22 January 2013
New Zealand’s national public service broadcaster, Radio New Zealand, has initiated an
appointment process to find a replacement for Chief Executive and Editor-in-Chief, Peter
Cavanagh, when he completes his term later this year.
Peter Cavanagh has announced that he will be stepping down from the role at the end of the year and emphasised the importance of a smooth transition for the public service broadcaster. “I have advised the Board that after ten years as CEO of Radio New Zealand, I will not be seeking to renew my contract when it expires in December. I am announcing my decision now to give the Board as much time as possible to find the best person to lead the organisation into the future. “It has been a great privilege for me to lead a world class public service broadcaster like Radio New Zealand over the past decade, but at the end of the year it will be time for me to move on to other things. In making his announcement Peter Cavanagh noted that Radio New Zealand was one of the most successful public broadcasters anywhere in the world.
The Board has initiated a recruitment process to appoint a new CEO and
details of the appointment process have been posted on the Radio New Zealand website:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/ceo
22 January 2013
ARABSAT and SPI International signed a long term agreement which gives Arabsat the exclusive distribution rights for three new HD channels in HD/SD for the MENA region on Arabsat BADR-5 satellite @ 26 deg East “Hot Spot” and African countries on Arabsat-5C satellite @ 20 deg East “See-digit-All”. Further HD channels from the SPI portfolio are also under consideration.
Khalid Balkheyour President & CEO, ARABSAT said: “We are very pleased to start a partnership with SPI International; we are committed to provide them with the best satellite services and bring them to the ARABSAT neighbourhood of more than 170 million viewers over the Middle East andAfrica. ”
As one of the top satellite operators in the region, ARABSAT was on the forefront of the HD demand since 2007 when they first allocated a free transponder to encourage regional and non-regional broadcasters to launch their HD channels. With an ample number of satellites and orbital slots known to millions of viewers in the Middle East region, Africa, and Europe, as well as suitable available bandwidth, full backup capacity, a partnership with an HD ready satellite teleport and high emphasis on channels reception quality earned ARABSAT an excellent reputation among broadcast customers who recommend ARABSAT as the 1st Point Of Delivery for HD and SD channels to content distribution headends such as IPTV and others. With the agreement with SPI, ARABSAT is cementing its leadership in the MEA HD market.
“Following the successful launch of our new HD channels in Europe, Asia and North America we are very happy to partner with ARABSAT and expand our global reach to Middle East andAfrica” said Loni Farhi, SPI International President.
Fightbox HD is a unique worldwide channel presenting a compilation of the finest combat sports (more than 40 disciplines) from around the globe all on one channel. No matter what the discipline – kickboxing, judo, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, karate and more – Fightbox has something for the fight fan in all of us.
Fashionbox HD brings coverage of the world’s top designers and most famous brands with a special emphasis on the trendsetters as well as the cities considered to be the capitals of fashion.
Docubox airs documentary films and TV programs devoted to nature, science and human civilization.
21 January 2013
Regional broadcaster, Channel NewsAsia, opens the year with “live” news 24/7, a new look and new programmes to help viewers better “Understand Asia”.
The ambitious expansion plan encompasses significant boosts to its programming line-up, and investments in new bureaus and facilities across Asia. This will enable the channel to produce more original content and news stories for the additional hours of “live” broadcasting, 24 hours a day, up from the current 20 hours.
Channel NewsAsia’s Managing Director, Ms Debra Soon says, “As the locus of the world economy shifts towards Asia, we believe we are well-positioned to deliver what we’ve been doing daily since 1999, and help audiences around the world better Understand Asia. We have made substantial investments to provide more business content about Asia, from Asia. We intend to increase our lead in covering South East Asia better than other broadcasters operating here, and we will cover South Asia better. This is all part of the drive to deliver insightful documentaries and programmes for viewers, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
Channel NewsAsia’s relaunch was celebrated with a Champagne Lunch today with the channel’s partners and friends at its new Marina Bay Studio. Simultaneous parties were also held in Mumbai, India and Hong Kong to mark this milestone occasion.
Increased news & business content and documentaries
The channel is meeting its competitors head-on in the 24-hour news cycle. Business news at prime time is more than doubled. A new one-hour financial programme, Business Central, airs at 8pm. It will feature key stories from the region’s financial hubs – Singapore, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Shanghai – and give viewers insights into daily developments in other key world financial centres, from our bureaus in London and New York.
