27 July 2017
Newstag, the award-winning Stockholm-based media-tech company, will launch a new experience that is especially designed for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region later this year. Newstag Arabic نيوزتاج عربية will be available in Arabic and will provide a stream of video news stories each day covering international and regional news, culture and entertainment.
Newstag Arabic نيوزتاج عربية will feature professionally produced news content from suppliers including the Associated Press, AFP and Euronews. Talks are also taking place with prominent news providers from the region. Newstag Arabic نيوزتاج عربية is currently being marketed on Facebook ahead of its launch.
Newstag is an exciting new mobile first application that enables users to create and watch their own personalised video news channels consisting of news and causes they find relevant. Together, all the users create a crowd curated news experience. Newstag is the largest platform for professionally produced news in the world and suppliers range from CNN to CCTV; Bloomberg to RT.
But Newstag is not just about understanding the world it also offers an opportunity to make a difference through its relationship with NGOs and research organisations.
Henrik Eklund and Camilla Dahlin-Andersson
Newstag co-founder, Camilla Dahlin-Andersson, says: “Newstag creates an environment for modern social engagement and offer a relevant, personal, news experience empowering an audience that takes news seriously and wants to make a difference.”
Henrik Eklund, co-founder and CEO, continues: “Currently 60% of existing Newstag users are based in the MENA region which is what prompted us to set up Newstag Arabic. 6% global population live in the Middle East and yet the region accounts for only 0.6% of the global advertising market. We believe there is potential for enormous growth in the coming years.”
26 July 2017
Following a statement of intent in February, leading UK communications infrastructure company Arqiva and Samsung Electronics announced on 25 July that the first field trial of 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technology in the UK and Europe is now live in central London.
Powered by Samsung’s 5G network solution and customer premises equipment (CPE), and using Arqiva’s 28GHz millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum, the 5G FWA system consists of three main components:
A Radio Access Unit located on the rooftop of Arqiva’s Fitzrovia office wirelessly links to an easily installable CPE – or router – located by a window inside Arqiva’s nearby headquarters. Samsung’s system – which implements intelligent beam-forming technology and high-frequency mmWave spectrum – then provides high bandwidth connectivity. In commercial implementations, the compact access unit can be mounted on lampposts or similar street furniture to provide reliable gigabit-per-second service to neighbourhoods and businesses alike. The final component is Samsung’s virtualised core – responsible for managing user connections and data routing from Arqiva’s network to the internet – which is running on Arqiva’s data centre servers.
The primary aim of the trial is to demonstrate the stability of the FWA service, and its potential as a fast-to-market and cost-effective alternative to fibre for connectivity to homes and businesses. Despite a link distance of several hundred meters, the system has established a stable two-way mmWave link with downlink speeds of around 1GB per second at the CPE. Allowing for simultaneous streaming of more than 25 UHD 4K TV channels as an illustration, this more than meets the needs of today’s typical household with considerable room for future growth.
As the trial progresses, both companies look forward to further maximising the performance capability of the system, improving the value of future network infrastructure and spectrum investments.
Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of the Next Generation Communications Business Team at Samsung, said: “One of the most exciting prospects that 5G is expected to bring to the table is the exploration of powerful new use cases outside of traditional smart device mobile connectivity. Our trial efforts with Arqiva give us the chance to demonstrate this first hand, and we view this demonstration as a door-opener for new and compelling connected service opportunities in the UK, Europe and worldwide.”
Simon Beresford-Wylie, CEO of Arqiva (pictured), commented: “This trial is the first of its kind in Europe, let alone the UK – and we are hugely excited about the high data rates, low latency and growth potential we’re going to be able to demonstrate. Though only a proof of concept at this stage, we are confident that this trial with Samsung will showcase not only 5G FWA’s potential for delivering ultrafast broadband but also the value of the 28GHz band in helping achieve this.
“We’ve seen a great level of response so far from our entire customer base, including leading mobile operators, fixed broadband providers, broadcasters and media companies. This trial will be particularly interesting for this audience as it looks to a future of ubiquitous UHD, and the file sizes that go with it.”
The showcase consists of a series of six stations. These include an overview of FWA technology and how it works, examples of 5G use cases, demonstrations of 4K UHD and Virtual Reality (VR) content streaming, and a look at possible applications of 5G in the future.
The trial will run for a four-month period, during which time anticipated visitors include representatives from the UK Government, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Fixed Network Operators, media companies, analysts and more. There are also plans to extend the trial’s coverage to additional nearby buildings over its duration.
For more information visit Arqiva5G.com or samsungnetworks.com. To register interest visit Arqiva5G.com.
10 July 2017
Africanews is a leading multilingual, pan-African news outlet. Africanews is available in sub-Saharan Africa via its complete offer (TV + digital: website, social media, mobile applications).
Now available on the App Store, Africanews app offers free access to all iPhone and iPad users to catch up all the news published on africanews.com, all programmes as well as Live TV.
The first Africanews app allows to follow pan-African and international news anywhere and at any time.
Africanews app is available for free on the App Store, both English and French languages.
