RFE/RL serves a measured audience of 27 million people a week in 23 nations and territories by video, social networks, mobile apps, websites, podcasts and radio – whatever media they use most. From its Prague headquarters and 18 news bureaus, it provides local news and information in 26 languages to the nations of the former Soviet Union, the Balkans, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, including a round-the-clock Russian-language television channel.
Through last September, RFE/RL recorded one billion page views on its websites, 300 million views on YouTube and 225 million engaged users on Facebook, plus many more visits and views on other social networks and apps.
“RFE/RL’s audience is highly loyal, making their way to us despite efforts by some governments to jam us on the internet and over the air, and even to directly intimidate viewers and listeners,” said Thomas Kent, president and CEO of RFE/RL (pictured). “They find us an indispensable source of news and investigative journalism, constantly adapting to the most modern platforms to reach them.”
CCTV has disappeared as a brand from China’s consumer-facing international TV channels, replaced by a new name: China Global Television Network (CGTN). Overnight on 30 December, CCTV’s English, Arabic, Spanish, Russian and French channels were rebranded under the CGTN umbrella, while new mobile apps were launched.
According to the South China Morning Post, CCTV carried out the rebranding to “integrate resources and to adapt to the trend of media convergence”, with foreign language channels, video content and digital media falling under the new group.
This rebranding – and the new apps – are part of a continuing effort by China to project its soft power internationally. It is widely reported that billions of dollars are spent each year on China’s international television channels and on its cultural initiatives in markets globally.
In 2017, a new top level domain (TLD) will be launched on the Internet for the global radio industry.
.radio is a Community TLD, led by a community of interest for the benefit of the entire radio community. The Association for International Broadcasting joined with other organisations around the world to support the .radio application to the Internet’s controlling body.
ICANN accepted .radio as a TLD to be administered by the world’s radio industry, administered by the EBU and supported by an advisory board. The board will convene at the end of January at which time its membership will be confirmed and the chair and deputy chair will be elected.
“The Association for International Broadcasting is delighted to be closely involved with the radio industry’s new top level domain,” says Simon Spanswick, AIB chief executive. “The Association will be working closely with the EBU and other partners involved in this exciting project that will offer radio broadcasters, web radio stations, radio amateurs and radio equipment manufacturers the ability to demonstrate their commitment to radio through their web address.”
More information for the AIB’s Members will be published over the coming weeks.
If you attended the AIBs in November 2016, you might like to watch a short video with highlights from the event. And if you weren’t there, but want to know what the annual awards for factual TV, radio and online productions are like, here’s your chance!
Watch our highlights video here
We would love you to get involved in the AIBs 2017. Entries open in April, judging takes place in September, and the awards will be presented at our gala awards night on 1 November 2017 in London.
You can also sponsor the AIBs 2017. Full information in our partnership document, available here.
(WASHINGTON — December 5, 2016) Turkmen authorities have arrested contributor Khudayberdy Allashov on charges of possessing chewing tobacco only days after one RFE/RL correspondent was threatened with arrest and another was physically injured in a series of violent attacks.
“We believe these charges are part of a targeted campaign intended to silence our Turkmen Service and intimidate the Turkmen people,” said RFE/RL President Thomas Kent. “Over the last 18 months our reporters have been arrested, held incommunicado, beaten, interrogated, threatened and arbitrarily jailed, and we hold the Turkmen government responsible.”
Allashov was apprehended in Turkmenistan’s northern Dashoguz province on December 3, whena group of policemen carrying weapons and video cameras entered his house, beat him, and rounded up his family, including his mother and wife. Both he and his mother were charged with possessing chewing tobacco, which, while illegal in Turkmenistan, is commonly consumed and not known to have led to arrests. Allashov’s wife was told that he had confessed to possessing 11 kilograms of the product, an outrageous claim she says was coerced, and could expect to be sentenced to seven years in prison. Both he and his mother were scheduled to appear before a court on December 5.
The dealer who sold Allashov the tobacco was also briefly detained and questioned, and later told RFE/RL that she had seen him at the police station severely bruised and unable to hold his head up or speak.
Allashov, began contributing to RFE/RL’s Turkmen Service in October this year, reporting local stories about food shortages, wage delays, salaries, and cotton-picking under the pen name Mekan Tashliyev.
While Turkmenistan has long been intolerant of any independent media, the government has escalated its repression of RFE/RL journalists recently. Correspondent Soltan Achilova was subject to three separate physical attacks in connection with her journalism in November. Correspondent Rovshen Yazmuhamedov was also threatened in November with enforcement of a suspended jail term he received in 2013. Video journalist Saparmamed Nepeskuliev is serving a three-year prison sentence on narcotics charges that rights advocates believe were fabricated and brought in retaliation for his reporting, and no fewer than six contributors quit their jobs in response to pressure during 2015.
About RFE/RL RFE/RL is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, Internet, television, and mobile — reach influential audiences in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
Mediacorp’s Channel 5, an English mass entertainment and lifestyle channel, launches YXY: Youth by Youth this December, on the weekly current affairs magazine programme, On the Red Dot.
YXY: Youth by Youth is a four-part co-production between Mediacorp and four local institutes of higher learning – Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Lasalle College of the Arts, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Nanyang Polytechnic. Each half-hour episode zooms in on a specific issue impacting the youth of today in Singapore. The series explores the lives of youths as they experience the ups and downs of living with a disability; pursuing their passions; navigating broken family relationships; and coping with social media.
“This collaboration has been exciting and meaningful,” said Ms Susanna Kulatissa, Deputy Chief Editor of English Current Affairs. “It provides a rare opportunity to peek into the world of our youth and experience their triumphs and struggles through their eyes.”
