8 August 2012
At least 70 journalists and support staff were killed covering the news in the first half of this year in one of the bloodiest periods of recent times.
Fifteen were confirmed dead in Syria alone between January and June, according to the biannual Killing The Messenger survey of news media casualties carried out for INSI by Cardiff School of Journalism.
The next worst countries were Nigeria, where seven unidentified newspaper staff were killed by a bomb, Brazil, Somalia, Indonesia, where five journalists died in a plane crash, and Mexico.
The toll compares with 124 for the whole of 2011 and 56 for the first seven months of last year. And 70 may be a conservative figure as INSI has recorded the deaths of an additional 30 news people where it was unclear whether the killings were related to their work.
INSI invites anyone with more information on any of those unexplained deaths to make contact.
“Journalists are more than ever in the cross-hairs of the enemies of freedom,” said INSI Director Rodney Pinder.
“Despite some encouraging international political moves to halt the murder, the gun and the bomb remain the favoured method of censorship in far too many countries.
“Each and every killing chokes the free flow of information without which free societies cannot function.”
The survey highlighted again that despite the Syrian conflagration the great majority of news media deaths around the world are in peacetime. Forty-three journalists died in countries officially at peace, victims mostly of vicious criminals, often abetted by corrupt security forces, politicians and business interests.
Most of the dead were shot or bombed, but some suffered appalling ends – beaten, tortured, strangled, stabbed or decapitated.
The third biggest cause of death was road accidents, every year a particularly wasteful loss.
Scandalously, most of the killers of journalists continue to get away with it. In the first half of this year only one person was identified in connection with 47 targeted killings worldwide.
The rate of impunity for murder of a journalists has remained constant at around 90 per cent globally for the past 10 years – undoubtedly fuelling more of the same.
As a safety organisation, INSI records all deaths of journalists and other news workers in the course of their duties, whether deliberate or accidental.
Any questions on this report should be addressed to INSI Director Rodney Pinder, email rodney.pinder@newssafety.org or mob. +44 7734 709267
8 August 2012
Persian and Russian joined the list of languages available in Deutsche Welle’s Media Center in July 2012.
The Media Center – a digital archive that has been seamlessly integrated into the DW news website – offers a huge collection of audio and video material. It is a modern, user-friendly way to access and search information on a wide range of topics from current affairs, business, science, education, entertainment to lifestyle, music and German language courses.
DW launched the Media Center in November 2010. Besides Persian and Russian, it already includes German, English, Arabic and Spanish. Deutsche Welle plans to add still more languages, such as Chinese, Ukrainian, Turkish, Portuguese for Brazil, Bosnian, Hindi, Serbian and Indonesian.
Online users can access audios, as well as individual programs as videos on demand. There are also picture galleries, podcasts and live streams from DW’s six television channels.
Users can obtain more information on related subjects by clicking on the various tags accompanying the stories. They can also share the content through links to social media such as Facebook or Twitter.
www.dw.de
7 August 2012
The CASBAA Board of Directors has announced the appointment of a new leadership team, as the Asia Pacific multichannel TV industry enters a time of unprecedented change.
With the appointment of Christopher Slaughter as Chief Executive Officer designate, John Medeiros will be promoted to the new role of Chief Policy Officer and will become Senior Government Relations Advisor to the Board. The new team will be completed by Jill Grinda, who is newly appointed as Executive Vice President, focusing on operations and CASBAA’s advertising initiatives.
Current CEO Simon Twiston Davies will remain in place and work with the new CASBAA management team until 31st December.
“The Board of Directors is delighted with the appointment of Christopher Slaughter and the enhanced roles being taken up by John Medeiros and Jill Grinda,” said Marcel Fenez, the Chairman of CASBAA. “The new team’s mandate and combined industry experience bring significant additional capacity to CASBAA and the services it provides to its 130 Members.”
Christopher Slaughter is a seasoned industry executive, having worked in Asia since 1986. He joins the CASBAA Executive from his role as Managing Director at production company APV in Hong Kong. Slaughter was previously the Asia Pacific head of The Yankee Group, a telecom, media, and technology research company, as well as the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bureau Chief for CNBC Asia. He has also worked in Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and India and is a fluent Mandarin speaker.
John Medeiros, who in his new role will report to the Chairman, has driven CASBAA’s regulatory agenda over the past seven years. A public policy expert, he previously held senior leadership roles in several US embassies in the region and in Europe.
Since her appointment as Vice President, Operations at CASBAA in early 2011, Jill Grinda has succeeded in strengthening the Association’s multichannel industry partnerships internationally. With more than 20 years’ experience in global media and communications, Grinda was previously responsible for the launch and distribution of several international television channels across Asia.
www.casbaa.com
1 August 2012
SatLink Communications Ltd., a leading teleport providing global satellite services, has confirmed that FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, selected SatLink as its content distribution partner for the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament inAnkara,Turkey. FIBA utilized SatLink’s proven Occasional Use (OU) capabilities to provide professional service with maximum flexibility and reliability for viewers in Asia, the Middle East andAmericas.