To download the application, click here
Africanews application for iOS devices also offers:
- Push notifications for Breaking News
- Africanews Live to watch the channel 24/7
- Constantly updated timeline so you don’t miss any event
- The editor’s choice for global news
- Highlighted videos with thematic playlists
- A rich content (media content with pictures, tweets and videos, live blogging)
- Special features (Widget iOS, Data Savings feature to save your Data package, Offline mode feature)
Michael Peters, CEO of Euronews and President of Africanews says: “Since its launch, we have positioned Africanews as a news platform dedicated to the challenges and opportunities of a Digital Africa. Today, I’m delighted to announce the launch of the app for Apple devices. The iOS app complements our bilingual digital services, with our website, our YouTube channels, and our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Besides the app enables news from a sub-Saharan perspective to spread even more around the world, we have also designed Africanews app specifically for our African audience who can choose the means through which they want to be informed, from Breaking News push notifications to TV in live streaming.”
(Source: Euronews press release)
10 July 2017
Arabsat announced the launch of its Free-To-Air DVB-S2 platform which carries exclusively many premium and widely viewed HD international channels, broadcast as Free-to-Air across the Middle East, North Africa & Europe via Arabsat BADR-4 which can be received with minimum dish size. Viewers across the Middle East, North Africa & Europe will continue to receive an extensive offering of prime Free-To-Air international and regional HD channels on Arabsat hotspot at 26⁰ East.
Khalid Balkheyour, Arabsat President & CEO said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of Arabsat brand new added-value DVB-S2 video offering to our clients and audience. This service is especially significant and valuable for our worldwide top brands of satellite TV channels, of which delivers cost-effective transmission platform, in parallel with developing the performance of our broadcasting product. Arabsat viewers can enjoy the modern television broadcasting events, with our portfolio of first class exclusive channels, such as; BBC World News HD, France 24 Arabic HD, TV5 Monde Style HD, and other high definition exclusive channels showing excellent quality of picture and sound, to ensure best Free-To-Air viewing experience at homes.”
(Source: Arabsat press release)
5 July 2017
Journalists covering the refugee crisis have been affected by moral injury, according to a report published by the International News Safety Institute (INSI), which warns that this issue has the potential to have a significant impact on their mental health if nothing is done to prevent or treat it.
“The Emotional Toll on Journalists Covering the Refugee Crisis” is the first study of its kind into the response of news media professionals covering a humanitarian crisis and was prompted by the arrival in Europe by sea of more than one million migrants in 2015.
Published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, it shows how moral injury – a condition linked to experiencing events and behaviour that violate one’s moral compass – emerged as the biggest psychological challenging faced by those covering the refugee crisis.
“We recognise that the trauma experienced by journalists as witnesses could never be equated with the suffering endured by the migrants, but we wanted to try to better understand what some journalists were experiencing so we could ensure those covering the refugee crisis could continue their important work of recording history,” said Hannah Storm, INSI director, and co-author of the report with neuropsychiatrist Professor Anthony Feinstein.
Nine major European and North American news organisations took part in the survey, which included 114 journalists. In addition to the quantitative survey, various industry-wide interviews and meetings were carried out which corroborated the survey findings.
Yannis Behrakis (pictured left) turned his camera on his home country of Greece where he began covering the story in April 2015.
“A lot of times you are not sure what to do: leave the camera and actively help people come out of the sea or do practical things for them, drive them up the road, or give them clothes, or take their pictures,” said Behrakis, who works for Reuters, in an interview for the report.psiphon apk download
“Of course, I always think this is the way I help and this is my job to make sure that everybody around the world knows what is happening and that is my mission.”
Key findings from the survey included:
- Local journalists, parents and those working alone with no previous experience covering war are more likely to experience moral injury.
- Moral injury is linked to an increased workload and a perceived lack of support from employers.
- Neither post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) nor depression posed a significant risk for journalists covering the refugees.
“Moral injury is not a mental illness, which can be reassuring, but it should not be taken lightly for it comes with its own set of challenges,” said Feinstein. “It is to be hoped that the results of our study act as the impetus for an industry-wide discussion on how moral injury can be addressed and what changes need to take place,” Feinstein added.
The report concludes with a set of considerations for the news industry on how to support and educate those at risk of developing moral injury, and shows how its findings could have relevance to those working in other stories in non-conflict areas that have a traumatic content, such as domestic terror threats.
5 July 2017
The second World .Radio Advisory Board meeting was held in Geneva on 4 July 2017 at the headquarters of the EBU. This Board, chaired by AIB Chief Executive Simon Spanswick, steers the development of the new .radio top level domain and resolves issues surrounding name allocations in the new TLD.
At present, the .radio TLD is being offered through the Pioneers Programme. This allows companies that have a serious interest in using – and promoting – the new .radio extension to gain exposure globally. The Association for International Broadcasting is a pioneer, providing a special web site for its annual awards – the AIBs – at www.theaibs.radio. Companies interested in becoming a .radio pioneer and having use of a .radio domain in advance of the opening of registration requests can contact the AIB for more information.
In August, “sunrise” registrations will be opened, with general availability from 15 November 2017.
“The .radio top level domain will allow every organisation with radio operations, or companies and individuals with close links to radio, to demonstrate their involvement in the radio industry,” commented Simon Spanswick, WRAB President and Chief Executive of the Association for International Broadcasting. “This is the first community domain in the world, and it’s great that the radio industry is able to lead this new global domain initiative.”
Pictured above, from left: WRAB Members at the Geneva meeting – Giacomo Mazzone (EBU); Simon Spanswick (AIB); Olya Booyar (ABU); Graham Dixon (EBU); Alain Artero (EBU)
