10 June 2016
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), operator of the world’s first Globalized Network, powered by its leading satellite backbone, announced the successful launch of the Intelsat 31 satellite, which is hosting the DLA-2 payload for DIRECTV Latin America. Intelsat 31 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan aboard an ILS Proton launch vehicle. Liftoff occurred at 7:10 GMT. The Intelsat 31 satellite separated from the rocket’s upper stage at 22:41 GMT, and signal acquisition has been confirmed.
Built for Intelsat by Space Systems/Loral (SSL), Intelsat 31 is a 20-kilowatt class Ku- and C-band satellite. The Ku-band payload, known as DLA-2, is designed to provide redundancy and reliability for DIRECTV Latin America’s distribution services in South America and the Caribbean, reflecting the company’s commitment to providing their subscribers with the highest reliability in the region.
The C-band portion enhances Intelsat’s existing C-band service infrastructure serving Latin America. The satellite will be co-located with the previously launched Intelsat 30, which hosts the DLA-1 payload, at 95° West and is expected to have a service life of more than 15 years.
“Intelsat 31 will deliver additional resilience to the DIRECTV service platform, further enhancing their leadership in the region. DIRECTV Latin America is committed to providing its customers with the highest quality programming at all times,” said Intelsat CEO Stephen Spengler. “Intelsat 31 will also provide valuable C-band services for our customers and further fortifies our video neighborhoods serving Latin America.”
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(Source: Intelsat press release)
10 June 2016
Thomas Kent, a longtime Associated Press journalist, has been appointed the new President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), effective June 27.
In his announcement of the appointment, Jeff Shell, the Chairman of RFE/RL’s Board of Directors, said, “Tom was chosen in a competitive selection process from a strong field of candidates. RFE/RL will benefit enormously from such an outstanding leader.” Shell, who also serves as Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), continued, “Tom’s track record in digital news expansion and his collaborative leadership style aligns with the BBG’s vision of a unified, innovative and effective U.S. International Media.”
Mr. Kent is a skilled media executive with extensive experience in management, international reporting and journalism standards development. He has worked at The Associated Press since 1972, filling roles such as Moscow Bureau Chief, International Editor, Deputy Managing Editor and, most recently, Standards Editor. In these positions, he played a leading role in the editorial and technical transformation of AP into a fully digital news organization. He has also been involved in corporate strategic planning and the development of new multimedia services.
Commenting on Kent’s appointment, BBG CEO and Director John F. Lansing said, “Our winning strategy is our talented staff. Tom joins a cadre of committed journalists around the world with the simple goal of ensuring that everyone has access to impartial, independent and professional news and information about their communities that helps citizens take more control over their lives. He brings extensive experience in developing successful digital media strategies and joins us at a highly dynamic time when BBG networks are streamlining and employing content in creative and impactful ways. I am thrilled to welcome him on board.”
“I am honored to be leading RFE/RL,” Kent said. “I look forward to joining its highly skilled team as we create great journalism across languages and geographies.”
Kent has served as a member of the advisory board of the Ethical Journalism Network, leader of the Online News Association’s Build Your Own Ethics Code project, advisor for the Society of Professional Journalists and international reporting juror for the Pulitzer Prizes. He has written and spoken extensively on journalism ethics and has a particular interest in Russian news media. Kent has taught at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University and has guest lectured at Yale University, Moscow State University, St. Petersburg University of Trade Unions, Columbia Law School, and New York University, among others. He speaks four languages and is fluent in Russian. He is a graduate of Yale University.
Shell and Lansing praised Acting RFE/RL President Nenad Pejic for his leadership and guidance since taking over after Kevin Klose stepped down in 2015.
“I am delighted to hand over the reins to Tom.” said Pejic. “I believe his passion for journalism will ensure that RFE/RL continues to deliver programs that have a positive effect on people’s lives.”
(Source: RFE/RL press release)
8 June 2016
Ines Pohl (49) will become Deutsche Welle’s new editor-in-chief on March 1, 2017. She will succeed Dr. Alexander Kudascheff (65), who will enter retirement. Pohl, longtime editor-in-chief of the German daily newspaper taz, joined DW at the end of 2015 and has been a correspondent from Washington.
DW Director General Peter Limbourg: “Ines Pohl is an outstanding journalist and an experienced manager. She will further distinguish our multi-language and cross-platform offerings and support DW’s transformation into a digital media house. She has gained high esteem within the organization in a short period of time.”
Limbourg praised Alexander Kudascheff as “a journalist who has shaped DW over many decades. He has been the best editor-in-chief DW could have hoped for during a time of internal reform and change.”
Following his academic education – philosophy, history, politics and Islamic studies – as well as a traineeship with DW, Kudascheff worked on the international broadcaster’s Middle East editorial team. He later became head of domestic politics, chief reporter and finally editor-in-chief of German radio programming. He was head of DW’s studio in Brussels from 1998 and the studio in Berlin from 2007. In 2014 he was named editor-in-chief of all DW journalistic offerings.
