5 May 2005
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Dimitrij Rupel paid tribute on World Press Freedom Day to the large number of journalists who have contributed to democratic change in the OSCE region in the last 30 years through their work. “Journalists have always been in the frontlines of resistance against authoritarian regimes and closed societies,” the Chairman-in-Office, who is also Slovenian Foreign Minister, said.
Uniquely among international organizations, the OSCE has a specialized institution that deals with freedom of the media, reflecting the understanding of the 55 participating States of the importance of a free press for both the quality of democracy and for security. “Professional, balanced and high-quality journalism, in which there is a clear distinction between reporting the facts and commentary, is essential to the democratic process,” the Chairman-in-Office said.
He noted that full media freedom was still not guaranteed in all OSCE countries. “In some cases, pluralistic public discussion is confined to the print press. There is a need to ensure a plurality of ownership in the broadcast media while transforming state television into independent public institutions,” Minister Rupel said. Regretting the use of criminal libel laws in some countries to restrict press freedom, the Chairman-in-Office said libel should be a matter for the civil courts.
4 May 2005
The fourth annual AIB Global Media Business Conference – taking place in Montreal on 6 and 7 June 2005 – offers a limited number of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities.
Download the sponsorship pack
here, and contact Anver Anderson to discuss the opportunities for your company to raise its brand profile
4 May 2005
The official conference hotel in Montreal is the Hotel Gouverneur Place Dupuis, just a few minutes walk from the CBCs studio complex in the city. We have negotiated special rates with the hotel and you can download the hotel booking form which includes the discounted rates
here.
Find out more about the hotel by following the link below.
25 April 2005
Deutsche Welle has sold a six-part TV documentary about the causes and effects of the global water shortage to the Qatar-based satellite TV station Al Jazeera.
The The Thirsty Planet, produced by reporters from DW-TV, was also purchased by CNBC Arabia.
DW-TV programmes have received substantial interest in the Middle East from Morocco to Saudi Arabia, with over 300 programming hours sold in Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates.
Director of DW-TV, Christoph Lanz, said: We are pleased about the great interest our productions encounter in the Middle East. This is another example of cultural dialogue with the Arabic world.
In addition to the Arabic-language services on DW-RADIO and DW-WORLD.DE, DW-TV broadcasts three hours daily in Arabic. DW-TV is the first European TV broadcaster to present news with Arabic anchors in the Arabic language.
25 April 2005
Radio New Zealand, together with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, Thales Corp and THL-Australia, has launched a project to investigate the appropriate Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) implementation strategies for radio broadcasters in the region. The technical investigation, which started last week in Wellington, is being carried out on digital radio transmissions in the medium wave band using the DRM digital system. An analogue medium wave radio transmitter of RNZ has been converted for digital transmissions in this project. This is to facilitate investigations on simulcast transmission of analogue and digital radio programmes.
A Digital Radio Symposium and Demonstration has also been organised as part of the project. Around 70 experts from the radio industry in the region will meet from 27-29 April to provide technical information on digital radio and the conversion of transmitters to digital mode. The symposium also aims to provide an opportunity for the participants to carry out measurements of various technical parameters.