The live broadcasting of the tournament, which took place 25 June – 1st July, was transmitted to the Asia Pacific and Middle East via AsiaSat5 and on the Intelsat IS805 satellite to theAmericas. The tournament, saw 12 national teams compete in a last chance tournament to achieve qualification for the London 2012 Olympic Games with Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, France and Turkey eventually qualifying for London, and saw SatLink transmit more than 15 games across 6 days to broadcasters around the world including NHK and SBS ESPN Korea.
SatLink, which has provided global OU services for more than 20 years for other major sporting events including: the FIFA World Cup, Tour de France and Formula One, provided turnaround for FIBA’s satellite coverage in C-band in order to deliver the content in High Definition (HD) formats to FIBA’s international broadcast partners.
Stéphanie Mignot, FIBA’s Director of TV / New Media Operations & Sales commented: “SatLink was a very good partner to provide the transmission capabilities for this tournament. SatLink’s strategic location meant that they were ideally placed to meet our broadcast requirements. With its experience in global distribution into key continents, state-of-the-art teleport facilities and professional staff, we were confident that they would provide a high quality and successful transmission of this international event. And they did just that.”
David Hochner, CEO of SatLink, commented: “We are delighted that we have been able to provide the Occasional Use facilities that FIBA required to reach audiences in Asia, the Middle East andAmericasusing our content delivery capabilities and global satellite network. With the London Olympics now fast approaching, we are seeing increasing demand for high quality and reliable satellite solutions from broadcasters wanting to transmit international sporting and news events as they happen to their audiences across the globe. We have vast experience and knowledge in providing live transmissions and are constantly working to provide the solutions and services to extend our global audience reach further than ever before and in formats that enhance the live broadcast experience to viewers across the globe.”
SatLink delivering the Olympics to Mauritius for MBC
SatLink Communications Ltd., a leading teleport and HD Playout Centre delivering content to every corner of the world, announced that it has been selected by the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) to deliver the Olympic Games to Mauritiuson the AMOS-5 C-band at 17.0 East. As the national provider of radio and television in Mauritius, MBC has selected SatLink’s Occasional Use (OU) facilities due to its ability to provide robust, reliable transmission services and for its extensive reach as a gateway to the African market from Europe.
MBC, a long term customer of SatLink whose reach covers the Republic of Mauritius and its outer islands including Rodrigues and Agalega, will be broadcasting all of the events involving Mauritian competitors as well as a subsequent daily highlights round-up programme in both the English and French language.
SatLink, who is also delivering the Olympics toAsiafor other Tier One customers, has provided global OU services for more than 20 years for other major sporting events including: the FIFA World Cup, Tour de France and Formula One.
www.satlink.tv
30 July 2012
Tomorrow night, July 31, 2012, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will speak exclusively to Bloomberg Television’s Chief Washington Correspondent Peter Cook. The interview will take place in Los Angeles after the Treasury Secretary’s latest trip to Europe.
The full interview will be available after 10:30 pm ET on Bloomberg.com and can be seen on Bloomberg Television in Europe and Asia. The interview will air in the U.S. starting at 6am ET Wednesday morning on “Bloomberg Surveillance.”
Tune in to hear Geithner’s take on the European debt crisis and the message he just delivered in Germany, plus his assessment of the U.S. economy ahead of the Fed decision on Wednesday and Friday’s jobs report.
Download the free Bloomberg TV+ app for iPad to access a live stream of Bloomberg Television, view video clips and more.
To find Bloomberg Television in your area, visit: http://bloomberg.viewerlink.tv/
27 July 2012
The Supervisory Board of Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) has appointed Robert Zaal as director of RNW 3.0 . From November 1, the 48-year-old will lead the implementation of RNW’s new direction, focussed on free speech. As of 2013, RNW will operate primarily in Africa and the Arab world, but also in countries such as China, Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico.
The chairman of the board, Bernard Bot, is pleased with the appointment. In a statement, Bot said, “after the most turbulent and painful period in RNW’s history, the organisation is now almost ready to embark on its new future. Robert Zaal has extensive experience in the areas of free speech, media and management. He’s the right person in the right place.”
Robert Zaal said he was pleased with the step. “It’s an honour to be able to contribute to promoting free speech around the world. This is more than just a regular job for me. It will be a challenge, together with the new editor-in-chief, to steer RNW in this new phase. There’s a good plan for RNW 3.0 and we will implement it in a serious and business-like fashion.”
RNW’s current director, Jan Hoek, remains responsible for activities related to the winding down of the old organisation, including the Social Plan and the closure of the relay stations. Jan Hoek and Robert Zaal will meet shortly to discuss the details and timing of the transfer.
Robert Zaal began his career as secretary of the Dutch Journalists’ Association. Later, he became the director of the regional broadcasters’ association, ROOS. For the past nine years, Zaal has been director of RTV North Holland, which recently acquired theAmsterdamtelevision channel AT5, together with the AVRO broadcasting organisation and theAmsterdamnewspaper Het Parool. Zaal is married and has three children.
www.rnw.nl