Day-time market reports and key interviews will be conducted out of Channel NewsAsia’s latest facility in the Marina Bay Financial Centre, at the heart of Singapore’s new financial district. The Marina Bay Studio will be featured during a new one-hour lunchtime show, Asia Connect, which will bring together the market action from every trading day in Mumbai, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore and keep viewers on the pulse of Asia. This state-of-the-art studio is a result of the collaboration with leading bank in Asia, DBS Bank.
News content is increased by more than one-third. A daily additional newsbelt called News Pulse, from 12mn to 6am, tracks world developments overnight for Asia, with breaking news from the US and Europe. This will be followed by a new start to Asia’s day, with First Look Asia, from 6am.
With a line-up of new programmes interspersed throughout the channel, viewers are given an uninterrupted flow of news through the day:
(1) First Look Asia – 6am to 7am
(2) News Now – 9am, 10am, 11am, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm
(3) Asia Connect – 12noon to 1pm
(4) Singapore Connect @ 6 – 6pm (Only on Channel NewsAsia, Singapore)
(5) Business Central – 8pm to 9pm
(6) Business Singapore – 10:30pm
(7) News Pulse – 12mn, 1am, 2am, 3am, 5am
Beyond the news, Channel NewsAsia is raising the depth of content about Asia with nearly 30 percent more hours of current affairs programmes focused on the dynamism and progress of Asia. An example is Power List Asia, which looks at the core of Asian success stories through interviews with top CEOs and tycoons; Extraordinary Asians profiles the exceptional Asians who inspire the community by contributing in extraordinary ways; and Boomtown Asia offers a preview of what Asian cities of the future might look like and what is being done now to help make existing cities sustainable, liveable and future-proof. [Please refer to Annex 2 for synopses of more upcoming current affairs programmes and documentaries.]
New branding & on-air look
The launch is marked by the channel’s new branding and on-air look. “To be the Voice of Asian Progress” describes Channel NewsAsia’s unique positioning of capturing the exclusive stories unfolding in the region in all its diversity. The fresh graphics and colours reflect the channel’s celebration of the dynamism and energy in Asia, while the channel will stay true to its mission of helping viewers “Understand Asia”.
All platforms
In such a dynamic environment, consumers would expect to have information whenever and wherever they are. Channel NewsAsia is already available via the iPhone, iPad and Android Apps. Its Android App will have enhanced features when relaunched later this year. The channel is also streamed “live” on both Channel NewsAsia (url: channelnewsasia.com ) and Livestation
(url: livestation.com/en/cna_en) websites. It has entered into a strategic partnership with YouTube to provide even better quality services for viewers.
Marketing initiatives
On the marketing front, Channel NewsAsia has launched a series of initiatives in the region, such as the partnership for the CEO World Forum held in Ho Chi Minh City on 11 January 2013. In March 2013, the channel is taking its discussion programme, Perspectives, on the road in Jakarta. To be recorded on location “live”, a high-level panel has been invited to discuss the topic of “Indonesia Rising”. Speakers include Dr. M. Chatib Basri, Chairman of Indonesia’s Investment
Coordinating Board; Emirsyah Satar, President and CEO of Garuda Indonesia; Stefan Koeberle, the World Bank’s Country Director for
Indonesia and Karen Agustiawan, President Director and CEO of Indonesia’s Pertamina. The channel will launch more of such initiatives, like the Luminary Awards Forum in Singapore at the end of March.
21 January 2013
BBC World News announced the appointment of Linda Yueh as Chief Business Correspondent, a new Singapore-based position that signals the channel’s continuing commitment toAsiaand determination to expand the breadth and depth of its international business coverage.
The BBC is investing heavily in new programmes and facilities for its international news channel, as it seeks to build on recent successes building audiences and reputation around the world. Last week the channel unveiled a dramatic new look when it re-launched from its new studios in centralLondon. A refreshed schedule includes a new daily programme, Global, presented by long-time BBC News presenter and reporter Jon Sopel. Other recent appointments include Yalda Hakim, one ofAustralia’s brightest international journalists who joined the channel as a current affairs correspondent and presenter for a new weekly current affairs programme which goes on air in the Spring.
Linda Yueh will be based inSingapore, and will travel extensively throughoutAsiaand globally to cover the main economics and business news stories. In addition to reporting across BBC outlets on TV, radio and online, she will host her own weekly business programme that will provide expert commentary and insight into business, political and macro-economic trends. Linda already has a strong online profile, and this will continue as she takes on her new role for the BBC in April.
