International broadcasts to Belarus – summary, April 2018

20 April 2018

International broadcasts to Belarus – summary, April 2018

Prepared by AIB media analyst Morand Fachot

The media environment in Belarus is ranked as “Not Free” by independent media watchdogs, such as Freedom House or Reporters sans Frontières (RSF).

The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), a non-governmental, non-profit and non-partisan association of media workers reports that 69 fines were given to journalists in 2017 for working without accreditation for foreign media (mainly with Belsat TV), some 40 fines have been already given this year (as of 02 April 2018).

A number of foreign-based radio and TV services broadcast to Belarus. They include:

– Belsat TV, the Polish-based TV channel for Belarus, which will air BBC TV news content in Russian and BBC series; Belsat TV was formed in 2007 by a group of Belarusian and Polish journalists as part of Telewizja Polska S.A. in partnership with Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and several European governments. Itbroadcasts nearly 20 hours a day. Its original content is prepared by more than 100 associates from all over Belarus supported by around 80 editors, managers and technicians in Warsaw. Belsat TV has so far failed to register a bureau and obtain accreditation in Belarus. During British Prime Minister Theresa May visit to Poland in December 2017 it was reported that, in an effort to counter Russian propaganda, the UK planned to provide £5m ($7.1m) for the Belsat TV project, with Poland expected to contribute a similar amount.

– RFE/RL’s Radio Svaboda (Liberty), which was established in 1954, is based in Prague. It broadcasts 2.5 hours daily and is distributed via radio (mediumwave, satellite) as well as on Belsat TV (30 minutes weekly), Internet (website, mobile, YouTube, social media).

– In 2006, the EU launched European Radio for Belarus (Euroradio.fm). Euroradio’s programmes can be received on FM in some of Belarus’s border regions, via relays on stations in neighbouring countries, in Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. Euroradio is available online and on the Astra 4A satellite.

– Polish radio external service Belarusian broadcasts are available on FM and on mediumwave (Radio Baltic Waves, 1386 kHz) in border regions, as well as via satellite and online.

– Radio Racyja, which broadcasts from Bialystok, is funded and supported by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Polish aid agencies and NGOs, and the US embassy in Poland.

– Russia’s Sputnik has a Belarusian service, which offers online text and multimedia content, including audio.

It is worth noting too, that many Belarusians listen to, watch and consult Russian-language radio and TV broadcasts, and online content from all major international broadcasters (such as the BBC, Deutsche Welle, RFE/RL, RFI or VOA), and naturally from Russian broadcasters and online media outlets as well.

Al Jazeera’s Abdulla AlNajjar Elected as Chairman of Executive Committee of the Association for International Broadcasting – AIB

18 April 2018

Abdullah AlNajjar, Executive Director of Global Brand and Communications has been elected as a Chairman of the Executive Committee at the Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) based in the UK. The board consists of a six-person Executive Committee which is comprised of public figures from leading media organizations including Klaus Bergmann at Deutsche Welle, Simon Kendall at the BBC, John Maguire at France Médias Monde, Anastasia Ellis at Bloomberg Media EMEA, and Alexey Nikolov at RT.

Commenting on his appointment Mr. AlNajjar said: “It is an honor to be elected as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Association for International Broadcasting and to serve the members of AIB along with board members and senior executives. I look forward to bringing our diverse perspectives and insights from the Al Jazeera brand to the issues affecting international broadcasting organizations across the world – particularly those that impact press freedom – and advancing the cause of broadcasters and journalists across the world.”

This is the first time that a Chairman for the AIB has been appointed from the Arab world and also from Al Jazeera, the first independent international broadcaster based in the Arab world.

AIB is not-for-profit, non-governmental trade association that represents and supports international television and radio broadcasters and online broadcasters. It also defends, protects, and supports the media professionals.

RUPTLY Nominated for Technical Innovation of the Year with “Ruptly Live” and Best Commercial Team by the DRUM ONLINE MEDIA AWARDS

18 April 2018

Berlin,Germany

“Ruptly Live” enables online, broadcast and individual media publishers access to live events produced by the multimedia news agency. The innovative platform allows up to nine events to be distributed simultaneously to multiple destinations. Ruptly is the first b2b news agency to offer 360-degree and drone live video direct to client social media pages. Launched in October 2017, the live platform challenges seven other projects for the title of “Technical Innovation of the Year”. Other nominations in this category include projects by Facebook, CNN.com and Telegraph Media Group.

