RNW Media has supplied mobile radio stations to two earthquake-ravaged regions in Nepal. The “radios in a box” [RIAB] were sent to restore communication in two agricultural areas, each situated around 100 kilometres from the capital Kathmandu.
It took RNW Media’s Technical Coordinator Marc Brouwer a three-hour drive eastwards on dirt roads to reach Krishi Radio, the “first and only agricultural radio of Nepal”, with a reach of around 25,000 people in the valley.
The second RIAB went northeast of the capital to Radio Melamchi Community in the mountainous village of Sindhulpalchok, one of the regions hit worst by the April earthquake.
Disaster zones.
The RIAB is a small mobile radio station specially designed for use in war zones or disaster areas where radio transmitters have been destroyed. With both stations situated on top of mountains, the transmitter range is at least 15 kilometers. Brouwer provided a crash course in operating the RIAB for staff at both stations.
Less than a cubic metre in size, the portable Radio in a Box is equipped with an FM transmitter, a mixing console, microphones, headphones, two recorder sets and a laptop computer for editing.
Monsoon
“We arrived just in time,” Brouwer says. “It was just before the monsoon season and we were lucky to get back to Kathmandu before the heavy rains started coming down. Our journey would have taken much longer in the pouring rain.”
“Besides, the monsoon season is when farmers in these areas rely the most heavily on the practical information aired by these specialised radio stations. They had cobbled together a makeshift transmitter themselves, but are now fully up and running with the Radio in a Box.”
Gratitude
The RNW Media crew appreciated the warm traditional welcome with shawls which they received at both stations.
As a token of gratitude, Krishi Radio presented Brouwer with a plaque reading:
From Saturday 8 August, football fans in Africa can follow the exciting live action of the new season of the Barclays Premier League in four languages. BBC Africa will bring commentary from matches of the world-famous league to football fans across the continent – in French, Hausa, Somali and Swahili.
Broadcasts are available on BBC FM stations and partner radio networks. The programmes provide live match commentary and also interaction with pundits and fans across the continent via satellite links, telephone, SMS and social-media channels. Live updates from matches will also offered via live pages for each of these services on bbc.com, giving fans the chance to keep up with the matches wherever they are.
Solomon Mugera, BBC Africa Editor (pictured right), says: “We know that the English Premier League has millions of supporters from all across Africa and are very happy to be launching the season once again. Our commentary brings the thrill of these matches directly to fans, and there is more to come. In response to our audience’s growing interest in all things English Premier League, we want to give them an all access pass to players and clubs as well featuring the people who are the league’s heartbeat: its fans. Look out for our new and exciting online extras to support this season.”
How it will work
BBC Hausa
Weekly on Sharhin Gasar Premier League, commentators are Aminu Kado and Aliyu Tanko.
BBC Hausa reaches an audience of 18. 1million every week across Nigeria, Niger, and parts of Ghana and Benin. It is broadcast via 14 local FM stations.
BBC Hausa has over 872,000 fans on Facebook and over 110,000 followers on Twitter (as of July 2015).
Hausa-speakers anywhere in the world can access BBC Hausa multimedia content at bbchausa.com.
BBC Afrique (French)
Weekly on Samedi Foot, commentator is Emmanuel Coste.
BBC Afrique reaches an audience of 12.7million every week and provides content for 23 countries across Africa. It is broadcast via eight local FM stations.
BBC Afrique has over 382,000 fans on Facebook and over 124,000 followers on Twitter (as of July 2015).
French-speakers anywhere in the world can access BBC Afrique multimedia content at bbcafrique.com.
BBC Somali
Weekly on Tabinta Tooska ah ee Tartanka Premier League-ga Ingiriiska ee Sabtida, commentators are Ahmed Abdinur and Mohamed Deysane.
BBC Somali reaches an audience of 3.5 million every week across Kenya, Somali, Djibouti and parts of Ethiopia. It is broadcast via four local FM stations.
BBC Somali has over 299,700 fans on Facebook and over 32,000 followers on Twitter (as of July 2015).
Somali-speakers anywhere in the world can access BBC Somali multimedia content at bbcsomali.com.
BBC Swahili
Weekly on Ulimwengu wa Soka, commentators are Salim Kikeke and Hamisi Kizigo.
