Mo and Me available to buy

8 January 2007

Mo & Me, the internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning
documentary about renowned Kenyan photojournalist, Mohamed “Mo” Amin, has been released
for worldwide purchase via the film’s official website: www.moandme.net

The eagerly anticipated direct distribution deal is the result of a joint venture agreement between
Mo & Me producer, Camerapix Ltd and media and entertainment management group, Quantock.

With just a few clicks of a computer mouse, customers around the world are now able to acquire
Mo & Me from the comfort of their homes. Additionally, the DVD’s accompanying book, The
Man Who Moved the World, can also be purchased via the website.

Speaking from Camerapix headquarters, chairman and CEO, Salim Amin said: “I am delighted
that Mo & Me is now available globally to individual customers. There has been huge publicity
from the documentary’s numerous awards and this has led to tremendous buying interest from
those who have already seen the film as well as those who have only heard about it.”

Mr. Amin added that there was a delay in launching the website’s shopping module due to
extensive testing to ensure a problem-free online environment for buyers: “At one point, we were
aiming for a pre-Christmas release. However, we decided in the end to spend some more time
fine-tuning our infrastructure and logistics in order to enhance our customers’ electronic
shopping experience.”

Directed by Roger Mills (“Himalaya”, “Around the World in 80 Days”) and Murad Rayani
(“Refusing To Die”) and narrated by Salim Amin, Mo & Me offers a raw, soulful and, at times,
humourous recollection of the man whose camera lenses captured much of 20th century African
history. Mo & Me was co-produced by Camerapix of Kenya and the Aljazeera Channel of Qatar.

Plaudits received by the documentary during the 2006 festival season include:

Calgary International Film Festival (Best International Documentary)

Kenya International Film Festival (Best Documentary)

Zanzibar International Film Festival (Chairpersons’ Award)

13th New York International Independent Film &Video Festival (Grand Jury Prize for Best
Documentary Feature)

39th US International Film and Video Festival (Silver Screen Award)

This year, Mo & Me will be in competition at the Mumbai International F.I.C.T.S. Festival (18th-
21st January) and the Pan-African Film Festival in Los Angeles (8th -19th February)

AIB presents its international broadcasting awards

5 January 2007

The Association for International Broadcasting announced the winners of its second annual global awards at a glamorous gala event in London on 22 November, 2006. Attended by senior executives, producers and journalists from TV and radio channels from five continents, the AIB Awards event rewarded the very best programmes and channels for international audiences across television and radio.

The Awards event was hosted by Barbara Serra, one of the London anchors of newly-launched Al Jazeera English and more than 100 guests celebrated the success of their colleagues from around the world.

There were nine categories in the 2006 AIB Awards, covering television, radio and technology; over 100 entries were received from international broadcasters in 20 countries, as well as a number of innovative technology suppliers who support international TV and radio stations.

The Award winners were:

Best coverage of a single news event – radio

BBC World Service for South Asian Earthquake
described by the judges as “most impressive in every respect”

Best coverage of a single news event – television
Sky News for London bombings
“good content with excellent context for cross-border
viewers”

Best magazine or documentary programme – television
Al Jazeera Channel for Prisoner 345
“content, suitability for international audience and
production values all very high”

Best magazine or documentary programme – radio
BBC World Service for Assignment – Return to Sarajevo
“stunningly vivid, extraordinarily powerful, impeccably
produced”

Most innovative use of technology
Link Research for Link HD
“the future for news and sports coverage”

International channel of the year – television
BBC World
“excellent coverage of stories, high presentation values”

International station of the year – radio
SW Radio Africa
“brave, an excellent independent alternative to Zimbabwe’s
state media”

International presenter of the year – television
Simon Hobbs of CNBC Europe
“polished, passionate, enthused”

International presenter of the year – radio
Doug Bernard of Voice of America’s Talk to America
“intelligent presentation and questioning, very polished,
with a smile in his voice”

The AIB Awards were judged by international panels drawn from the broadcasting
industry – ensuring peer review of programming – as well as radio and TV
critics, representing the audience’s perspective. Completely non-commercial, the
AIB Awards are the only celebration of success that exclusively focuses on
international, cross-border broadcasting.