Ruptly’s efforts in business development are recognized by the Drum Online Media Awards’ esteemed panel of judges in the category of “Commercial Team of the Year”. As of today over a thousand media brands in 89 countries are sourcing video content from the five-year-old agency,

Speaking at the NAB Live Show in Las Vegas last week, Chief Executive Officer Dinara Toktosunova emphasized the importance of the nominations.

“This means a lot to us”, she said. “We are all having fun, we are very enthusiastic and we love our jobs. It is very important for us to be recognised as a creative young team”.

Chief Commercial Officer, Matthew Tabaccos, added that Ruptly is able to provide a service not only to big broadcasters, but also to fuel the output of new voices that don’t necessarily have the “cash to spend”. “We are keen to be able to scale a global agency in a collaborative process” he said. “ This is the only way to offset what is the revenue problem these days in online media, particularly with news”.

The winners of the Drum Online Media Awards will be announced on May 22 in London.

About Ruptly:
Ruptly is a global multimedia news agency that provides visual content to a diverse range of media, from large broadcast networks and online publishers, to a diverse range of social media vloggers and brands. Ruptly supplies impactful content on a variety of topics including politics, sports, and entertainment.

About Drum Online Media Awards:
The Drum Online Media Awards identify the cleverest, boldest and most original purveyors of news and views from around the world. From politics to sport, finance to film, the aim is to find the best application of talent and technology online. Large and small. Corporations and individuals.

BBC news features on Belsat TV at prime-time

17 April 2018

News in Russian from the BBC will now feature on prime-time news bulletins of Belsat TV broadcasts to Belarus. Following the inaugural appearance on Monday 16 April, the BBC’s daily news stories on one selected topic will be introduced live on Belsat TV between 19.35 and 19.50 local time. The linkup with the BBC will be part of Belsat TV’s news programme which starts at 19.30 local time (16.30 GMT), Monday to Friday.

The topic of each linkup will be chosen so as to make the best of BBC reporting relevant and timely for viewers in Belarus. The BBC story of the day will be introduced live by a presenter in the BBC’s Broadcasting House in London.

BBC World Service Europe Region Editor, Artyom Liss, said: “We are very pleased to be able to bring our journalism to Belsat’s audiences. The BBC is well known for its accurate, independent and unbiased news coverage which, I am sure, will be of great interest to viewers in Belarus.”

Poland-based Belsat TV was created in 2007 by a group of Belarusian and Polish journalists as part of Poland’s public TV, Telewizja Polska S.A., in partnership with Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and several European governments and foundations.

Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy, Belsat TV’s Director, added: “It’s great that we can start our cooperation with such a renowned company as the BBC and further improve our ability to serve the needs of our viewers in Belarus and neighbouring countries. I also believe that our new relationship with the BBC is a sign of recognition for the professionalism of Belarus- and Russia-based journalists who work with us, often in very difficult conditions.”

The BBC’s TV news content in Russian is available via the website bbc.com/russian, Moscow-based TV Rain and its website tvrain.ru, and on some of the BBC Russian social-media channels.

In addition to website, bbc.com/russian, the BBC connects with its Russian-speaking audiences via social media such as Facebook, VKontakte, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Telegram, Google+, LiveJournal and OK.ru.

For more information, please contact:

BBC World Service Group Communications – lala.najafova@bbc.co.uk

Notes to editors:

The BBC attracts a weekly global news audience of 346 million people to its international news services including BBC World Service, BBC World News television channel and bbc.com/news. BBC World Service delivers news content around the world, on radio, TV and digital, reaching a weekly audience of 269 million. As part of BBC World Service, BBC Learning English teaches English to global audiences. The BBC World Service Group operates around the world in 42 languages, on radio, TV and digital.

Short AIB overview of foreign broadcasts to Belarus

The media environment in Belarus is ranked as “Not Free” by independent media watchdogs, such as Freedom House or Reporters sans Frontières (RSF).

The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), a non-governmental, non-profit and non-partisan association of media workers reports that 69 fines were given to journalists in 2017 for working without accreditation for foreign media (mainly with Belsat TV), some 40 fines have been already given this year (as of 02 April 2018).

