3 June 2006
Ibrahim Helal has been appointed Deputy Managing Director News and Programmes of the soon to launch global English language news and current affairs channel.
Helal is a former editor-in-chief at Al Jazeeras Arabic language channel and most recently served as a project director on the Middle East North Africa Dialogue Programme for the BBC World Service Trust. Prior to his joining Al Jazeera International, he worked in London for the BBCs Arabic service.
Having Ibrahim join us at the English-language channel not only further professionalises our staff with a top-flight newsman, it also solidifies us as a family built around the core spirit of Al Jazeera, said Managing Director Nigel Parsons.
Helal will oversee the Middle East desk and ensure close working relations with the Arabic news channel. Ibrahim will have a quality-control responsibility to assure that news content across the channels is consistentand consistently good, said Parsons.
Al Jazeeras English-channel promises agenda-free news from every corner of the globe carried across fibre-optic HDTV technology. Both firsts, said Parsons. The channel plans a launch later this year.
23 May 2006
Luxembourgs national broadcaster, RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg, has selected a Quantel sQ integrated production system for all its news and magazine programme production needs.
RTL chose the Quantel system after extensive evaluation of all the available systems on the market. The new system is in fact replacing a first-generation Quantel production system which RTL installed nearly ten years ago one of the very first server-based news systems to go into operation anywhere in the world. The competition was stiff this time round, but were happy to be working with Quantel again, said Jacques van Luijk, RTLs production manager.
Quantel knows how to build reliable servers, and the sQ editing interfaces are very accessible and easy to use especially important for our journalists, who we will be soft-starting into pre-editing then editing with voice-over directly on the system, van Luijk continued. Another key factor in Quantels favour is the transparent workflow it gives us a seamless progression from ingest to newsroom to editing and playout. Its a small market in Luxembourg so we have to use our equipment to its fullest potential the Quantel workflow makes this feasible.
The new sQ system will be used to produce a full two hours of news and magazine programming every day. It will also act as the playout server for all the commercials that will be broadcast within the programmes; SGT automation will upload these into the sQ system from archive and automatically place them in the running order.
Installation is scheduled for July, and RTL is planning to go on air with the new system in September 2006. It is configured around two sQ servers with a total of over 400 hours of dual broadcast and browse storage, 27 sQ View, sQ Cut and sQ Edit desktop editing applications for journalists and producers and six sQ Edit Plus craft editors. The system will be fully integrated with RTLs Norcom newsroom computer system via MOS, all running under SGT automation.
23 May 2006
Harris Corporation today announced that it has received an important order for its Inscriber® RTX system from Arab Radio and Television Network (ART), located at Jordan Media City Co. (JMC) in Amman, Jordan. The initial Inscriber® RTX installation will provide the on-air brand design and graphics capabilities for three of ARTs television channels.
We have been working with Harris for a number of years in fact, our whole transmission centre is played to air from the Leitch NEXIO servers. It seemed appropriate to add the Inscriber® RTX, as this product interfaces perfectly to the servers and offers a complete workflow solution, said Hassan Merei, director of engineering at ART Network. Key to our decision to purchase the Inscriber® RTX was the ability to design a bespoke system with a price/performance that met our exacting graphics needs. We are expecting to roll out the Inscriber® RTX across a number of other channels before the summer.
Inscriber® RTX puts full creative control in the hands of broadcasters, allowing them to create a purely custom broadcast solution. A powerful development tool, Inscriber® RTX enables users to create eye-pleasing layouts consisting of advanced design elements and data from multiple sources, using common programming languages.
ART is one of Harris key customers in the Middle East, and we are delighted that the company has taken delivery of our Inscriber® RTX to provide the on-air graphics and branding for three of its channels, said Dave Dougall, vice president of sales, Europe, Africa and Middle East, for the Harris Broadcast Communications Division. The Inscriber® RTX has a substantial following worldwide, and there has been a huge surge in interest for this product in the Middle East. We are excited about the prospect of adding to this initial ART order over the coming months.
ART originates 28 channels of sports, movies, series, music, and childrens educational and social programming, and also retransmits about 50 pass-through channels, which allows for local commercials and interstitial to be added prior to transmission.