“The AIB Awards provide a fantastic opportunity for the Association to provide a
platform not only to celebrate success but also to share ideas,” said Simon
Spanswick, AIB chief executive. “The international broadcasting industry is
often more innovative and fleet of foot than its domestic counterparts, and the
Awards demonstrate the breadth of superb content that’s on offer to viewers and
listeners throughout the world. We were delighted with the range and quality of
the entries which made judging extremely tough. Our judges are to be
congratulated on all their work, as are the winners and finalists tonight.”

The AIB International Broadcasting Awards 2007 will be announced in January.

Japanese telco invests in TV company

5 January 2007

Perhaps starting a trend, Japan’s NTT DoCoMo has acquired 760,500 shares (around 3.0% of total issued and outstanding shares) in Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV).

Under a tie-up agreement concluded in February 2006, DoCoMo had already been working with NTV to provide attractive services converging mobile communications and broadcasting. With the successful launch of “One-segment” terrestrial digital broadcasting in April 2006, and growing sales of compatible handsets, the relationship between mobile communications and broadcasting has become closer than ever before, the telco said.

In a press statement, DoCoMo said it believes stronger ties with NTV will enable it to better offer customers a variety of exciting new services.

This could be the start of real convergence between commercial broadcasting companies and telecommunications operators, most of which are desperate for added-value content for subscribers and the ability to cross-promote major consumer brands.

Australian regulator seeks datacasting views

5 January 2007

The Australian Communications and Media Authority
– which regulates electronic media and telecommunications in the country – is
seeking public comment on extending the digital datacasting trial currently
being conducted in Sydney by Broadcast Australia. This trial, known as DIGITAL
FORTY FOUR, is using one of the two unassigned digital television
channels that form part of the two national digital television licences due to
be allocated by ACMA in the second half of 2007.

ACMA is considering whether to extend the trial
until these channels are allocated for their designated long-term use. In
informing its decision, ACMA is seeking to ensure that the price-based
allocation process for the channels is fair, with no one bidder favoured over
another.

In the interim, ACMA has decided to extend the
DIGITAL FORTY FOUR trial until 31 March 2007.

DIGITAL FORTY FOUR was officially launched
in 2003 and incorporates:

The trial information provided by Broadcast
Australia is available for public access from the

ACMA website 

Comments should be provided by close of
business 14^th February 2007 to:

The Manager
Allocations Administration Section
Australian Communications and Media Authority
PO Box 78
Belconnen ACT 2617

or by email to the attention of Greg Cupitt at

aas@acma.gov.au

ABU Radio News Exchange (ARNE) contribute Asian perspectives

5 January 2007

ABU Radio
News Exchange (ARNE) contribute Asian perspectives 

Kuala Lumpur, 7 December
2006 – The ABU Radio News Exchange (ARNE) has gone from strength to strength in
facilitating news exchanges amongst radio broadcasters in the region. 

Deborah Steele, a producer
from Radio Australia said at a recent workshop for radio broadcasters in the
Asia-Pacific organised by the ABU, that ARNE material will provide radio
broadcasters content that is relevant to their audiences’ needs. Broadcasters
can supplement their daily news bulletins with regional stories taken from the
radio news exchange and modify them to suit their audience’s demands. Through
the union’s radio news exchange, members can obtain timely and relevant stories,
stay ahead of their competitors, and broaden their audience appeal.

The ABU Workshop on Radio
News Exchange, held from 4-6 December was supported by UNESCO through a grant
under its International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC)
and was attended by radio news producers and editors as well as IT staff engaged
in web-based file transfer from Bhutan, Fiji, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal,
Pakistan, Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Workshop facilitators
included resource personnel from the ABU, Radio Australia, Deutsche
Welle-Germany and NHK-Japan and EBU who provided participants a glimpse of
elements of cutting-edge technology used in a modern IT-based newsroom.

“As a fairly new initiative,
we have received a number of positive responses from our members. We hope this
workshop helped to instill a sense of ownership and further enhance members’
participation,” said Vijay Sadhu, ABU Senior Executive for Radio.

The workshop has recommended
the forming of a Radio News Group to be chaired by MediaCorp-Singapore. The EBU
will assist the ABU to set up an enhanced platform based on its Euroradio News
Exchange (ENE) for the further development of ARNE. ARNE aims to be a useful
source of radio news especially for radio broadcasters from less developed
countries who would otherwise have limited means of obtaining regional and
international news. Since its launch in 2005, ARNE has provided news coverage of
international interest including international sporting events such as the 2006
Commonwealth Games and the FIFA World Cup.

More information at
www.abu.org.my