A number of foreign-based radio and TV services broadcast to Belarus. They include:

– Belsat TV, the Polish-based TV channel for Belarus, which will air BBC TV news content in Russian and BBC series; Belsat TV was formed in 2007 by a group of Belarusian and Polish journalists as part of Telewizja Polska S.A. in partnership with Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and several European governments. It broadcasts nearly 20 hours a day. Its original content is prepared by more than 100 associates from all over Belarus supported by around 80 editors, managers and technicians in Warsaw. Belsat TV has so far failed to register a bureau and obtain accreditation in Belarus. During British Prime Minister Theresa May visit to Poland in December 2017 it was reported that, in an effort to counter Russian propaganda, the UK planned to provide £5m ($7.1m) for the Belsat TV project, with Poland expected to contribute a similar amount.

– RFE/RL’s Radio Svaboda (Liberty), which was established in 1954, is based in Prague. It broadcasts 2.5 hours daily and is distributed via radio (mediumwave, satellite) as well as on Belsat TV (30 minutes weekly), Internet (website, mobile, YouTube, social media).

– In 2006, the EU launched European Radio for Belarus (Euroradio.fm). Euroradio’s programmes can be received on FM in some of Belarus’s border regions, via relays on stations in neighbouring countries, in Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine. Euroradio is available online and on the Astra 4A satellite.

– Polish radio external service Belarusian broadcasts are available on FM and on mediumwave (Radio Baltic Waves, 1386 kHz) in border regions, as well as via satellite and online.

– Radio Racyja, which broadcasts from Bialystok, is funded and supported by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Polish aid agencies and NGOs, and the US embassy in Poland.

– Russia’s Sputnik has a Belarusian service, which offers online text and multimedia content, including audio.

It is worth noting too, that many Belarusians listen to, watch and consult Russian-language radio and TV broadcasts, and online content from all major international broadcasters (such as the BBC, Deutsche Welle, RFE/RL, RFI or VOA), and naturally from Russian broadcasters and online media outlets as well.

Dick Tauber

12 April 2018

It is with sadness that we report the death of Dick Tauber of CNN, well-known and respected in the international broadcasting community.

Jack Womack, SVP, CNN Worldwide writes:

I’m sorry to share with you that we lost our friend and colleague Dick Tauber last night. Dick was 73 years old and died after a lengthy illness.

Dick started his career at CNN as second in command running the Satellite desk one year after its launch in 1980. After an incredible 32-year career at CNN, Dick retired in 2013 as VP Transmission Systems and New Technology.

Dick had so many accomplishments here at CNN. When CNN received wide acclaim for being the only network to Broadcast live from Baghdad during the first Gulf War, it was his idea to marry the Baghdad to Amman and Amman to Atlanta four-wire audio circuits in Amman, allowing CNN its historic coverage and being the only U.S. television network to broadcast live as bombs fell.

Dick also championed and pushed the network into new field transmission technologies and satellite transponder capacity. Along with others, he was instrumental in CNN with expanding the satellite truck fleet and acquisition and deployment of CNN’s fly-away uplinks.

Dick loved his job and being an important part of CNN. He always wanted to make sure CNN was first with transmission from any spot on the planet. Dick secured his place as one of the people that helped build CNN from almost the start of CNN in the 1980’s into what it is today.

Dick’s dedication to the industry included his long chairmanship of the World Broadcasting Unions-International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG) that worked to communicate to the satellite industry the most important requirements of broadcasters and to collaborate on procedures that protected interference issues. He also represented TBS/CNN at the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) and was on the board of directors from 1998-2003.

He won many industry awards spanning three decades, including the Outstanding Individual Achievement Emmy Award for Satellite Coordination for the Turner Broadcasting Systems GOODWILL GAMES from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1986, to a 2007 Science and Technology Emmy Award and IBC Judges Innovation Award, both for development and implementation of CNN’s revolutionary Digital Newsgathering transmission system. In 1991, Dick received an “Industry Visionary” award from Communications Week magazine as one of the “25 Most Influential” industry leaders for the year.

Dick had a great sense of humor and mentored so many people at CNN to share in his love for the news and satellite transmission industry.

Dick will be greatly missed. Please join me as we offer our condolences to the Tauber family.

Françoise Champey is appointed Chief Content Officer

11 April 2018

Michael Peters, CEO of Euronews and President of Africanews, has appointed Françoise Champey to work alongside him as Chief Content Officer and Member of the Executive Committee.

