19 May 2003
Head of French-based media rights watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres, Robert Menard, has condemned American forces’ attitude to journalists during the Iraq conflict.
“Thirteen of them lost their lives in Iraq,” he said in remarks broadcast by Radio France Internationale to mark International Press Freedom Day. “Some of these deaths I would blame on occupational hazard, because in conflict there’s no such thing as zero risk. At the same time there’s more to it than that,” Mr Menard added. “When the American army opens fire on the offices of Al-Jazeera television, when the self-same American army fires at a hotel like the Hotel Palestine where everyone knew journalists were staying, these are not called occupational hazards, they’re called war crimes.”
“This is why we have demanded an explanation from the American army. We have asked those in charge of ensuring observance of the Geneva conventions to do their job. We’ve had no response yet. You cannot say that you’re fighting for democracy and then shoot journalists. There seems to be a contradiction here,” Robert Menard concluded.
19 May 2003
The Russian Press and Media Ministry regards intensive introduction of digital technology in radio broadcasting as a priority. A source in the ministry’s press service said on Radio Day in Russia earlier in May that this is facilitated by Russia’s adoption of the international digital radio broadcasting standard of Digital Radio Mondiale – DRM.
Using DRM programmes can be received practically anywhere in the world. The Russian state-run radio broadcasting company The Voice of Russia has conducted field tests of analogue and digital radio signal reception and expects to launch its digital signal service in June during the World Radio Conference in Geneva.
19 May 2003
The official partners of the AIB Global Media Business Conference 2003
BBC World Service
BBC World
19 May 2003
Deutsche Welle (DW), Germanys international broadcaster, has launched a fun new web site targeted at youth and the young at heart with an interest in becoming typically German. The Instant Germanizer, at www.germanizer.com, is an entertaining multimedia community where like-minded people can meet and exchange information about Germany.
Before joining the club, participants become Germanized by taking a few hilarious tests to learn more about German stereotypes – such as Talk der Lingo (precision in language, such as knowing how to say I would like pigs trotters and sour cabbage for lunch ), Cookooks Knock (punctuality) and Spot the Germans (what do Germans look like?)
Once the tests are completed, the user is allowed access to an array of interactive features such as a German language course, news, a discussion forum and a picture gallery where they can upload pictures of their German experiences and send them as e-cards.
Deutsche Welle is renowned for being a provider of serious news and information. With The Instant Germanizer, weve aimed to break the mould and focus on the fun aspects of German life and culture, says Guido Baumhauer, head of DW-Online. The act of joining a club is in itself a very typical German trait.
19 May 2003
GlobeCast are the official satellite links provider for the AIB Global Media Business Conference 2003
19 May 2003
AIB member Dalet Digital Media Systems, a leading provider of media management tools, will be participating, with partner Gee Broadcast, in The Production Show, from May 20-22 in London. Now in its 12th year, The Production Show is designed to be the most influential event on the UK broadcast and production calendar. Dalet will be showcasing their broadcast solutions, DaletPlus Media Library and DaletPlus ActiveLog with Geevs broadcast server technology.
DaletPlus Media Library offers broadcasters, post production facilities, media companies, educational institutions and public sector organizations a cost-effective turnkey solution for managing and archiving vast amounts of media assets
Developed on Dalet’s proven media management technology, DaletPlus ActiveLog provides a common environment to address the many needs of large scale media ingesting and management. The core architecture records multiple channels and formats simultaneously. Media is catalogued and centrally stored for quick retrieval and review – even while recording is still in process.
