Reuters has partnered with ITN Source to make historical archive footage more accessible to producers and viewers around the world. The digitisation of the Reuters video archive is making hundreds of thousands of rare and largely unseen news clips digitally available for preview and licensing on itnsource.com.
To date, over 115,000 Reuters clips have been digitised and published on itnsource.com, expanding the available Reuters digital archive to nearly half a million clips and counting. The project is set to finish in 2016.
Footage being digitised consists of the Reuters News syndication service from 1957 to 2006 and earlier cinema newsreels from 1910 to 1959, including the Gaumont, Paramount and Universal collections. Material from 2006 onwards is already available in digital format.
ITN Source’s experienced researchers have prioritised the digitisation of material relevant to upcoming anniversaries and events, such as the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II – featuring a substantial collection of post-war Winston Churchill footage – in addition to material in response to specific customer requests.
Highlights of the most recently digitised Reuters material are available for viewing and are updated on a regular basis as new material is digitised and uploaded.
Ashley Byford-Bates, Global Head of Reuters Pictures and Archive, said, “Having our assets in digital format is critical. It gives broadcasters, production houses and online publishers a real opportunity to explore, discover and see the footage. With over 30,000 hours of content preserved, we can now focus on the really exciting task of making the unique Reuters collection available for new programmes, projects and audiences.”
“The Reuters archive is incredibly popular and we are delighted to play our part in making this fantastic collection far more accessible to our clients around the world,” said Andy Williams, Managing Director at ITN Source.
As part of this programme, ITN Source has also re-catalogued and published a collection of interesting and quirky clips from the early 2000s called “Reuters Life!”. This collection features international coverage of the environment, entertainment, lifestyle, arts and culture in an amusing and light-hearted style.
One year after its Baghdad bureau chief was slain, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has launched the Muhammad Bdaiwi Memorial Journalism Prize to pay tribute to his career by recognizing the best examples of radio journalism in Iraq.
“In this way, our colleague’s contribution to journalism will be remembered, and his life-long commitment to strengthening Iraq’s independent media and building a more democratic society will continue,” said Nenad Pejic, RFE/RL editor in chief.
The prize will recognize distinguished local radio reporting that supports the values of pluralism and human rights in Iraq. It will be administered in cooperation with the College of Mass Communication at the University of Baghdad, where Bdaiwi was an associate professor of journalism.
The prize was announced during a March 23 ceremony on the anniversary of Bdaiwi’s death
The new prize was announced during a March 23 ceremony at the University of Baghdad marking the first anniversary of Bdaiwi’s death.
Recalling Bdaiwi, whom he knew as a graduate student and with whom he worked at several media outlets after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Dean of the College of Mass Communication, Dr. Hashim Hassan Al-Tamimi, said, “[Bdaiwi] devoted his whole life to his work…His life was a constant struggle on a professional and humanitarian level.” During the ceremony, he announced that an auditorium at the College would be renamed in Bdaiwi’s honor.
Hadi Marae, who directs Iraq’s Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, a Baghdad-based media monitoring group, said that establishing a press competition in Bdaiwi’s name demonstrates the importance and perseverance of Iraqi journalists, and expressed the hope that other news organizations would follow RFE/RL’s example.
On March 22, 2014, Dr. Muhammad Bdaiwi Owaid Al-Shammari, who was known on the air as Hasan Rashid, was shot and killed at a checkpoint in the Jadriyah neighborhood of Baghdad while on his way to work at the Baghdad bureau of Radio Free Iraq, RFE/RL’s Iraq Service. His killer, a member of the Iraqi presidential guard, was tried and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The BBC Presss Office issued the following statement today from BBC Director-General, Tony Hall and investigation findings from Ken MacQuarrie.
Statement from Tony Hall
It is with great regret that I have told Jeremy Clarkson today that the BBC will not be renewing his contract. It is not a decision I have taken lightly. I have done so only after a very careful consideration of the facts and after personally meeting both Jeremy and Oisin Tymon.
I am grateful to Ken MacQuarrie for the thorough way he has conducted an investigation of the incident on 4th March. Given the obvious and very genuine public interest in this I am publishing the findings of his report. I take no pleasure in doing so. I am only making them public so people can better understand the background. I know how popular the programme is and I also know that this decision will divide opinion. The main facts are not disputed by those involved.
I want to make three points.
