5 September 2011
Radio New Zealand has further strengthened its award winning News team with the appointment of Karen Mangnall as Pacific Issues Correspondent.
A respected journalist with 30 years experience in print, radio and television, Karen has a long and impressive track record reporting on the Pacific region and on Pacific communities in New Zealand.
As well as frontline reporting, Karen Mangnall has also held roles in editorial management, and the training of Pacific Island journalism students.
In announcing Ms Mangnalls appointment, Radio New Zealand Head of News, Don Rood, said he was delighted to have such a highly qualified and respected journalist joining the news team.
Karen was born and raised in Fiji, and lived and worked in New Caledonia and Tahiti. She knows the Pacific and the issues that are important to Pacific communities, Rood said.
Radio New Zealands team of correspondents produces some of the countrys best journalism and ensures New Zealanders are kept informed about the issues and debates important to them and their societys development, he said.
Having Karen Mangnall as part of that reporting powerhouse is terrific news.
Radio New Zealand is New Zealands top-rating radio network, and its only true public service broadcaster. RNZs flagship breakfast news programme Morning Report is the countrys most-listened to radio show, enjoying a bigger audience than any rival station.
Karen Mangnall holds a Master of Arts (Honours) in Pacific Studies from the University of Auckland. She has previously worked for Radio New Zealand and her career also includes working for other leading media organisations, including The New Zealand Herald and TVNZ.
Karen will begin her new role in late October.
5 September 2011
The Voice of America is concerned about a legal warning issued in connection with VOA coverage of the U.N.-backed tribunal in Cambodia that has been investigating atrocities committed by the former Khmer Rouge regime.
On August 31, the Co-Investigating Judges at the U.N.-backed Cambodian tribunal announced they had instituted contempt of court proceedings related to the VOA Khmer Service reports. The unsigned statement from the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, cited VOAs use of confidential court documents in a report broadcast on August 10 that identified potential new defendants.
The statement said proceedings had been instituted for Interference with the Administration of Justice after VOA quoted verbatim from a confidential document and even showed that document on a video. The statement went on to say, Anyone intending further disclosure of confidential court documents is hereby warned that his case could be transferred to the National Prosecutor pursuant to Rule 35 (2) (c).
Voice of America is concerned about the potential chilling effect this threat by the co-investigating judges could have on coverage of an important international story. Some rights groups have accused judges at the tribunal of failing to fully investigate cases brought by prosecutors.
Voice of America believes the warning issued by the co-investigating judges is unwarranted. The Voice of America has a journalistic and legal responsibility to provide balanced and comprehensive coverage of important issues. The careful use of confidential sources and documents that provide important insight into critical issues is a well-established practice by independent journalists the world over. Furthermore, the documents in question have been used by other news organizations.
Voice of America and its Khmer Service are committed to providing accurate, objective and comprehensive coverage of the ongoing investigation into Khmer Rouge atrocities and issues of importance to the people of the region and the world.
5 September 2011
Up to 650,000 visitors per day on mobile as Eurosports apps become integral part of Europes sports fans daily routine
In only two years since launching its first multi-lingual app, Eurosport has built a loyal and fully engaged audience of sports fans across Europe for its range of apps for iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android.
The suite of apps, which includes the Eurosport.com live sports news and the Eurosport Player live streaming apps, now account for up to 650,000 daily visitors and over 5 million downloads, demonstrating strong consumer engagement and fan loyalty for Eurosports mobile offering.
And, with World Championship athletics, the start of top flight football across Europe and the US Open tennis (29 August – 11 September), that daily visitor figure is set to jump further this autumn thanks to Eurosports quality sports offer, which includes real-time content (text commentary, breaking news, goal alerts and user commentaries), social media and video.
Two years ago today saw the launch of the free Eurosport.com live sports news app for iPhone in 9 languages*, which proved an immediate success for Europes sports fans, being downloaded over 1 million times in the first three months. Today it is widely considered Europes most downloaded sports app.
According to a recent Eurosport study carried out by Paris institute Opinion Way, 85 percent of users polled said the Eurosport.com live sports news app had become an indispensible part of their daily routine.**
Since 2009, Eurosport has continued to innovate and expand its mobile offering. In May last year, it launched a premium streaming Eurosport Player live streaming app for iPad and iPhone users in the UK and Ireland, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, providing live and on-demand access to Eurosport’s TV channels. In December, a V.2 version of the Eurosport.com live sports news app was released, with improved functionality including live goal alerts to better serve todays sports fans on the move.