After studying Scandinavian and German studies at the University of Göttingen, Ines Pohl began her career in journalism as a freelancer with Radio ffn and local newspapers. She later became head of politics of the Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA) newspaper and served as a correspondent in Berlin for the media group Ippen. Pohl has been a member of the board of trustees of “Reporters without Borders” since 2010 and the International Journalists’ Programmes (IJP) since 2013. Before joining DW she was editor-in-chief of the national daily newspaper taz from 2009 to 2015. (Source: DW press release)
6 June 2016
To keep Afghan sports fans up to date with this summer’s busy international calendar and beyond, BBC Pashto TV’s sports coverage is getting a major boost with the launch of the weekly live Lobay (Sports) programme. From 10 June, the 10-minute programme will be included in the Friday edition of the daily Pashto TV programme, BBC Naray Da Wakht (BBC World Right Now), bringing in-depth coverage of sporting developments that are of special interest to Afghan audiences.
The first edition of Lobay comes just before the start of the 2016 UEFA European Championship and the Afghan national cricket team’s upcoming tour of the UK, Ireland and Holland. Lobay will feature key moments of the Wimbledon tennis tournament, the England tours by the Sri Lanka and Pakistan cricket teams, and, of course, the main news from Rio 2016.
BBC Pashto TV Editor, Emal Pasarly, commented: “While we always cover sport stories from around the world, interest in sport is also growing among our Pashto-speaking audiences – especially with the Afghan national cricket and football teams doing well at regional and international levels. Lobay gives us an excellent format to deliver weekly analysis, opinions and in-depth reporting. I hope our audiences will make an appointment to watch this new, dynamic programme which is to be a permanent fixture in the BBC Pashto TV offer.”
Lobay is part of the Friday edition of the daily TV programme BBC Naray Da Wakht broadcast live from London in prime time (18.00 Kabul Time) on the Shamshad TV network and repeated on Shamshad TV at 23.00 Kabul Time. The programme is also available on demand via the BBC Pashto channel on YouTube and the website bbcpashto.com.
Two in five adult Afghans consume BBC content each week. BBC Pashto content reaches 6.7 million people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the rest of the world every week (BBC Global Audience Measure 2016). BBC World Service – of which BBC Afghan service is part – is available to audiences in Afghanistan on multiple platforms in Pashto, Dari, Persian, Uzbek and English.
(Source: BBC press release)
6 June 2016
As part of its diversification push, Euronews Group is launching Euronews Ventures, a programme to back innovative technology start-ups. Kiwi Plug, a start-up in the connected-device space, is the first player to join the programme. Kiwi Plug will thus receive support from Euronews Ventures right from the start of its global fundraising campaign on Kickstarter on 7 June 2016.
Euronews Ventures is the new Euronews Group project designed to back start-ups that develop innovative products and services for consumers worldwide.
The purpose of this programme is to accelerate the development of the most promising start-ups by providing them with a complete array of media and marketing services: global communication levers, media coaching, events, networking through the international network of Euronews and Africanews, media for revenue or even media for equity, etc.
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Michael Peters,
CEO of Euronews and Africanews |
“For more than 20 years, Euronews has been experimenting with new technologies which have radically redrawn its business sector. This pioneering spirit now drives us to back initiatives by talented and ground-breaking entrepreneurs. I am delighted to announce the creation of Euronews Ventures with Kiwi Plug, voted one of the top five French IoT* start-ups at CES 2016 in Las Vegas. Kiwi Plug will benefit fully from our reach and international media network, with initial support from its crowdfunding campaign on the global platform Kickstarter, which launches tomorrow.”
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Guillaume Guttin,
Founder & CEO, Kiwi Plug |
“The fruit of 18 months’ R&D, Kiwi Plug packs all the infrared signals of your home and office appliances into a connected plug device, and it caught the eye of IoT professionals at the most recent CES. It’s a source of great pride for our start-up to receive backing from Euronews Group, initiated by Michael Peters. Euronews will give us global exposure for a revolutionary product that is designed for tomorrow’s connected world. Kiwi Plug is an innovation that will change our daily life in the simplest of ways. See you on 7 June on Kickstarter!”
* Internet of Things
Compatible with all types of infrared appliances (TVs, air conditioners, speakers, video projectors, cameras, etc.) of all brands, Kiwi Plug is a connected device that offers the possibility to control all everyday electronic devices in the easiest way. Guillaume Guttin, founder of communications agency Groupe Com’unique, specialised in tactical media for the past 10 years, is behind this innovative idea.
Backed by French Economy Minister, Emmanuel Macron, at CES in Las Vegas last January, Guillaume Guttin is launching a global campaign on 7 June 2016 on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter: click here.
Presented to telecoms professionals at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, Kiwi Plug replaces the many remote controls cluttering up the coffee table and office. Now, your smartphone becomes a universal remote control. Kiwi Plug is compatible with Android and iOS smartphones and the application can be downloaded from Play Store and App Store.
To add extra value to his product, Guillaume Guttin offers customisation options. With a printed logo, matching the colours of a brand or company, Kiwi Plug turns into a promotional tool or an innovative and original business gift.
(Source: Euronews press release)