BBC Swahili reaches an audience of 16.6 million every week across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and parts of Mozambique, Zambia and Malawi. It is broadcast via 21 local FM stations.
BBC Swahili has over 973,000 fans on Facebook and over 55,000 followers on Twitter (as of July 2015).
Swahili-speakers anywhere in the world can access BBC Swahili multimedia content at bbcswahili.com.
Deutsche Welle and Channels TV have agreed on a partnership that DW’s Director General Peter Limbourg said the deal further demonstrates the long tradition of showing a positive view of Africa.
The collaboration was announced in Lagos on 17 July at Channels TV headquarters. Speaking at the event, Limbourg said the coverage on Channels TV by DW correspondents at the German Stock Exchange in Frankfurt will bring economic information not only about Germany but also about Europe to Nigeria.
“Channels is a great station and a perfect partner for us. Working together means having concrete projects,” Limbourg said. Channels is one of Nigeria’s largest television networks. Limbourg said the partnership will expand to other shows such as Africa on the Move – a programme that showcases ordinary people seeking to make positive changes to their environment. “We at Deutsche Welle think that we have to report the great things that happen in Africa, especially in Nigeria. We will like to bring another African picture into the discussion,” Limbourg said.
The head of Germany’s international broadcaster said the collaboration would include input from both sides. “We don’t want to have a one-sided picture of Africa. I am even more convinced to do more of these kinds of things,” Limbourg said. Under the partnership, journalists from Channels TV will benefit from DW training.
Solid partnership
John Momoh, CEO of Channels TV, said the relationship with Deutsche Welle looks like it was “made in heaven.” He said the whole idea is to be able to tell African stories to wider societies, specifically to Europe and then to the rest of the world.
“This is part of our strategy to tell the African story, especially that of Nigeria, from the African perspective so that we do not leave this key element of definition of who we are, what we do and why, to other people to tell on our behalf,” Momoh said.
He said the partnership will enable Channels television “to take the lead in covering Nigeria and the rest of the African continent.”
Boason Omofaye, head of business news at Channel TV, is particularly pleased about having the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on his programme. “As someone who has covered the financial market for the last 26 years, it will be nice to see the Frankfurt Stock Exchange live on Channels Television,” Omofaye said.
He said their newly-launched partnership is strategically important from the economic and business perspective, given that Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa while Germany is Europe’s largest. “For Nigerians in Germany, for Germans in Nigeria, who are interested in terms of buying stocks, buying Nigerian bonds, investing in Nigerian government treasury bills, the partnership brings something new to the table,” Omofaye said.
The collaboration with Channels TV is the latest move by Deutsche Welle to further strengthen its presence in Africa.
In a new travel series which began on Monday 29 June, Euronews is sending its viewers Postcards from Kazakhstan.
Famous landmarks and hidden treasures of the Central Asian country are the focus of this colourful weekly programme presented and produced by Seamus Kearney.
Located between Russia and China, and straddling part of the Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan has a rich cultural heritage and history.
Snapshots highlight some of the best attractions, from modern architecture in the capital Astana to historic sites along the ancient Silk Road.
The five episodes of Postcards from Kazakhstan feature the following five tourist sites:
The Bayterek Tower in Astana
Episode 1: Monday 29 June at 18:45 CET
The new series begins in the capital of Kazakhstan, with a monument that has become emblematic of the city. Construction of the Bayterek Tower began in 1997, the year the capital was moved from Almaty to Astana.
The Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkistan
Episode 2: Monday 6 July at 18:45 CET
We visit the south of Kazakhstan and the ancient Silk Road city of Turkistan. Here the spectacular mausoleum dominates the landscape, attracting tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims from far and wide.
The Medeu & Shymbulak mountain resorts near Almaty
Episode 3: Monday 13 at 18:45 CET
The third postcard comes from Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan. A nearby mountain valley provides breathtaking scenery, but it’s also popular for year-round leisure activities for locals and holidaymakers.
The Aisha Bibi mausoleum inTaraz
Episode 4: Monday 20 at 18:45 CET
Taraz is one of the most ancient cities in Kazakhstan, where historic sites are being restored. One of them is the beautiful Aisha Bibi mausoleum, which dates back to between the 11th and 12th centuries.
