15 July 2016
Afghanistan was the most dangerous country for media workers during the first six months of 2016, according to the International News Safety Institute’s (INSI) biannual report of media casualties, Killing the Messenger.
Two separate attacks by the Taliban in Afghanistan claimed the lives of 10 media workers between January and June 2016, including eight from Tolo TV, one of Afghanistan’s largest entertainment channels, in a direct attack on press freedom. Veteran US journalist David Gilkey and Afghan journalist Zabihullah Tamanna were also killed by Taliban militants in June when the armoured vehicle they were travelling in was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.
A total of 49 media workers died in the first six months of the year, according to Killing The Messenger which is compiled for INSI by the Cardiff School of Journalism. This represents a slight decline compared with this time last year when the number of news media casualties stood at 60. However, that doesn’t mean the situation is improving.
“One reason for this slight decline is likely to be a decrease in the number of journalists reporting from bloody conflicts like Syria where in the past dozens have died – 28 were lost in 2012 for example,” said INSI director Hannah Storm.
“The growing prevalence of censorship is another possible factor in the decrease. In countries like Mexico, Guatemala and the Philippines, where powerful political and business interests often combine to violently silence the news media, the stakes are simply too high for some to continue reporting.”
Out of the 49 media workers killed so far this year, 26 died in countries supposedly at peace, such as Mexico and Guatemala.
Crime reporter Anabel Flores Salazar was one of eight journalists who died in Mexico, the second most dangerous country to report from, according to Killing The Messenger. The mother of two was murdered after being snatched from her home in Veracruz, a state that has become synonymous with journalist deaths.
Five journalists lost their lives in neighbouring Guatemala – the same number as in Yemen, a nation wracked by armed conflict.
INSI identified only two cases where suspects were identified or arrests made.
“At every international conference I attend, I hear the word impunity, but little has changed. The murderers of journalists are almost never punished,” said Storm.
“Impunity will remain and journalists will continue to die while ineffective authorities allow their killers to get away with murder.”
(Source: INSI press release)
14 July 2016
SES S.A. announced today that Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (JIB), the official distributor of NHK WORLD TV for Japanese public broadcaster NHK, has signed a long-term agreement to broadcast the 24/7 English-language news and information channel free-to-air in High Definition (HD) across Europe.
The transmission of NHK WORLD TV in HD has already started via ASTRA 1KR at 19.2 degrees East, and the SD channel is currently simulcast to allow for a smooth transition from SD to HD quality.
The number of HDTV homes in Europe has tripled over the past five years, and 78% of European satellite HDTV homes receive their TV channels from SES. In Europe, the number of HDTV channels broadcast by SES has grown by more than 30% over the last three years to nearly 700 channels.
“The expansion of HDTV continues to be an important growth driver for SES. SES is proud to be broadcasting the HD signal of such a premium news broadcaster from Japan in the European market,” said Ferdinand Kayser, Chief Commercial Officer of SES. “As NHK WORLD TV already reaches a wide audience in other markets via SES satellites, this agreement reaffirms their confidence in our ability to deliver highly reliable broadcasting services.”
“Better picture quality is undoubtedly becoming very important to the European audience,” said Yoshihiko Shimizu, President and CEO of JIB. “We are very pleased to partner with SES to bring our HD channel to our European audience.”
NHK WORLD TV (HD) is currently available on Channel 707 of the Sky Deutschland platform, on Channel 927 in the Logical Channel Numbering of HD+ Set Top Boxes, and on Channel 473 of the Canalsat platform.
The reception parameters for NHK WORLD TV on Astra 1KR (19.2ºE) are:
| Satellite |
Astra 1KR (19.2°E) |
| Transponder |
1.002 |
| Downlink Frequency |
11229.00 MHz |
| Downlink Polarisation |
Vertical |
| Transmission Standard |
DVB-S2 |
| Compression Standard |
MPEG-4 |
| Modulation |
8PSK |
| Symbol Rate |
22 Mbps/sec |
| FEC |
2/3 |
(Source: SES press release)
13 July 2016
Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Chairman Jeff Shell was denied entry into Russia and detained at Moscow’s Sheremetevo Airport last night after arriving shortly before midnight on a flight from Prague. Shell was denied entry into the country despite having a valid passport and Russian visa, and subsequently detained in a locked room for several hours, before being accompanied by Russian security officials to board a flight to Amsterdam. No explanation has yet been given to Shell, or the BBG, for his detention.
