27 April 2017
(WASHINGTON – April 26, 2017) Two RFE/RL video documentaries have won Silver Awards at the 2017 New York Festivals International Television and Film Awards ceremony in Las Vegas on Tuesday, April 25.
RFE/RL’s Russian Service’s “She Was Called Tatiana” profiles Russian singer and actress Miriam Sekhon, who was born in the final years of the Soviet Union and now fronts the band Tatiana, which performs songs by Russian singers from the 1930s. The Kyrgyz Service’s short video feature “A Snowy Trek On Horseback To Teach School” tells the story of Kenesh Shorukov, a dedicated schoolteacher who rises before dawn every day to ride 10 kilometers on horseback across northern Kyrgyzstan’s rugged and snowy terrain to get to class on time. Both videos were recognized in the “Human Interest” category.
RFE/RL President Thomas Kent welcomed the awards as “recognition of our strength in visual formats,” and said “they testify to our journalists’ deep connection to the people and places they report, and their ability to identify great stories and tell them powerfully.”
The award-winning videos were among five RFE/RL documentaries that were shortlisted in the competition, which honors programming in all lengths and formats from over 50 countries. The other finalists were “Poisoned Truth,” the first serious journalistic investigation into the mysterious fainting of schoolchildren in the Kazakh village of Berezovka (RFE/RL Kazakh Service); “Generation Emigration,” an exploration of the issues driving mass out-migration among Moldova’s youth (RFE/RL Moldovan Service); and “Frozen In Time: Russia’s Norwegian Colony,” a report from the Russian coal-mining colony that endures on Norway’s Spitsbergen island (RFE/RL Russian Service).
This is the second consecutive year that RFE/RL videos have won recognition at the New York Festivals. The video documentary “Desperate Honeymoon,” a chronicle of one Syrian couple’s months-long migration to Europe, won Silver and Bronze awards in 2016.
The New York Festivals International Television and Film Awards, first presented in 1957, celebrate the exceptional and innovative programs being created today on all continents by the television and film industries.
About RFE/RL
RFE/RL is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, internet, television, and mobile — reach 27 million people in 26 languages and 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus, and the Baltic states. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
20 April 2017
This year’s MediaTech 360 Summit, taking place on 7th-8th June in London, is set to address some of the fundamental technological and operational issues that are affecting businesses throughout the media and entertainment industry.
Delegates attending will have the exclusive opportunity to hear from leading industry experts at Channel 4, BT Sport, ITV, AIMS, DPP, Ernst and Young, IBM, M&C Saatchi, DTG, Ericsson, Sony, Inception VR, MTM and more as they discuss the nuances of operation and strategy within our evolving market.
The two-day agenda will discuss:
- How standards are shaping the roadmap to IP enablement
- The role and relevance of standards versus proprietary software deployment
- How live IP has successfully been deployed in the market: from test case to use case
- The current state of the market: top level and granular market analysis
- The role of AI, VR, MR, and connected world technology in M&E
- How traditional broadcasters are strategising for the future
- The top trends in technology and operation
- What the future of M&E looks like
“Our industry has been in the grip of change for some time; evolutionary change that all parties can and should embrace as progress,” said James McKeown, content director of TVBEurope’s parent company, NewBay. “MediaTech 360 has been designed to sensitively address some of the pain points in that transformational story, while identifying the opportunities within this new environment.”
The Summit is being supported by its headline sponsor: Aspera, an IBM company as well as Sony and Snell Advanced Media to name a few.
There are various delegate packages available for those wishing to attend, with some packages including a week of strategic events exploring the future of media and entertainment. What’s more AIB members get an additional 20% off tickets! Use the discount code today: AIBMEM20
Bookings can be made online at www.media-tech360.com
6 April 2017
Abu Dhabi Media (ADM) has launched two new radio services. Radio 1 and Radio 2 are part of the Abu Dhabi Radio Network, and bring the total number of stations it operates to eight.
The launch, which increases ADM’s brands to 27, underscores the corporation’s plans to expand its English-language radio stations. The launch of the two stations follows Abu Dhabi Radio Network’s comprehensive development of both stations to ensure that they broadcast exceptional content that appeals directly to audience interests. This approach is aligned with Abu Dhabi Media’s commitment to offering targeted and diverse media content that resonates with the organisation’s broad audience base.
Radio 1 launched on 100.5 FM in Abu Dhabi and on 104.41 FM in Dubai, while Radio 2 started airing on 106 FM in Abu Dhabi and on 99.3 FM in Dubai.
ADM revealed that Radio 1 has been transformed to specialise in! delivering music content which targets audiences aged 18-30, while Radio 2 will broadcast content catering to those aged between 30 and 45, who are interested in music and hits from the 1980s and 1990s.
Mohamed Ebraheem Al Mahmood, Chairman and Managing Director at ADM, said, “The official launch of Radio 1 and Radio 2 under Abu Dhabi Media underscores our strategic efforts to create tangible change in media content at Abu Dhabi Media, and diversify the media brands under its umbrella. The addition of Radio 1 and Radio 2 reaffirms our continuous commitment to enhancing Abu Dhabi Media as a comprehensive and diverse media platform. It also highlights our ongoing efforts to further advance the media sector in the UAE and the region by supporting all traditional and modern media.”
Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Director General at ADM, said, “Since its establishment, Abu Dhabi Media has worked tirelessly to build a broad audience base through our 27 diverse brands and disting! uish a strong media presence not only in the UAE but also across the Middle East. “
Both stations offer six main programmes that will air around the clock. These programmes aim to entertain and engage listeners through various tailored segments which appeal directly to their interests.
3 April 2017
Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) is about to come to an abrupt end in Hong Kong as its remaining provider, RTHK, plans to shut down the DAB service within six months. The broadcaster has vowed not to fire any staff; five employees are responsible for the DAB services.
A Commerce and Economic Development Bureau spokesman said carrying on would be impractical. The decision was made at an Executive Council meeting that tackled a DAB review yesterday. “In the absence of the participation of commercial operators, it would not be realistic to rely on RTHK to operate alone on the DAB platform,” the review said.
“The retreat of three commercial DAB operators due to difficulties in their operation and the lack of a critical mass of audience demonstrated the exhaustion of interest in the services.”
A Legislative Council brief published on the Hong Kong Digital Radio website sets out the entire story.
Phoenix U Radio surrendered its licence in September 2015, followed by DBC and Metro Radio roughly a year later.
Director of Broadcasting Leung Ka-wing rejected claims that it was an attempt to cut down expenses and added the issue had been “deliberated over a long period of time.” He added: “As the government had said, Hong Kong is not a suitable market for developing DAB service. We will try to reallocate current programmes under the five DAB channels to the AM and FM analogue platforms.”
RTHK launched five DAB services in 2012, achieving population coverage of 83%, according to the World DAB forum.
3 April 2017
The Association for International Broadcasting is delighted to announce that its 13th annual awards for factual programming across video, audio and online production are open for entry.
For 2017, there has been a root and branch examination of the categories with the involvement of media leaders in areas of documentary, news and specialist factual programme making. This year’s categories are:
Video
Breaking news report
Continuing news coverage
News feature
Short documentary
Science, technology and nature
Human interest
Politics and business
Arts and culture
International affairs
Sport
Children’s and youth
Presenter of the year
Audio
Continuing news coverage
News feature
Arts and culture
Investigative
Human interest
Presenter of the year
Interactive
AIB Impact Award
The inaugural sponsors of the AIBs 2017 are Celebro Media and Signiant.
Full information about how to enter is available at the dedicated AIBs website, http://theaibs.tv and http://theaibs.radio. The online entry form is available here.
The closing date for entries is 30 June 2017.
31 March 2017
The BBC has selected AFPTV as a key supplier of English-language video news, significantly expanding its relationship with the Paris-headquartered international news agency AFP.
Under a multi-year agreement starting April 1 2017, the British broadcaster will receive edited and live video from AFPTV for use on all its platforms: television channels, websites and mobile applications, as well as radio for audio production. According to reports in the UK City AM newspaper, the AFP deal replaces the BBC’s longstanding contract with Associated Press. The paper says: “News staff have been informed that they will no longer be permitted to use AP video, pictures and wire copy from later this week. Fran Unsworth, head of the World Service, today told staff in an email that the BBC was instead starting a “new relationship” with Agence France Presse.”
AFPTV, the video news division of AFP, has developed over 15 years into a major international player with a monthly English-language production of 2,500 edited videos and 200 live videos from around the world. The BBC already receives AFP’s photo and English, French and Arabic text news services.
Jonathan Munro (right), the BBC’s Head of Newsgathering, said: “We are delighted to be working even more closely with AFP in the years ahead. The BBC’s coverage of the world will benefit enormously from the growing firepower of AFP including its strengths in regions which are underserved by the mainstream media. We hope that the BBC’s new relationship with AFP will prove enduring and positive for both organisations.”
Emmanuel Hoog (pictured), chairman and chief executive of AFP, described the partnership as “an emblematic recognition of everyone’s efforts to make video a top priority”. He added: “It encourages us in our long-term investment strategy to extend and consolidate AFPTV’s unique positioning in Europe and worldwide.”
According to the Paris-based agency, AFPTV has developed rapidly since its launch in France in 2002. It started international news production in 2007 and then began a process of substantial expansion on every continent from 2011. AFPTV is now at the forefront in covering top world news as well as offering its clients in-depth features, file images and stock shots in six languages. Since 2015, it has successfully developed live video production. Journalists working for AFPTV have notably won Rory Peck awards for coverage of the migrant crisis in Greece (Will Vassilopoulos – 2015-2016); rebel-held Aleppo (Zein Al-Rifai – 2014-15); and civil war in the Central African Republic (Pacome Pabandji – 2013-14). In addition to the BBC, AFPTV has some 300 clients, a number that is steadily increasing. The further development of AFPTV is a strategic priority for the agency.