Lyon, France – 10 April 2018 – Françoise Champey is based at the group’s headquarters in Lyon and became responsible for all newsrooms on 19 March 2018.

With 24 years’ experience in key international media, Françoise has managed multilingual and multicultural teams. Most recently she worked as Director of the English service of France 24. Prior to that, she was Editor in Chief at Al Jazeera English, headed up the Afghan service of Voice of America, and also managed the North and South American bureaus of Reuters TV.

Françoise Champey’s appointment was made in cooperation with Deborah Turness, President of NBC News International, in accordance with the new shareholder agreements signed in June 2017 when NBC News bought stakes in Euronews. Within this context, Françoise will work closely with Deborah in order to oversee the new editorial offering. She will ensure its implementation across all media platforms.

François now heads up a team of 500 journalists and a new network of correspondents. Her mission is to guarantee the independence of the editorial line and ensure coherence between all language editions while respecting Euronews’ European DNA, which has been at the core of its identity for 25 years.

Her objective is also to assist the 12 editions in finding new approaches, concepts, and formats and in creating programme schedules that are adapted to each language edition’s audience.

Françoise Champey replaces Lucian Sârb, who had joined Euronews in 2009.

Michael Peters, CEO of Euronews and President of Africanews

“I am very proud to welcome Françoise. Her international experience in multicultural teams and her passion for journalism and journalists are major assets for Euronews. I am certain she will bring her great know-how to our multicultural team.

I would also like to thank Lucian Sârb very warmly. He has been a close and valued colleague. Lucian was involved in creating our new editorial strategy, thereby building solid foundations for the current essential transformations. Lucian is and will always be a friend of Euronews.”

Deborah Turness, President of NBC News International

“Françoise is a journalist, a TV News professional and a proven leader of international newsrooms. As we build and invest in the future of Euronews, she is well qualified to deliver the bold innovation, the editorial strength and the creative content that we will be rolling out in the months ahead. I am thrilled she has joined us.”

About Françoise Champey

Up to December 2013, Françoise Champey was Director of France’s English language channel, France 24. Within that role, she created new programmes, changed the programming schedule and managed many journalists.

In 1998, she created POMM Productions which produced a great number of news reports for European media outlets such as Arte info, RTBF, France 3, TSR, TVRO and Discovery Networks. She also produced reports and advised IMF, The World Bank, UNESCO and L’Oréal ‘Women in Science up to 2013.

In parallel, from 2006 to 2009, Françoise worked in Washington in different roles: Editor in Chief of Voice of America Afghan service (where she managed a trilingual newsroom: English, Dari, Pashto), then as Editor in Chief for Al Jazeera English (2007-2009).

From 1993 to 1998, she was Reporter, Head of Special Operations and then Head of News at Reuters TV, for the Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro bureaus. Françoise began her career as Washington Correspondent for the French TV channel, La Cinq (1988-1992).

In 2006, Françoise made a film in Mali called “La Fibre Africaine” about cotton production and the World Trade Organisation. The film was shown at numerous documentary film festivals and on TV5 Monde and TV5 Afrique.

Françoise has a Master’s Degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Sorbonne University, and was a researcher for UNICEF in Sri Lanka in preparation for the International Year of the Child.

She is a founding member of the Tocqueville Press Club in Washington and works actively with NGOs. Françoise has frequently been part of the jury for the “Documentaries” category of the International Emmy Awards.

follow Euronews and Africanews teams on Twitter: @euronews_group

for breaking news follow: @euronews @africanews

Media contact: Lydie Bonvallet t +33 (0)4 28 67 05 35 lydie.bonvallet@euronews.com

Euronews

Euronews, based in Lyon (France) celebrates its 25 years in 2018. Euronews offers a unique perspective on world events in 12 languages and empowers people to make up their own mind by delivering factual analysis and a diversity of viewpoints. Because all views matter, Euronews is “All Views”. A well-established brand in Europe, Euronews is available worldwide in more than 400 million households in 160 countries.

In June 2017, NBC News and Euronews closed a transaction in which NBC News acquired 25% of the company to make a significant financial investment in Euronews to support expanded news coverage and programming. The company’s TV and digital will ultimately be co-branded EuronewsNBC.

Euronews Group: Euronews Group operates two international, multilingual, multiplatform and independent news media, Euronews and Africanews, the first pan-African, multilingual and independent news outlet, launched in April 2016 from Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo.

www.euronews.com www.africanews.com