Linda Yueh was most recently the London-based Economics Editor for Bloomberg Television and brings with her a wealth of experience in business journalism. Prior to joining Bloomberg, she was a full-time economist and a regular media commentator. She is currently a Fellow in Economics atOxfordUniversityand an Adjunct Professor at theLondonBusinessSchool. Linda Yueh is also an associate of the London School of Economics and Political Science’s Centre for Economic Performance as well as of IDEAS: the International Affairs, Diplomacy & Strategy research centre. She previously worked as an international corporate lawyer with the New York-based law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and served as a special advisor to the World Economic Forum (WEF) inDavos,Switzerland. Linda Yueh has also consulted and advised a number of international organisations and governments.
Richard Porter, Controller of English, Global News said: “With her experience as a journalist, an academic, and an economist, Linda is the ideal candidate to be the BBC’s Chief Business Correspondent. She will be able to go behind the numbers and delve deeper into stories as she provides incisive coverage and economic analysis of breaking news stories. As part of our on-going commitment toAsia, Linda is the latest addition to a very talented pool of news correspondents currently based in the region, and will fit well into our plans to expand our global coverage in 2013.”
Jon Zilkha, Head of the BBC Business and Economics Unit, said: “We are delighted that Linda has chosen to join the BBC at a time when audiences are looking to us to guide them through the enormous challenges and changes in the world economy. No one could be better placed to help us tell the vital story ofChina’s continuing growth and what it means for the rest of the world. Linda’s knowledge and insight will be a terrific addition to our reporting team led by Robert Peston and Stephanie Flanders.”
Robert Peston, BBC Business editor, said: “I have long been an admirer of Linda Yueh’s journalism and economic analysis. It will be great to work with her and I am confident she will be making a significant positive contribution to the scope and quality of the BBC’s global business coverage”.
Linda Yueh said: “I am excited to join the BBC as its Chief Business Correspondent. At a time of rapid change in the world economy, I relish this opportunity to report on global business and present my show from a part of the world that is developing at a remarkable pace with vast implications for our everyday lives. I look forward to working with Robert Peston, for whom I have great respect, and the other talented journalists at the BBC – who set the standard for credibility and impartiality in reporting from around the world.”
Linda is a British/American dual national who is of Chinese ethnicity. She earned her PhD (DPhil) in economics from Oxford University, after obtaining degrees from Yale, Harvard, and New York Universities. She is the author of several books on economics and business, including three on China.
21 January 2013
OASYS will demonstrate the latest features and functions of its automated playout software on Stand J58 at BVE 2013, with live demonstrations that highlight the flexibility and versatility of the OASYS playout software.
“We continue to shatter the preconceptions about automated playout software, with demonstrations that show just how quickly and easily we can make changes to playout configurations, giving broadcasters incredible choice and control,” said Mark Errington, CEO, OASYS. “We are pioneers of IT based broadcasting and have been commissioning solutions for over 20 years. We have the experience to design and deliver solutions for many different operating scenarios, using the same base servers, but configuring them to a customer’s playout requirements. Then if the requirements change over time, we can quickly reconfigure the servers in software to meet the new requirements, which minimises the initial outlay, lowers the cost of ownership and improves ROI.”
OASYS will present how its software can be switched instantly between twelve different settings to highlight different uses with just a simple software setting change. Demonstrations will include simple playout, complex branding, simulcasting, multiple channels playout, time delay playout, multiple branded output, and multiple live inputs.
Errington added, “There is a lot of conflicting and confusing information in the market about automated playout, so we invite people to talk to us for an honest, open and simple explanation of how it all works, with the facts to make an informed decision – not unverified statistics, marketing hype or confusing terminology.”
17 January 2013
DW Akademie calls for papers for its 4th media dialogue symposium on May 29, 2013, which will address the topic of “Pakistan’s Media Landscape: The Effects of Liberalization.”
It has been more than a decade since Pakistan liberalized its media sector in 2002. The media has developed rapidly since then, but journalists now face many new challenges. Media professionals have to juggle questions of free speech and self-censorship in an environment that is considered one of the most dangerous for journalists to work in.
At the symposium in Bonn, international media researchers, political scientists, economists, legal experts and journalists will discuss recent developments as well as future trends in Pakistan’s media landscape and will examine issues such as journalists’ safety, self-censorship, sensationalism, and conflict-sensitive reporting.
DW Akademie is organizing DW Media Dialogue in collaboration with Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences. The deadline for paper proposals is February 25, 2013.
For more information, please visit the conference website.
