8 January 2008
The heads of five of the largest international broadcasters have called upon governments to honour the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and “end any and all practices that hamper the rights of people everywhere to receive and impart information.”
At their annual meeting in Hilversum, Netherlands, the directors of the BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio France Internationale, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, and theVoice of America issued an unprecedented joint resolution denouncing what they termed growing trends towards media restrictions and attacks on journalists in many of the countries to which they broadcast.
While acknowledging that each broadcaster has had different experiences, they spoke with one voice about a common concern, the “grave and rising threats to the right to gather information and communicate it across national borders.”
Jan Hoek, Director General of Radio Netherlands Worldwide who currently chairs the group of five broadcasters, said, “Our most important objective is to inform people without access to diverse media sources and viewpoints, who lack reliable and independent information. In a progressively polarised environment where the media in many countries are encountering fierce curbs on their freedom to publish, we need to stand together to meet the needs of those millions of audiences worldwide who have come to depend on us as a vital source of trustworthy information.”
According to several press monitoring organisations, press freedom has been on the decline in many countries in recent years. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders has tracked an increase in the number of journalists killed at work each year since 2002.
The five international broadcasters reach hundreds of millions weekly by radio, television, and the Internet. Programs are produced in 60 languages and broadcast worldwide through thousands of affiliate radio stations, television channels, and cable systems.
7 January 2008
Colette Bowe and Tim Gardam have joined the board of UK telecom to media regulator Ofcom as non-executive directors for three-year terms. Sara Nathan stepped down from the Board on 31 December 2007.
Colette Bowe has been the Chairman of Ofcoms Consumer Panel since its inception in 2003; she had previously announced her intention to step down from this role and she will now do so with immediate effect.
Colette trained as an economist and has held a number of senior roles in the public sector; she began her career at the Department of Trade and Industry and subsequently worked at the Independent Broadcasting Authority, the Securities and Investment Board and as Chief Executive of the Personal Investment Authority. Colette is currently a Board Member of Axa Framlington, Morgan Stanley Bank International, Electra Private Equity and Goldfish Bank; she is also a Member of the Statistics Commission and is Chairman of Council at Queen Mary College, London.
Tim Gardam has been the Principal of St Annes College, Oxford since 2004. Tim had a 25 year career in broadcasting starting at the BBC where he was editor of Panorama and Newsnight before becoming Head of Current Affairs and Weekly News. He was a part of the first senior management team at Five and was Director of Programmes at Channel Four. He was the author of the DCMS Review of BBC Digital Radio Services in 2004, a member of Lord Burns Advisory Panel on the BBC Charter Review and a Director of SMG plc from 2005-7.
Sara Nathan was one of the founding members of the Ofcom Board in 2002 and having served two terms on the Board has retired at the end of 2007.
Ofcom Chairman Lord Currie said, “I am delighted to able to welcome two people of such distinction with significant skills and experience relevant to Ofcoms work. Colette has already made an enormous contribution to Ofcom through her consumer work and Tim is a vastly experienced broadcaster with knowledge of both the BBC and the commercial sector. I know that Colette and Tim will both be valued members of our Board.”
7 January 2008
As part of its package of membership benefits, the AIB has negotiated discounts on two conferences taking place in London.
The first is on 30 January and is the Westminster eForum keynote seminar on digital switchover in the UK. The Westminster eForum is an organisation closely tied with the UK parliament and provides, along with the Westminster Media Forum, a series of debating and briefing events that bring together key industry players together with MPs and peers.
The event on 30 January will take place in Westminster, close to the Houses of Parliament, and includes a keynote address by Philip Rutnam, Partner, Spectrum Policy at Ofcom, the UK telecommunications to media regulator. The seminar will offer the opportunity for discussion between industry, interest groups and policy makers on the latest issues raised in the Digital Dividend Review. It will also examine the post-switchover usage of released spectrum where there is stiff competition between broadcasters and other often telecommunications-related operators.
AIB members receive a 15% discount on the regular registration fee, reducing the cost of attending to £161.50 plus VAT. To take advantage of this, contact the AIB head office for your special discount code.
The second event is the annual FT Digital Media and Broadcasting Conference which takes place in London on 25 and 26 February 2008. We have secured a 25% discount on the registration fee for this event which brings together some of the top executives in global media.
Contact AIB head office for details of how to book at the special 25%-off rate.
7 January 2008
Dubai TV has launched a mobile TV service offering previews of TV shows, plus sport, weather and a variety of entertainment items.
The new system operates on the U-Turn Media Group’s mobile delivery platform, implemented by Qanawat, a local partner.
The new service works with a majority of mobile handsets that have a colour screen.
The service works across the Emirates – a first – and on all mobile operators.
Contacts throughout the media industry in the United Arab Emirates are published in the AIB Directory of Global Broadcasting. Order today.
7 January 2008
Vizrt has announced a new software breakthrough, Viz|Reporter 1.0. Viz|Reporter provides for easy upload of video from a mobile phone into an existing newsroom workflow without incurring any further degradation of the content quality for the purpose of transferring it over mobile networks.
Until now, television news producers and photojournalists with video images captured on mobile phones have faced a time-consuming process to put them on air. Images had to be converted first and then copied onto a PC. During this process, images were compressed and the quality greatly reduced. In the case of breaking news, such a time-intensive procedure could mean the difference between images making it to air in a timely manner or not.
As the sophistication of mobile phone technology increases, so does the potential of Viz|Reporter to impact the way breaking news is reported, said Petter Ole Jakobsen, CTO of Vizrt, Newsrooms that employ Viz|Reporter will not only be able to capitalize on citizen journalists; they will more efficiently use their staff in the field. The product is designed to evolve with the continual improvements implemented on new multimedia cell phones, and content can be uploaded from any location where cell phone coverage is available.
