9 August 2004
The AIB has protested the closure of the Baghdad bureau of Aljazeera on Saturday 7 August 2004 by the Iraqi government.
The closure will do nothing to aid the establishment of democracy and civil society within Iraq, nor will it assist the free and fair reporting of events in the country to the Middle East. There is no credible evidence that the channel, a member – along with many other international radio and television broadcasters – of this Association, has encouraged criminals in Iraq or advocated or incited hatred and racial tension as the Iraqi authorities suggest.
Aljazeera, with a regular audience of well over 35 million people in the Arab-speaking world, is the only pan-Arab broadcaster to openly embrace and promote a code of ethics similar to that which journalists in international television and radio broadcasters worldwide work to. It is the only pan-Arab network that has engaged multiple trainers from western broadcasters and media training institutes to ensure that its rapidly growing staff are taught the need to be impartial, fair and accurate in their reporting and editing.
“The restrictions placed on Aljazeeras team working in Iraq may provide obstacles to the channels ability to report directly from the scene,” says Simon Spanswick, Chief Executive of the AIB. “However, the Iraqi government fails to understand the way in which modern television newsgathering operations function as Aljazeera will have continued access to video footage and correspondents reports from the country thanks to its long-standing arrangements with the mainstream news agencies and with other broadcasters.”
“This closure damages the Arab worlds perception of the fledgling Iraqi government,” Spanswick continues. “It suppresses factual news and information from high-quality journalists and harms the first freedom – that of free expression. We call on the Iraqi government to reverse its decision and allow Aljazeera to operate feely in the country.”
7 August 2004
Encoda Systems has appointed John Sorensen as its new CEO. Sorensen was previously President of its Media Management division and he succeeds Don Doctor who will remain with the company but take on a less operational, more high-level strategic role as chairman of the board. This move provides continuity and additional strength to the leadership of Encoda, as it expands across EMEA.
John Sorensen is a widely regarded industry expert who has previously held posts with Unisys and Hewlett-Packard. He joined CCMS, Inc. 17 years ago as the principal designer and developer of the company’s traffic management and billing software systems for the cable/MSO industry. CCMS became part of Encoda Systems in 1999.
7 August 2004
ND SatCom, a leading global supplier of satellite-based broadband VSAT, broadcast and military communication network solutions, announced that the Ministry for Communication and Informatics of Hungary has chosen to use the services of a satellite based communications network utilizing ND SatCom platforms. The contract comprises 500 remote stations as well as one redundant hub station. It will be operated by the Hungarian Service Provider Hungaro DigiTel (HDT) and is going to be implemented in summer 2004.
ND SatCom’s VSAT star network, SkyARCS, is a modular scalable, high performance satellite IP network solution. It is fully compliant with the ETSI/DVB standard DVB-RCS. Due to its ability to support each terminal with up to 2Mbit/s bursts in the return link, it is ideally suited for school applications with a high demand for information exchange of any kind.
“After comparing various vendor’s offerings, we found ND SatCom’s solution to be the most suitable for our prestigious national project and best in terms of cost effectiveness,”said Antonio Felizardo, Deputy General Manager at HDT.”ND SatCom’s expertise in providing customer tailored solutions using various terminal technologies as well as integrating state of the art application packages is only one of the reasons why we choose ND SatCom for this nationwide project. ND SatCom has proven to be a reliable partner for the project management. We are looking forward to a fruitful future relationship.”
“ND SatCom’s SkyARCS platform allows Service Providers such as HDT to serve the growing IP business application markets and is designed to provide optimal network performance whilst guaranteeing minimal cost of ownership. We are excited to be working with Hungaro DigiTel and are proud that HDT has chosen ND SatCom’s quality solutions for the Hungarian nationwide school project” commented Dr. Gerhard Bommas, CTO ND SatCom AG.
7 August 2004
Quantel and its representative company in Brazil, PRO TV, have announced that TV Record, Brazil’s second largest TV network, is to add four new generationQ systems two eQs and two QEdit Pros – to its already strong technological park. Additionally, the network has also purchased four QEffects software licenses for equipping assist stations.
Sao Paulo-based TV Record is one of the largest communications companies in Brazil and, in the past few years, new studios and new editing sites have been built to answer the high demand of new programming. Currently, TV Record has twelve state-of-the-art studios located in Barra Funda, all of them fully equipped to guarantee the complete production and generation of programmes, including drama, news, sports and live shows.
In early 2003, Record launched its new Digital Broadcasting Centre, consolidating its position at the technological vanguard of Brazil’s television. Now, with Quantel’s generationQ technology on board, TV Record takes another giant step in the same direction.
7 August 2004
Radio Polonia has ceased analogue transmissions on Hotbird 13E. Satellite listeners are requested to switch over to digital DVB receivers (12360 MHz, FEC 3/4, SR 27500, Horizontal, PID audio 773). Listeners using POLSAT CYFROWY receivers will automatically find the channel listed in their EPG.
7 August 2004
CNBC Europe, a joint venture of NBC Universal and Dow Jones & Company and the leading pan-European financial and business television network, has appointed Mick Buckley President and Managing Director. Effective immediately, Buckley will be responsible for all aspects of operations and strategic initiatives including increasing distribution, expanding locally produced European programming, extending live coverage from the leading European financial centers and developing additional local-language affiliates. Buckley replaces Rick Cotton, who recently was named Executive Vice President and General Counsel of NBC Universal.
“As one of the most experienced executives in pan-European television, Mick brings proven leadership skills to the helm and I’m delighted that he is taking on this role,” said Pamela Thomas-Graham, President and Chief Executive Officer, CNBC. “Through Mick’s contributions, we have made significant progress commercially over the past year, and I look forward to him taking the channel to greater heights going forward.”
Thomas-Graham added: “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Rick Cotton for his tremendous contribution to CNBC Europe. Under his leadership, the network has dramatically upgraded its on-air presentation, expanded its reach across Europe to 85 million homes, developed programming partnerships with TV channels in Germany, Italy, Turkey, Russia and the Middle East, and built CNBC Europe’s brand recognition throughout the European business and financial communities.”
In this new capacity, Buckley will report to the CNBC International board, which is made up of its 50/50 joint-venture partners, NBC Universal and Dow Jones. Buckley has been with CNBC Europe since March 2003, serving as the network’s Executive Vice President and Commercial Director. During this time, the network has increased its revenue by 30%. In addition, Buckley has worked to increase brand awareness and has been successful in bringing many international brands to the channel for the first time. He also has put in place a strong commercial team across both advertising sales and distribution.
Before joining CNBC Europe, Buckley worked at Turner Broadcasting Systems Europe, where he held a number of senior distribution and sales roles, eventually becoming Executive Vice President of News Networks and UK Managing Director. Buckley started his career in television working for ITV, where he worked for both Carlton Television and Television South West.