Shell told colleagues with whom he was traveling that airport security authorities told him the denial of entry into Russia has permanent status and is “a life-time ban.”
BBG officials met with U.S. Ambassador John Tefft in Moscow this morning to discuss the incident and to thank the Ambassador and the U.S. Department of State for their urgent attention to the matter.
Mr. Shell is a Presidential appointee who serves in a part-time capacity as Chairman of the Board that oversees all U.S. international media. He is also the chairman of NBCUniversal’s Filmed Entertainment Division.
(Source: BBG press release)
13 July 2016
Euronews has announced that it will launch its virtual reality news reporting with funding from the DNI Innovation Fund. The project, under the framework of Google’s Digital News Initiative, will see Euronews producing regular multilingual 360 degree interactive videos around international current affairs.
Euronews has created an immersive 360 degree video interactive reporting format backed by Google’s innovation fund, the Digital News Initiative (DNI).
See more of the World with 360.
Euronews will become the first international newsroom to fully incorporate 360 degree interactive video news into its regular production workflow across all of its language editions. The productions will also include virtual reality versions of Euronews’ award-winning “No Comment” format. These programmes encourage the audience to come up with their own interpretations of the story and embody Euronews’ “All Views” Identity.
All Euronews’ teams – whether in the main newsroom in Lyon, in offices around Europe, or correspondents worldwide, or the newsroom of its sister channel Africanews, based in Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo – will be involved in pioneering the first regular multilingual* 360° interactive video production process at an international news organisation.
The Google Digital News Initiative chose to fund Euronews 360 in February as one of its 128 selected projects in Europe, and will be a source of financial backing for the Euronews 360 degree video initiative for three years.
The DNI fund is a collaboration between Google and European news publishers to support high quality journalism and encourage a more sustainable news ecosystem through technology and innovation.
more information: https://www.digitalnewsinitiative.com
Google’s funding will allow Euronews to produce an ambitious amount of intricate unique news as well as, introduce a specific workflow, involving their editorial, technical, journalists, producers, editors, graphic designers and sales teams.
Euronews’ teams will experiment with various interactive video formats to create a variety of content from “All Views” best suited to users worldwide. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of the collected data will help Euronews acquire an unrivalled degree of expertise for a consumer media outlet which will change how you see the news forever. This is cutting edge innovation at its best!
To secure the long-term financial viability of this development, and to ensure that it becomes an important component of Euronews’ digital business portfolio, sales teams will include the Euronews 360 tool in their multi-platform campaign propositions to advertisers.
* Arabic, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian
Duncan Hooper, Editor in chief, digital platforms, said: “We are delighted to be implementing this new interactive video production method, giving our audience the power to view the story from their own perspectives. Through our collaboration with the DNI we will be able to take advantage of the latest technological innovations, which now make it possible – and relatively simple – to harness virtual reality in the service of news and in your home.
This project is a perfect fit for Euronews’ “All Views” positioning, embodying a mission that aims to live and share a unique and global experience of news, knowledge and cultures, expressed through a genuine diversity.
We feel that immersive journalism provides a fresh perspective on news, for our journalists and our audience.
360° interactive reports immerse viewers to give them a greater sense of atmosphere. This sensory experience is also interactive – unlike a conventional report, everyone can choose their point of view.
The core mission of all Euronews’ teams is to offer their audience fact-based news that is as neutral as possible. This new dimension of journalism allows them to get even closer to unadulterated reality. We wish to offer our audience this new capability in order to highlight all perspectives, so that everyone can forge their own opinion.
Euronews is the only newsroom to inform its audience in 13 languages, and for some of these, will be the only media source to offer 360° global news.”
Euronews 360
The 360 degree video process will kick off this summer with the launch of availability in the production of No Comment 360, which is the iconic Euronews programme tailored to this new medium that allows the audience to select their interpretation of a video that speaks a thousand words. The newsroom will then also produce reports in Euronews’ editorial sphere (international news, culture, sport, high tech, etc.) voiced by the 13 language editions.