First – The BBC is a broad church. Our strength in many ways lies in that diversity. We need distinctive and different voices but they cannot come at any price. Common to all at the BBC have to be standards of decency and respect. I cannot condone what has happened on this occasion. A member of staff – who is a completely innocent party – took himself to Accident and Emergency after a physical altercation accompanied by sustained and prolonged verbal abuse of an extreme nature. For me a line has been crossed. There cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another dictated by either rank, or public relations and commercial considerations.
Second – This has obviously been difficult for everyone involved but in particular for Oisin. I want to make clear that no blame attaches to him for this incident. He has behaved with huge integrity throughout. As a senior producer at the BBC he will continue to have an important role within the organisation in the future.
Third – Obviously none of us wanted to find ourselves in this position. This decision should in no way detract from the extraordinary contribution that Jeremy Clarkson has made to the BBC. I have always personally been a great fan of his work and Top Gear. Jeremy is a huge talent. He may be leaving the BBC but I am sure he will continue to entertain, challenge and amuse audiences for many years to come.
The BBC must now look to renew Top Gear for 2016. This will be a big challenge and there is no point in pretending otherwise. I have asked Kim Shillinglaw to look at how best we might take this forward over the coming months. I have also asked her to look at how we put out the last programmes in the current series.
Investigation findings – Ken MacQuarrie
On 9 March 2015, Jeremy Clarkson reported to BBC management that he had been involved in a physical and verbal incident with Oisin Tymon, the producer of Top Gear, at the Simonstone Hall Hotel, North Yorkshire, whilst working on location. The incident had occurred on 4 March 2015 and Jeremy Clarkson was suspended on 10 March, pending investigation.
I was asked to undertake an investigation to establish the facts of what occurred. In conducting my investigation, in line with the BBC’s usual practice, I interviewed a number of witnesses and others connected with the incident. Accounts were agreed, based on my interviews, with each participant.
Having conducted these interviews and considered the evidence presented, I conclude the following: on 4 March 2015 Oisin Tymon was subject to an unprovoked physical and verbal attack by Jeremy Clarkson. During the physical attack Oisin Tymon was struck, resulting in swelling and bleeding to his lip. The verbal abuse was sustained over a longer period, both at the time of the physical attack and subsequently.
Specific facts I have found as part of my investigation are as follows:
earlier on 4 March, studio recording of Top Gear had taken place in Surrey and the presenters had travelled that same evening to the location shoot in North Yorkshire;
the incident occurred on a patio area of the Simonstone Hall Hotel, where Oisin Tymon was working on location for Top Gear;
the physical attack lasted around 30 seconds and was halted by the intervention of a witness;
it is the case that Oisin Tymon offered no retaliation;
the verbal abuse was directed at Oisin Tymon on more than one occasion – both during the attack and subsequently inside the hotel – and contained the strongest expletives and threats to sack him. The abuse was at such volume as to be heard in the dining room, and the shouting was audible in a hotel bedroom;
derogatory and abusive language, relating to Oisin Tymon and other members of the Top Gear team, continued to be used by Jeremy Clarkson inside the hotel, in the presence of others, for a sustained period of time;
it is clear that Oisin Tymon was shocked and distressed by the incident, and believed that he had lost his job;
following the attack, I understand that Oisin Tymon drove to a nearby A&E department for examination;
over the subsequent days, Jeremy Clarkson made a number of attempts to apologise to Oisin Tymon by way of text, email and in person; and
it is the case that Jeremy Clarkson reported the incident to BBC management.
It was not disputed by Jeremy Clarkson or any witness that Oisin Tymon was the victim of an unprovoked physical and verbal attack. It is also clear to me that Oisin Tymon is an important creative member of the Top Gear team who is well-valued and respected. He has suffered significant personal distress as a result of this incident, through no fault of his own.
Globecast today announced the launch of its new Los Angeles Media Centre, offering broadcasters and content providers a converged workflow to prepare, deliver and playout content to any kind of distribution platform. The new Media Centre compliments established Globecast facilities in London and Singapore, enabling Globecast to offer a truly one-stop-shop for Media Management, Playout, Satellite and OTT distribution globally.
The new facility, which has been upgraded to include Globecast’s Media Factory for content logistics and converged workflow, brings broadcast and OTT solutions together under one roof, and leverages Globecast’s proven expertise in handling both linear broadcast and on-demand services.
