16 January 2007
Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson has asked President Bush not to put his name in nomination for another term. Tomlinson said he serves at the pleasure of the President and plans to remain in office until his successor is confirmed.
In a letter to President Bush dated January 9, Tomlinson said he is proud of his record of service and appreciated deeply your repeatedly submitting my name to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for reconfirmation to this position. However, I have concluded that it would be far more constructive to write a book about my experiences rather than to seek to continue government service.
In the letter, Tomlinson cited the role he has played in launching Arabic-language satellite television across the Middle East, daily Persian-language satellite television to Iran, expansion of radio and television to Afghanistan and significantly increasing radio and television transmissions to Cuba.
Tomlinsons chairmanship of the BBG began in 2002. He previously served as Editor-In-Chief of Readers Digest following a 28-year career with the magazine. In 1982, he was appointed by President Reagan and served two years as Director of Voice of America. He later served as a member of the Board for International Broadcasting (which supervised Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) for eight years beginning in 1986.
16 January 2007
The latest baby of Skype’s founders, The Venice Project, has been rebranded Joost. The peer-to-peer video network has acquired its new Dutch-sounding name as part of the company’s intention to “become synonymous
with the best of TV and the best of the Web”.
Presently beta-testing (the AIB is one of those test beds), Joost will have a new release in the next few weeks. We’re already impressed with the quality of the video delivered to an AIB computer, and we believe that this could mark the start of the future of web-delivered video content in a secure, DRM-compliant way.
16 January 2007
Autocue, the leading provider of prompting and newsroom automation solutions, has today announced its partnership with highly regarded UAE-based distributor, United Broadcast & Media Solutions (UBMS), further strengthening its presence in the Middle East market.
Founded in 1997, UBMS offers a variety of cutting-edge products and services in the broadcast field. The company is promoting the full Autocue portfolio of newsroom and prompting systems in UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Yemen. As part of this agreement, UBMS will represent Autocue at CABSAT, in March 2007 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Hero Bhatia UBMS, Senior Vice President commented, Autocue is a leading global brand and we are delighted to partner with them. The company has an excellent line up of professional prompters and newsroom automation software that is a perfect fit for the Middle East market. The addition of the QNxt solution is particularly exciting, offering significant benefits for our customers, and providing us with clear competitive differentiation. UBMS is the only player in the broadcast industry that has a state-of-the-art broadcast showroom in the Middle East and a very experienced team of technical experts that offer customised solutions. This alliance of Autocue with UBMS is a win-win situation for customers – first-class products from Autocue combined with excellent service from UBMS.
We are delighted to announce this new partnership with UBMS. The Autocue brand is synonymous with quality products and is recognised by broadcasters worldwide. The alliance between Autocue and UBMS further strengthens Autocues commitment to the Middle East broadcast market and we look forward to announcing some major sales in 2007, concluded Frank Hyman, Autocues Sales & Marketing Director.
12 January 2007
WRN, the UK-based radio and television transmission company, and WorldSpace Satellite Radio, one of the world leaders in satellite-based digital radio services, have signed a facilities hosting agreement in which WorldSpace’s London broadcast operation will move to the headquarters of WRN.
WRN is expanding its Master Control Room to house WorldSpace’s satellite radio broadcast operations equipment and will provide access to studio facilities and office space for its technical staff. WorldSpace’s London team is expected to move to the WRN facilities in March 2007.
“We are pleased with the availability of capacity in WRN’s state-of-the-art operations facility and look forward to building on our long-standing relationship,” said Randall Scott, Vice President, Production Engineering and Operations for WorldSpace Satellite Radio.
Gary Edgerton, WRN’s Managing Director, said: “WRN is delighted to offer WorldSpace Satellite Radio a new home in London and this agreement builds on the synergies between our two organisations.”
8 January 2007
Mo & Me, the internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning
documentary about renowned Kenyan photojournalist, Mohamed Mo Amin, has been released
for worldwide purchase via the films official website: www.moandme.net
The eagerly anticipated direct distribution deal is the result of a joint venture agreement between
Mo & Me producer, Camerapix Ltd and media and entertainment management group, Quantock.
