the two Semi-Finals, leading up to the Grand Finale held on May 29th.
NRK is responsible for the production and works with the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) and the other participating broadcasters. NRK has brought together a team of companies, including Vizrt, with the expertise required to create this complex production. NRK chose Vizrt because of the companys longstanding excellence in animated television graphics, said Peter Svaar, head of press for NRK. Were excited about this partnership for the Eurovision Song Contest, Europes favorite TV show.
For several years, Viz Engine, a real-time graphics rendering engine, has been used for the Eurovision Song Contest voting system. Controlled by client applications developed by Arttek, Vizrt systems create the graphics. The Viz Engine renderer is well suited to display the voting sequence given to the EBU live from the 39 participating countries, said Trond Solem, Vizrts technical integration manger. Arttek compiles the data and makes the graphics move based upon results of the live voting.
This year Viz Engine and Viz Virtual Studio are being used to create special graphics that introduce each participating country. NRK wanted to use virtual postcards that serve as greetings from the country viewers would see next on the broadcast. Each countrys postcards are created from animated light spheres that appear as real objects in the arena. This requires the ability to look at each of the countrys postcards from different directions, depending on the camera being used.
To that end, NRK employs Viz Virtual Studio technology to track the position of its cameras and render the postcards in real-time, said Ran Yakir, Vizrts head of research and development in Israel. Weve adapted our RealFX particle system to import the postcard animations and render them in real-time using tens of thousands of particles, each particle appearing as a light-emitting sphere. The fact that the animations will be played live in a real environment means we have to fine-tune the lighting and color parameters to match those of the arena exactly.
Finally, NRK will also use Viz Engine with the Viz Trio character generator to create the lower-thirds and bugs. A graphic from a Vizrt system will be on-air continuously throughout the show.
The production is the result of a combined effort between the following Norwegian companies: NRK; Vizrt; the design house, Gosu Design; production company Motion Blur; 3D graphic and special effects production company, Gimpville; and remote-controlled camera equipment from the Swedish firm, Visual Act.
27 May 2010
The recently-conducted Synovate and Deutsche Welle Global Study on Climate Change 2010 has shown that people around the world still see global climate change as a major threat and extreme weather conditions as one of the major risks. Synovate surveyed more than 13,000 people from 18 different countries about the potential threats, the effects and the possibilities that exist to counteract climate change. The complete results will be presented at this years Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum. This years conference, entitled The Heat is On Climate Change and the Media, will take place from June 21-23 in Bonn.
The first results of the study have shown that the majority of respondents (88 percent) believe that businesses carry the responsibility for the fight against climate change. But personal responsibility is also important: More than 70 percent say that they are already doing something to help in the fight or want to do so in the future. Around half of those asked are willing to invest in more environmentally-friendly products.
At the same time, the percentage of participants that arent worried at all has grown. In 2008, a similar study recorded 4 percent and that has now grown to 9 percent.
Media responsibility
International conferences havent produced any solutions so far and some of the basic scientific findings give reason to doubt, says Steve Garton, who was responsible for the study from Synovate. The results didnt succeed in making the developments and the effects of the threats crystal clear to people around the world.
Erik Bettermann, Deutsche Welle Director General, believes that the media has a huge responsibility: The media must provide an objective and comprehensible view of the main topics for the future. At the same time, it will become even more important for journalists to advocate action from individuals with well-researched articles. They have to create a forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions and cant get sucked in by people wanting to sell questionable catastrophe scenarios or by those who prematurely say the coast is clear.
Many of the survey respondents believe that journalists have a responsibility as well. More than 50 percent sated that it is the medias responsibility to not only inform the public, but to clarify climate change and its effects as well.
The Synovate and Deutsche Welle Global Study on Climate Change 2010 is the third survey that Synovate has completed on this subject. Researchers relied on more than 13,000 respondents from 18 countries for the results, which were collected between February and May throughout the world including Germany, France, Brazil, USA, China and South Africa.
More than 50 individual events
In 2010, the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum once again offers more than 50 events including podium discussions and workshops, interactive presentations and exhibitions, networking and interesting side events. It takes place at the World Conference Center Bonn, close to Deutsche Welles headquarters.
Deutsche Welle is cooperating with many different organizations for this interdisciplinary conference, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the International Human Dimensions Program on Global Environmental Change (UN IHDP/ESSP), EU Commission and the World Bank, the Wuppertal Institute, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), NABU and the Climate Alliance, the Institute for World Business Kiel, German Development Institute (DIE), the Center for Development Research (ZEF) and many others.
Co-host of the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum is the Foundation for International Dialogue of the Sparkasse in Bonn. The convention is also supported by Germanys Federal Foreign Office, the Family, Women and Integration Ministry of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, European Funds for Regional Development, the city of Bonn, DHL, the KSB Group and Faber-Castell.
25 May 2010
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has announced that Michael McCluskey is to be the new Chief Executive of its international radio service, ABC Radio Australia.
He succeeds Hanh Tran, who is to take up a senior editorial role with the ABC.
Dr McCluskey, who takes up the post on 31 May, is currently the ABCs State Director New South Wales.
In a career spanning more than 25 years with the ABC, he has worked as a rural reporter, executive producer, radio presenter, regional programme manager, international advisor and local radio manager. His doctorate is in the area of media and development.
Mr Green thanked Mr Tran for his leadership over the past three years particularly in the areas of bilingualism, journalism and cross language cooperation.
He also acknowledged the addition of Burmese as a new language service, Mr Trans leadership of Radio Australia news staff in the creation of the Asia Pacific News Centre, and the development of Pacific Break, a pan-Pacific music competition that has won international acclaim and first prize at the 2009 AIB International Media Awards.
ABC Radio Australia broadcasts in eight languages across Asia and the Pacific. It is the partner broadcaster to Australia Network television and media capacity building collaborator with ABC International Projects.
25 May 2010
Kim In-Kyu, President and CEO of national broadcaster Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), (has been elected Chairman of the Korean Broadcasters Association (KBA) for a two-year term.
The election was held during the KBA General Meeting on 11 May.
Mr Kim said he would play a leading role in the continuing digitalisation efforts amid the rapidly changing media landscape.
Founded in 1974, the KBA has been initiating a range of studies on broadcasting policies and organising various seminars and forums for terrestrial broadcasters in the country.
The KBA is also the host of the Korea Broadcasting Awards and the Seoul Drama Awards.
Source: ABU website