Globecast’s Media Factory steps beyond traditional media management, logistics and playout services. It replaces multiple, siloed operations, with a single, efficient process that handles everything from VoD preparation and content formatting through to creative services, quality control and compliance. The Media Factory approach allows Globecast to pass on economies of scale to customers who also benefit from the greater flexibility and the ability to scale up and down as required.
A flexible and scalable workflow enables broadcasters to easily adapt to growing audiences or new delivery platforms without having to make costly infrastructure investments of their own. Globecast has already signed up customers for its newest Media Factory, including equestrian lifestyle channel, Ride TV. Internationally, BBC Worldwide is also a customer.
The LA Media Centre features state-of-the art technology from leading providers to create a fully integrated and efficient broadcast facility with industry-leading redundancy and proactive and predictive fault monitoring.
Globecast’s Managing Director in the US, Eddie Ferraro, said, “In this constantly shifting media landscape, cost-efficiency and time to market are key to a successful business model. Broadcasters today have to cover off traditional linear playout as well as VoD and catch-up services across multiple platforms in order to reach their viewers. Our new Media Centre enables them to do exactly this from right here in the heart of LA. Bringing our Media Factory concept to the US will enable us to offer tried and tested approaches from the world of industry to media management and combine it with our unique heritage to deliver effective solutions.” (Source: Globecast press release)
MediaCorp regional broadcaster Channel NewsAsia will offer a live telecast of the funeral of Singapore’s first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. Coverage will include the procession from the Istana, the official residence of the President of Singapore, to the lying-in-state proceedings and funeral ceremony:
1) Lying in State (“Farewell to Lee Kuan Yew, Lying in State Ceremony” 25 – 28 March 2015) 2) State funeral (“Farewell to Lee Kuan Yew” 29 March 2015, 2pm)
CNA says all the coverage will be made available to the international media and news agencies. Selected daily news coverage will be uploaded for the Asiavision News Exchange for participating members, which can be accessed by submitting a request at the Channel NewsAsia website. Video clips can be used free of licensing charge within 14 days from the time of broadcast or upload by Channel NewsAsia. After 14 days, use of the footage will be priced at prevailing licensing fees.
All of the funeral proceedings will be shown live on Channel NewsAsia and streamed
on Channel NewsAsia’s website (www.channelnewsasia.com) and YouTube channel
(https://www.youtube.com/user/channelnewsasia). There will be no relay or upload of recordings of these live coverage. Broadcasters wishing to use the coverage will need to record the proceedings off the Channel NewsAsia international feed.
The Channel NewsAsia International coordinates are:
Channel NewsAsia International
AsiaSat 7 @ 105.5°E
Satellite transponder: 3H
Downlink frequency: 3706 MHz
Symbol Rate: 6MSym/s
FEC: 3/4
Video Format: MPEG-2 (Free to Air)
Modulation: DVB-S/QPSK
Amid major political transitions and conflict, Iraq remains a market dominated by TV. This is despite the attention given to ISIL’s use of Internet and new media, according to new data issued today by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and Gallup.
“Television has nearly ubiquitous viewership across Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan,” said Diana Turecek, director of audience research for the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN). “While lower than neighboring countries, past-week Internet use has grown to 40% of adults – and 82% of those users rely on it for news.”
The research revealed a politically divided and transitioning country, and this is reflected by differing media patterns across regions. In ISIL-controlled Anbar and Ninevah provinces, young men (15-34) who are poorly educated and struggling economically have high rates of TV usage (91%) but low levels of trust in it, with only 11% reporting that they “strongly trust” what they consume. On the other hand, a smaller percentage of that group used the Internet in the past week for news (28%), but an impressive 28% of those users say they strongly trust the platform.
The research highlighted “information hubs” in Baghdad – those that consume news multiple times per day and share it daily. These “information hubs” have a more diverse media diet, and use a variety of media for news each week including television (93%), the Internet (46%) and SMS (35%).
These findings indicate that the best media avenues to reach Iraqis during this turbulent political period depend on the audience you are trying to reach.
According to Gallup World Poll data, while regions are politically divided, the entire country shares grim attitudes towards worsening economic conditions. Most find it difficult to live on their present income (59%), lack enough money for shelter (50%) and have experienced food insecurity (47%).
“While regions are divided on political opinions, life evaluation as well as perceptions on bread and butter issues have worsened across the board in recent years,” said Mohamed Younis, senior analyst and senior practice consultant with Gallup.
A research brief and presentation with further information about this data can be found here, and a video of the briefing will be added in the coming days. More information about the BBG’s media research series is available here. (Source: BBG press release)