The 360° interactive videos are now easily available to the public on smartphones, tablets or computers – and with virtual-reality headsets for a more advanced experience.
Euronews’ 360° videos will be incorporated in the daily newsflow produced by the teams, on all of Euronews’ digital platforms without distinction: on euronews.com, on the 20 YouTube channels, and on the 13 Facebook accounts.
This package will be supplemented by VR360-dedicated platforms Vrideo and Littlstar, which attract enthusiasts of the immersive experiences enabled by virtual reality.
(Source: Euronews press release)
12 July 2016
Arqiva, the communications infrastructure and media services company, has today announced that it will support the BBC in extending coverage of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
The agreement will see Arqiva carrying an additional eight DTT services through its COM8 multiplex contributing to the BBC’s commitment to bring more than 3,000 hours of live sporting action from the games to their audience.
The services, which will be in a mixture of Standard and High Definition, will be accessible via the Red Button and available on Freeview HD, Freeview Play and Youview receivers.* Carried on COM8, one of Arqiva’s two DVB-T2 multiplexes, they will broadcast nationally in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland with 76 per cent population coverage.
Mike Finchen, Director of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), commented: “Rio 2016 is a hugely important event and we’re delighted to help support the BBC deliver even more coverage to audiences. We have a long history of supporting the broadcast of major sporting events, including Wimbledon and the World Cup, and this experience is reflected in the quality of service we provide.
“Today’s deal is also a good proof point for our COM8 multiplex, which will be at full capacity during the games and is another demonstration of the on-going value of the DVB-T2 multiplexes to DTT viewers.”
The additional DTT services will launch on the 5th August 2016 and be available throughout the period of the games until the 21st August 2016.
*Viewers may need to retune their receivers in the week leading up to the opening ceremony to receive the services.
(Source: Arqiva press release)
7 July 2016
Japan International Broadcasting Inc. (JIB) and Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. (AsiaSat) announced a major expansion of their partnership. On 1 July, JIB started to use AsiaSat 7 to broadcast NHK WORLD TV HD, an English language news and lifestyle TV network, and for the continued distribution of its SD channel in the Asia-Pacific.
“Since our SD service launch on AsiaSat in 2009, AsiaSat has proved to be our insightful and dependable partner in Asia and has done an excellent job in helping us to expand our penetration. Our new HD service will bring a brand new viewing experience of high quality news and entertainment content to home viewers and travellers in Asia,” said Yoshihiko Shimizu, President and CEO of Japan International Broadcasting Inc.
“Introducing an HD service is a strategic and competitive move of all leading broadcasters to attract new audience and satisfy existing viewers’ changing appetite for enhanced picture and sound quality. We are proud of JIB’s decision to choose AsiaSat once again to support this exciting expansion of their HD service in Asia. We look forward to continuing to contribute to NHK WORLD TV’s success in the region with our industry leading audience penetration and market knowledge,” said Sabrina Cubbon, Vice President, Marketing and Global Accounts of AsiaSat.
NHK WORLD TV’s 24-hour programming cycle includes its signature news show, “NHK NEWSLINE,” and a wide selection of technology, lifestyle and entertainment programs, including “great gear”, “TOKYO FASHION EXPRESS”, “Dining with the Chef”, “SPORTS JAPAN” and “Journeys in Japan”. In addition, the channel offers an assortment of groundbreaking documentaries and specials, including “Asia Insight”, “Inside Lens” and “NHK Documentary”.
NHK WORLD TV HD/SD channels are available free to air on AsiaSat 7 (105.5°E) with the following reception parameters:
Transponder C12V C7H
Downlink Frequency 4100 MHz 3880 MHz
Downlink Polarisation Vertical Horizontal
Transmission Standard DVB-S2 DVB-S
Compression Standard MPEG-4 MPEG-2
Modulation 8PSK QPSK
Symbol Rate 29.72 Mbps/sec 27.5 Mbps/sec
FEC 5/6 3/4
(Source: JIB press release)