The four episodes in this series are as follows (refer to the Annex for the synopses):
1) We Are Family (in collaboration with Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts)
Telecast: Friday, 2 December 2016
2) Unstoppable (in collaboration with Lasalle College of the Arts)
Telecast: Friday, 9 December 2016
3) Passion Pursuits (in collaboration with Ngee Ann Polytechnic)
Telecast: Friday, 16 December 2016
4) Gen Soci@l (in collaboration with Nanyang Polytechnic)
Telecast: Friday, 23 December 2016
Special Screening
A special screening of YXY: Youth by Youth was organised today for invited guests and members of the media before its telecast on Channel 5.
Dr Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and Ministry of Education (MOE), was the special guest at the screening event.
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YXY: Youth by Youth will telecast on Channel 5 every Friday from 2 December 2016 at 9.30pm (Sin/HK/MNL time). The series is also simulcast and is available as video-on-demand on http://tv.toggle.sg/en/channel5.
About On the Red Dot
On the Red Dot is a weekly info-ed series on Channel 5. Since 31 October 2012, the half-hour current affairs programme has been examining issues important to Singaporeans, through the lives of ordinary people.
About Channel 5
Channel 5 is Singapore’s No. 1 English TV station under the MediaCorp group. It is a 24-hour general entertainment channel with a mix of local and international mass-appeal programmes. Channel 5 has a heritage of creating highly-rated and award-winning local productions featuring Asian faces and themes, such as Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, Incredible Tales, Red Thread, Fighting Spiders, The Noose, The Pupil, There Was A Time, Spouse For House and Keong Saik Street.
The channel is also among the first in Asia to produce formatted versions of top-rated international game shows, like Minute To Win It, Sasuke Singapore and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. In 2004, it launched the highly successful Singapore Idol to record-high ratings and in 2011, it launched the popular game show, Million Dollar Money Drop.
As part of the channel’s continued vision to produce relatable local content for all Singaporeans, Channel 5 launched a daily topical talk show, The 5 Show, in Jan 2015 and a daily family drama Tanglin in June 2015.
Channel 5 aspires to be a respected and recognised brand in Singapore as well as in the region. It has received numerous accolades, including Asian Television Awards, New York Festival Awards and Promax International Gold Awards. It is also the Terrestrial Channel of the Year 2010 as recognised by the Asian Television Awards. MediaCorp has the widest range of media platforms in Singapore spanning digital, television, radio, print and out-of-home media. Its mission is to engage, entertain and enrich audiences by harnessing the power of creativity. MediaCorp pioneered the development of Singapore’s broadcasting industry, with the radio broadcast in 1936 and television broadcast in 1963. Today, the company has over 50 products and brands in four languages (English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil), reaching out to virtually all adults in Singapore weekly.
MediaCorp was named Terrestrial Broadcaster of the Year for the eleventh time at the Asian Television Awards in 2014.
For more information, please visit http://tv.toggle.sg/en/channel5.
Media contact
Faith Yang
Assistant Corporate Services Manager
Corporate Communications, News Segment
Mediacorp
Tel: +65 6350 3603
Email: faithyang@mediacorp.com.sg
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ANNEX YXY: Youth by Youth Episode 1 We Are Family
What makes a family? Two young women with divorced parents share their struggles growing up in non-traditional families. Noelle Ong alternated between living with her mother and grandmother, before she finally found security and stability in a friend’s family. Tiffany Miranda once thought her friends were more important than her family, until she rebuilt the bonds with her mother and stepfather.
Episode 2
Unstoppable
Meet two young people who have not let their disability stop them. Driven, determined and unstoppable, they have accomplished achievements beyond the ordinary. But it has not been without its challenges. For Jeremiah Tan and Sheikh Muhammad Dannial Bawthan, isolation and segregation have been part of their journey. Twenty-one year old Jeremiah may suffer from Rickets and Traumatic Brain Injury, but that has not stopped him from representing Singapore in the international arena as the youngest player in the Singapore Cerebral Palsy Soccer team. Twenty-two year old Daniel has had spinal muscular dystrophy since he was born. Despite having progressive muscle wasting and being wheelchair bound, he still wins awards for the music he produces.
Episode 3
Passion Pursuits
“No time” is a common refrain we hear from our busy youth these days. But not for two young students, Jun Rui and Wei Ling who are fearlessly marching to the beat of a different drum. These talented musicians from the Singapore National Youth Orchestra have chosen to pursue classical music as part of their education, and are working night and day to hone their passion into professional musical careers. In a separate story, thirty-four year old Camellia volunteers to bring cheer to the homes for the elderly and disabled with some very special assistants. Cats! Camellia who is dealing with her own personal loss, believes her cats provide healing not only to those she visits, but to herself as well.
Episode 4
Gen Soci@l
Did you know that in 2016, Singapore recorded the highest number of active social media users among 232 countries? We find out more from our youth as we delve into the young lives of Sarrah, Sonia, and Benjamin – three avid social media users. Eighteen year-old polytechnic student, Sarrah, finds a connection to celebrities through social media. While, radio DJ and social influencer, Sonia, talks about how she manages her life on social media, the impact she has on fans, and vice versa. Lastly, we look at Ben. He may be an introvert in real life but his videos on social media application, Vine, have captured over 8 million views. How are these 6-second clips making him so popular?
Through last September, RFE/RL recorded one billion page views on its websites, 300 million views on YouTube and 225 million engaged users on Facebook, plus many more visits and views on other social networks and apps. 
In 2017, a new top level domain (TLD) will be launched on the Internet for the global radio industry.