The Viz|Reporter application evolved in response to the needs of a news organization. Norwegian newsgroup, Adresseavisen, sought a way to better utilize uploaded content from field reporters as well as improve image quality and content management. Vizrt and Adresseavisen worked together to develop the Viz|Reporter application. Viz|Reporter is currently in use at Adresseavisens regional newspaper, television station and radio station, broadcasting to three counties in Norway. Around sixty photojournalists are using Viz|Reporter to upload content from the field directly into the newsroom workflow via their mobile phones.
Rolf Dyrnes Svendsen, Editor and Director of Digital Media at Adresseavisen explained, The system has improved productivity by a great deal. It allows us to process content uploads more quickly and get the images published right away. Our previous quality issues with mobile phone content have been resolved, and our multimedia content is now handled in an optimal manner.
Prior to installing Viz|Reporter on reporters mobile phones, video or stills captured via cell phone were uploaded using MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) technology. The compression required for video distribution over MMS resulted in severely compromised image quality. Once the content was received, the newsroom personnel were faced with a complex process of browsing their system to find the newly uploaded file. The company would also use email to transmit files but found that transmission became cumbersome because of the e-mails overhead information. Overhead information included in e-mail for the purpose of directing or controlling the transfer added extra information to the actual multimedia content. If the connection was dropped, email provided no means to reconstruct a transfer, which forced the journalist to start the transfer all over again.
Viz|Reporter makes it possible for media companies and broadcasters to produce up-to-the-minute visuals for breaking news stories. Viz|Reporter runs directly on a variety of mobile multimedia phones such as the Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola models. For added flexibility, the software has two methods of submitting video and stills. Users can employ a dedicated J2ME application or the phones own browser (WAP or XHTML) to upload content. The J2ME application utilizes functions available according to the security model on the device. As long as the journalist or passerby witnessing a news event has mobile network coverage, they can transmit those images on the air. The content is then immediately accessible for production and control room staff or use online. This allows the station to move quickly, which is vital to reporting breaking news and tracking developing stories.
Viz|Reporter creates an index of images on the mobile phone, sorted based on their time stamp. This helps the journalist access the latest images captured. After selecting the proper time period, the user sees previews of each image and can decide whether to include or omit certain shots.
Not only does Viz|Reporter optimize the process of capturing and uploading content, it also provides metadata templates that allow users to standardize and streamline video for media asset management purposes. Searches in MAM solutions such as Viz|Video Hub or Ardome are simplified through the addition of keywords describing location, date and subject. Metadata are prepared using standard metadata tags and can also be translated to conform to other metadata schemes. This metadata will be directly linked with the video and located on the Viz|Reporter server.
7 January 2008
Delphi Corporation is to design the first WORLDSPACE satellite radio mobile receiver for the European aftermarket based on a WORLDSPACE-developed reference design. In addition, the two companies announced that WORLDSPACE has selected Delphi to be a lead designer for its European OEM receiver and reception system applications that will also be based on WORLDSPACEs reference designs. Delphi made the announcement at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas
Designed by Delphi for European aftermarket applications, the WORLDSPACE aftermarket receiver will receive the signal from the WORLDSPACE satellite which covers the European continent. The aftermarket receiver is expected to be launched in parallel with the start of WORLDSPACEs mobile service beginning in Italy in 2009. WORLDSPACE expects to begin broadcasting 40 to 50 channels of commercial-free music, news, talk, entertainment and sports programming 24 hours a day. WORLDSPACE plans to use the most advanced digital audio technology available today (MPEG-4 accPLUS v.2). Delphis receiver designs will leverage the companys satellite radio expertise and feature the advanced mobile service capabilities built into the new WORLDSPACE system.
Based on Delphis long history in providing satellite radio systems, Delphi can offer high-class technologies and superior functionality in a receiver designed for the growing European satellite radio market, said Dr. Andreas Hunscher, Delphi managing director of reception systems.
Delphi will lead the development of WORLDSPACEs receiver and reception applications at its European Satellite Radio Centre of Excellence in Bad Salzdetfurth, Germany. At the facility, Delphi has the unique capability to merge expertise in high-performance antenna systems with advanced receiver technology.
We have always been, and will continue to be, staunch supporters of the global introduction and growth of satellite radio across the globe, said Ken Erickson, lead executive for Delphis entertainment and communications product business unit. This announcement reiterates our commitment to the satellite radio category.
We are fortunate to be working with a company that has such deep knowledge of and experience in the SDARS arena. This agreement with Delphi will go a long way toward ensuring a successful launch of the WORLDSPACE Mobile Service in Europe and beyond, stated Alexander P. Brown, WORLDSPACEs co-chief operating officer.
As a leading provider of satellite reception hardware design, Delphi has manufactured more than 18 million satellite receivers for retailers and vehicle manufacturers in North America, just six years after introducing the first satellite radio receiver. With this long heritage as a development partner of choice in automotive satellite entertainment, Delphi is bringing its expertise to the fast-growing European satellite radio market.
Based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, WORLDSPACE is the world’s only global media and entertainment company positioned to offer a satellite radio experience to consumers in more than 130 countries with five billion people, driving 300 million cars. WORLDSPACE subscribers benefit from a unique combination of local programming, original WORLDSPACE content and content from leading brands around the globe including the BBC, CNN International, Virgin Radio UK, and RFI. Worldspace is a pioneer of satellite-based digital radio services and was instrumental in the development of the technology infrastructure used today by XM Satellite Radio.