With just a few clicks of a computer mouse, customers around the world are now able to acquire
Mo & Me from the comfort of their homes. Additionally, the DVDs accompanying book, The
Man Who Moved the World, can also be purchased via the website.
Speaking from Camerapix headquarters, chairman and CEO, Salim Amin said: I am delighted
that Mo & Me is now available globally to individual customers. There has been huge publicity
from the documentarys numerous awards and this has led to tremendous buying interest from
those who have already seen the film as well as those who have only heard about it.
Mr. Amin added that there was a delay in launching the websites shopping module due to
extensive testing to ensure a problem-free online environment for buyers: At one point, we were
aiming for a pre-Christmas release. However, we decided in the end to spend some more time
fine-tuning our infrastructure and logistics in order to enhance our customers electronic
shopping experience.
Directed by Roger Mills (Himalaya, Around the World in 80 Days) and Murad Rayani
(Refusing To Die) and narrated by Salim Amin, Mo & Me offers a raw, soulful and, at times,
humourous recollection of the man whose camera lenses captured much of 20th century African
history. Mo & Me was co-produced by Camerapix of Kenya and the Aljazeera Channel of Qatar.
Plaudits received by the documentary during the 2006 festival season include:
Calgary International Film Festival (Best International Documentary)
Kenya International Film Festival (Best Documentary)
Zanzibar International Film Festival (Chairpersons Award)
13th New York International Independent Film &Video Festival (Grand Jury Prize for Best
Documentary Feature)
39th US International Film and Video Festival (Silver Screen Award)
This year, Mo & Me will be in competition at the Mumbai International F.I.C.T.S. Festival (18th-
21st January) and the Pan-African Film Festival in Los Angeles (8th -19th February)
5 January 2007
The Association for International Broadcasting announced the winners of its second annual global awards at a glamorous gala event in London on 22 November, 2006. Attended by senior executives, producers and journalists from TV and radio channels from five continents, the AIB Awards event rewarded the very best programmes and channels for international audiences across television and radio.
The Awards event was hosted by Barbara Serra, one of the London anchors of newly-launched Al Jazeera English and more than 100 guests celebrated the success of their colleagues from around the world.
There were nine categories in the 2006 AIB Awards, covering television, radio and technology; over 100 entries were received from international broadcasters in 20 countries, as well as a number of innovative technology suppliers who support international TV and radio stations.
The Award winners were:
Best coverage of a single news event radio
BBC World Service for South Asian Earthquake
described by the judges as most impressive in every respect
Best coverage of a single news event television
Sky News for London bombings
good content with excellent context for cross-border
viewers
Best magazine or documentary programme television
Al Jazeera Channel for Prisoner 345
content, suitability for international audience and
production values all very high
Best magazine or documentary programme radio
BBC World Service for Assignment Return to Sarajevo
stunningly vivid, extraordinarily powerful, impeccably
produced
Most innovative use of technology
Link Research for Link HD
the future for news and sports coverage
International channel of the year – television
BBC World
excellent coverage of stories, high presentation values
International station of the year – radio
SW Radio Africa
brave, an excellent independent alternative to Zimbabwes
state media
International presenter of the year – television
Simon Hobbs of CNBC Europe
polished, passionate, enthused
International presenter of the year – radio
Doug Bernard of Voice of Americas Talk to America
intelligent presentation and questioning, very polished,
with a smile in his voice
The AIB Awards were judged by international panels drawn from the broadcasting
industry ensuring peer review of programming as well as radio and TV
critics, representing the audiences perspective. Completely non-commercial, the
AIB Awards are the only celebration of success that exclusively focuses on
international, cross-border broadcasting.
The AIB Awards provide a fantastic opportunity for the Association to provide a
platform not only to celebrate success but also to share ideas, said Simon
Spanswick, AIB chief executive. The international broadcasting industry is
often more innovative and fleet of foot than its domestic counterparts, and the
Awards demonstrate the breadth of superb content thats on offer to viewers and
listeners throughout the world. We were delighted with the range and quality of
the entries which made judging extremely tough. Our judges are to be
congratulated on all their work, as are the winners and finalists tonight.
The AIB International Broadcasting Awards 2007 will be announced in January.