In just a short time, mobile has become a very important part of Eurosports multimedia offer, says Laurent-Eric Le Lay, Eurosport Chairman and CEO, and it is now key to helping us deliver on our brand promise of giving fans the best sports entertainment experience on the device of their choosing. The strong consumer engagement figures are good news not only for the sports fans but for our clients and advertisers, as we can guarantee the right multimedia environment in which to raise awareness of their brands.
5 September 2011
At IBC 2011 in Amsterdam S4M Solutions for Media showcases the latest version of the resource scheduling system S4Production. Most importantly: The production planning software for film and TV companies now also is available as Software as a Service.
The S4Production system supports the entire production process of TV broadcasters and film & TV production companies – from the customer’s initial inquiry to contract management right through to scheduling. Needs-oriented planning of all human and production resources keeps everything firmly in the customers control. S4Production users can avoid hiring freelancers when employees are available and optimize usage & allocation of expensive equipment and facilities.
Additionally, cloud technology enables companies to profit very fast from the advantages of a central scheduling system they can simply use S4Production online. That means: No additional hardware, no software installation, no maintenance required.
The system will be showcased ad IBC 2011. Visit S4M at Europes most important broadcasting fair in Amsterdam in booth 3.B26
5 September 2011
Andy Braddel has been appointed as director of Global Media Services, the video newsgathering facilities arm of The Associated Press. The GMS appointment was announced by Senior Vice President Daisy Veerasingham, who heads APs video business. Braddel reports to Veerasingham.
Braddel has worked with the AP since 1994. He has spent much of his career in the former Soviet Union, progressing from regional editor to head of Broadcast Services, Russia and the CIS. Before joining the AP, Braddel worked for ABC News and Channel 4 News in Moscow and Washington, D.C. He was part of the ITN team which won an Emmy in 1993 for reports exposing Serb-run detention camps in Bosnia.
“For the past year Braddel has been managing the GMS operation in the U.S. He takes over GMS at a crucial time: revenues are up this year largely due to the department’s excellent performance on major news events, such as the royal wedding, the Japan earthquake and tsunami, upheavals in the Middle East, and the Dominique Strauss-Kahn scandal, Veerasingham said.
GMS provides editorial and logistical support to broadcasters and news platforms covering global or regional news stories on location. It has highly-specialised team of 155 producers, reporters, facilitators and technicians around the globe and has fixed facilities in AP bureaus in London, Washington, New York, Paris, Moscow, Cairo, Baghdad, Jerusalem and Kabul.
The challenge over the next year will be to keep growing the business at a time when broadcasters are under increasing pressure to make cuts in both foreign news coverage and delivery, Veerarsingham said.
AP is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar upgrade of its newsgathering infrastructure in order to provide high-definition images to the broadcast and digital industries. At the same time, AP will also significantly increase the depth and breadth of video content available from around the world. The upgrade is the single biggest investment in the APs London-based video business since 1998, when the AP bought its competitor, Worldwide Television News.
Braddel will take up his new post in September and will split his time between London and New York.
22 August 2011
From September 09 to September 13 S4M presents its broadcast management and production systems at IBC 2011, the leading global tradeshow for professionals engaged in the creation, management and delivery of broadcasting media. For the 12th time the Cologne based software experts showcase the latest software developments for the broadcasting industry.
S4Ms solutions around Broadcast Management, Media Asset Management and TV Production always focus on more effective and cost saving processes.
For example, the Central Sales Order (CSO) module enables broadcasters to centrally control cross-media-sales-campaigns. Existing and new sales systems for diverse platforms can be combined and clients are enabled to deal with joined advertising campaigns for TV, mobile devices, the Internet etc.
S4Ms spot optimization engine S4AdOpt now also is available as “Software as a Service”. The module enables broadcasters to reduce the over delivery of manual GRP-bookings dramatically. And using less airtime opens up the opportunity to generate additional revenue.
S4Ms studio production tool ClipJOCKEY will be available as version 2.0. The system provides broadcasters with an easy and affordable path to file-based workflows and a way to get more functionality from their video server investments. With version 2.0 S4M has added support for Harris Nexio video servers as well as new functionality for hot-swapping server ports and simplifying advanced Live On Tape or Rollback Recording.
And there is even more to see for example professional Media Asset Management with S4M’s Video Production Management System (VPMS) as well as all in one Broadcast Management with Dynamics Media and Production Planning with S4Production.
Find S4M at IBC 2011 in Amsterdam, booth 3.B26. (Source: S4M press release)