Monument to the founders of the Kazakh Khanate in Astana
Episode 5: Monday 27 at 18:45 CET
For the end of the series of Postcards from Kazakhstan we return to the capital, where people are this year marking the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh statehood. To get a feel for the history, there’s no better place to go than a monument to its founders.
Postcards from Kazakhstan
Five 1’30”- programmes starting on Monday 29th June at 18:45 CET
Before joining Euronews in 2003, Seamus Kearney worked as a journalist and producer for various media organisations including the BBC, Radio France International and Radio New Zealand.He recently presented and produced the Euronews programme Right On, which examined European justice and citizens’ rights issues.
Seamus has also produced Urban Visions,Focus, Life and Postcards programmes from various countries, including Russia, the US, South Korea, Brazil, Singapore, Macedonia and Ukraine, and continues to report on international and European affairs.
About Euronews
Euronews, the most-watched news channel in Europe, is an independent and multi-platform media hub. Euronews covers news worldwide, offering a unique perspective on events through factual analysis. Six hundred journalists, from more than 30 countries, report round-the-clock in 13 editions (Arabic, English, Persian, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian). Established in 1993 in Lyon, France, the channel is received by 420 million homes in 156 countries, and offers a complete range of products: websites, smart TV, radio, on-board technology (for cars), and portable technology (mobile apps, smartwatch).
In 2015 Euronews will launch Africanews, the first pan-African multilingual news channel.
WASHINGTON — RFE/RL’s Persian language service was lauded in New York this week as Radio Farda journalist Roya Karimi Majd’s special report “Tradition of the Blade” won a gold award, and Kambiz Hosseini’s weekly show “Five in the Afternoon” took home a silver award at the 2015 New York Festivals International Radio Program Awards.
“Tradition of the Blade” a program about female genital mutilation in Iran that Karimi Majd called “one of the hardest and most painful reports that I have produced in more than 20 years of working on women’s issues,” was recognized in the Information/Documentary Magazine Format category. Hosseini’s program, which is a joint production with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran and airs on Radio Farda’s satellite stream, was entered in the Entertainment/Best Regularly Scheduled Comedy Program category.
Although broadcast on Radio Farda, these stories are officially banned in Iran.
RFE/RL Editor-in-Chief Nenad Pejic congratulated Karimi Majd and Hosseini on their award.
“They have produced excellent content that has earned the admiration of their audiences in Iran and their peers in the radio community,” said Pejic. “Roya’s report sensitively and powerfully exposes a taboo subject, while Kambiz’s work uses satire to help Iranians make sense of their often senseless circumstances.”
Radio Farda journalism has been recognized at previous New York Festivals, which honor excellence in radio programming and promotions from stations, networks, and producers around the globe. Last year, Radio Farda journalist Mahtab Vahidi Rad was a finalist in the category Best Special Report, while in 2013 journalist Vahid Pourostad won a silver award for his radio documentary, Solitary Confinement, and satirist Farshid Manafi, who won two awards at the New York Festivals in 2011, was a finalist in 2013 for his signature satire program, Pas Farda.
The 2015 New York Festivals radio awards program recognized programming from 32 countries. The honors were presented at a gala dinner in the city on June 22.
RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, produced in and broadcast from Prague, is a leading source of uncensored information in Iran. In May 2015, Radio Farda’s website was visited more than 20 million times, nearly 40 million pages were viewed, and its streaming audio feed was used more than 20 million times. Despite the government’s ban on listening, the need for a proxy, and deliberately slow Internet speeds to deter users, half of all traffic originates from within Iran.
As Deutsche Welle launched its new English-language TV news channel in June 2015, Director General Peter Limbourg talked with the AIB’s CEO Simon Spanswick about the challenges involved in international broadcasting, the competition in global media and more.
Solomon Mugera, BBC Africa Editor (pictured right), says: “We know that the English Premier League has millions of supporters from all across Africa and are very happy to be launching the season once again. Our commentary brings the thrill of these matches directly to fans, and there is more to come. In response to our audience’s growing interest in all things English Premier League, we want to give them an all access pass to players and clubs as well featuring the people who are the league’s heartbeat: its fans. Look out for our new and exciting online extras to support this season.”