23 May 2006
Early this morning, in an exclusive radio broadcast from Dharmsala, India, the Voice of America aired the first live debate in Tibet’s history between two candidates vying for the position of prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). Dharmsala is the seat of the CTA, as well as the residence of its spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
During the debate, the candidates-Samdhong Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin and Juchen Thupten Namgyal -discussed methods of dealing with China, which has occupied Tibet since 1949. Both candidates voiced their support for the Dalai Lama’s “Middle Way Approach,” which seeks genuine autonomy, but not independence, for Tibet. Samdhong Rinpoche Tenzin said, “There is no need to change this policy in the future.”
The exiled government’s election, which is scheduled for June 3, 2006, will be only the second direct election ever held among Tibetans. The first was in 2001, and prime ministers are limited to five-year terms. Due to the CTA’s government-in-exile status, only members of the Tibetan diaspora may vote. They are estimated to number over 111,000, with the vast majority residing in India. Approximately one-third cast their votes in the March 18, 2006 primary, in which incumbent Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche Tenzin secured 82.6 percent of the vote, while former appointed Prime Minister Namgyal received 6.96 percent.
The debate was broadcast live in Tibetan from 12 noon – 2 p.m. local time on shortwave and FM frequencies in Tibet, India, and Nepal, and on VOA Tibetan’s live Internet stream. Tenzin Tsundu, a young Tibetan activist, described the debate as “very informative, educational, and useful to Tibetan people.” Candidate Namgyal said: “It is quite clear that we are in a very critical period in our history.”
VOA’s Tibetan Service broadcasts a one-hour television news show every week and four hours of radio programming per day. In addition to news, show topics include health, culture, language, music, literature, and youth issues.
23 May 2006
Due to the flooding in Surinam, Radio Netherlands has added some extra shortwave transmissions relaying Radio Boskopoe, a local public radio station in Totness, the capital of the Coronie district, that normally broadcasts on FM. With the addition of shortwave frequencies, Radio Boskopoe can reach the entire country. Programmes are in Dutch and Sranan Tongo.
1359-1500 UTC Bonaire 15540 kHz 133 degrees
2059-2157 UTC Bonaire 15540 kHz 133 degrees
1015-1045 UTC Bonaire 6020 kHz 110 degrees (an extension of the regular
0930-1015 UTC transmission to the Caribbean).
Makeover on Bonaire
The Radio Netherlands relay station on Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles is almost 40 years old. The existing shortwave transmitters have been in service since the station opened, and are overdue for replacement. The Board of Governors of Radio Netherlands recently approved an investment of some four million euros in the station, which delivers shortwave broadcasts to the Americas, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
23 May 2006
Leading executives of two France Telecom subsidiaries, GlobeCast and Orange, have been selected to deliver keynote addresses at GLOBALCOMM 2006. On Monday, June 5 at 4:45PM, Sanjiv Ahuja, CEO of Orange, will speak on the evolution of mobile devices as vehicles for entertainment programming; and on Tuesday, June 6, at 4:45PM, Christian Pinon, Global Chairman and CEO, GlobeCast, will address the changing economics of channel delivery in an IPTV environment.
,p>The selection of these two leading executives from France Telecom is indicative of the central role the company plays in the global communications marketplace as well as the expert resources it possesses across a range of broadcast technology spectrums. Orange (www.orange.com) is one of the worlds leading wireless communications companies. GlobeCast (www.globecast.com) is a global content management and distribution company for professional broadcast.
Sanjiv Ahuja will discuss the growing role of mobile TV as television expands the way people see their mobile and as a range of new entertainment services show consumers how these devices can do more than just talk. Referencing successful TV rollouts in Europe, Ahuja will highlight the critical aspects of the customer experience and how the lessons learned today point the way to the next generation of mobile TV.
Ahuja joined Orange in April 2003 as chief operating officer, and was appointed CEO in March 2004. His earlier experience includes Telcordia Technologie, IBM and Comstellar Technologies where he held a variety of executive posts. He has a degree in electrical engineering from Delhi University, India, and a Masters degree in computer science from Columbia University in New York.
Christian Pinon will speak to the changing economics of launching television channels to feed content hungry platforms in an IP file-based delivery environment. He will also share his vision on the future of video content management and impart valuable insight derived from GlobeCasts experience as a leading provider of IPTV aggregation and contribution services in America, and in Europe for France Telecoms MaLigne TV and Orange Platforms. Pinons comments will further explore the growing importance of content and technology in reating differentiated viewing experiences.
Pinon became Chief Executive Officer of GlobeCast on January 1, 2000 and was subsequently appointed Chairman and CEO. Previously, he also held positions at the Alcatel Group and at France Telecom. He is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications de Paris.
