21 October 2015
In its 30th anniversary year, CNN International’s anchor and correspondent Hala Gorani is to host the AIBs – the eleventh international awards for the best factual television, radio and online productions.
Taking place in London on Wednesday 4 November 2015, the AIBs celebrate the work of producers, editors and journalists from around the world. Entries from over 30 countries have been submitted to this year’s AIBs, and the shortlist includes work from major broadcasters, online video companies, and independent producers.
Hala Gorani is based in London and anchors The World Right Now, with Hala Gorani, which airs every weekday evening. As an accomplished international journalist, Hala frequently goes into the field to report on major breaking news stories. Most recently, she’s been covering the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East.
“It’s a great honour to be involved with this year’s AIBs,” said Hala Gorani. “The journalism and productions entered are remarkable, telling stories from around the world. I’m looking forward to meeting the people responsible for getting these important stories to viewers and listeners in so many countries.”
Hala, who was born in Seattle and raised in Paris, has worked for Agence France Press, the La Voix du Nord newspaper, Bloomberg Television and France 3. She speaks English, French and Arabic.
“We’re delighted that Hala Gorani has agreed to present this year’s AIBs, helping not only to celebrate these awards but also the 30th anniversary of CNN International,” said Simon Spanswick, chief executive of the Association for International Broadcasting. “As someone who has worked on the frontline of international journalism, Hala knows exactly what’s involved in telling the most challenging and complex stories in the world. She will bring that knowledge and experience to this year’s awards as we celebrate the world’s best journalism and factual programming.”
The AIBs will be presented in London on 4 November 2015 in front of a truly global gathering of journalists, editors, producers and directors representing countries across four continents.
28 September 2015
Intelsat S.A. (NYSE: I), the world’s leading provider of satellite services, announced today that Sentech, a leading broadcasting signal distributor in Africa, has extended its contract for multiple years Sentech will continue to leverage Ku-band capacity on Intelsat 20 at 68.5˚E to cost-effectively expand and enhance its Direct-to-Home (DTH) and Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) services in Africa.
The Intelsat 20 satellite will provide Sentech with an expansive selection of nearly 500 channels, 31 of which are High Definition. Leveraging the strength of Intelsat’s leading video neighborhood, Sentech will maximize its efficiency as it distributes DTH as well as national DTT programming to South African viewers using a single, multiplexed transmission.
“Sentech is committed to providing comprehensive digital delivery services to Africa and ensuring that our customers have access to high quality, reliable and differentiated content,” said Leago Takalani, Executive: Technology, Sentech. “As the rest of the continent continues the migration to DTT, the power of Intelsat 20 will enable us to efficiently deliver digital services to the largest number of viewers as well as expand our customer base. Most importantly, it will enable us to enhance our channel selection and deliver more affordable, entertaining programming to viewers across multiple channels throughout South Africa.”
Intelsat currently provides proven DTT solutions in Africa, supported by advanced coding and modulation techniques that enable efficient use of bandwidth and improved reception quality, enabling African audiences to enjoy the benefits of digital television. Intelsat hosts video neighborhoods serving every continent. Supporting media applications such as cable distribution, DTH and DTT, Intelsat’s neighborhoods offer leading viewer penetration, maximizing the potential audience for content.
“Intelsat 20 reaches more viewers in Africa than any other DTH platform, making it an ideal video neighborhood to support Sentech’s growing business needs,” said Rhys Morgan, Interim Sales Manager, Africa, Intelsat. “Our ability to support and deploy both DTH and DTT transmissions will enable Sentech to continue its customers’ seamless migration to DTT. It will also provide Sentech with a greater array of more affordable entertainment options to delight both existing and new customers.”
Supporting Resources:
7 September 2015
If you’re visiting IBC later this week, you’ll want to know where to get the best food in a city that will be buzzing with 50,000 delegates.
We’re sharing with you some inside information on where the AIB likes to go during the tech fest – even if it means we might find it more challenging to get places ourselves…! And the beauty of the first three tips is their proximity to the RAI, while our final recommendations are slightly further afield.
Just a short stroll from the RAI is Restaurant As. Nestling in the Beatrixpark and alongside a school in a residential area that’s a world away from the hustle and bustle of Europaplein, Restaurant As is a true gem. This where you can go to get great food that’s sourced within a 20km radius of the restaurant, where practicable. The menu changes almost daily and is governed by what’s available at the local markets and from the restaurant’s top local suppliers. We’ve never been disappointed…unless we’ve failed to book a place at the restaurant’s huge shared tables.
Another favourite with us – and the locals – is the Reuring in the heart of the residential area to the north of the RAI. It’s small, with a handful of outside seats where you can watch the bicycles go by and the locals wend their way home. Great food, reasonably priced and friendly staff go to make this an ideal place to unwind after a hard day of meetings at IBC. Beware – it’s absolutely essential to reserve places as this is a popular restaurant with limited capacity.
Our third recommendation is on the tram route from RAI to the centre of Amsterdam. The Pekelhaaring is in a converted shop and is not a starched linen tablecloth sort of place. Instead it’s relaxed with wooden tables arranged quite close to each other, serving tasty, reasonably-priced food. There’s a constant buzz here as it’s very popular with locals and it’s definitely a good idea to book your place as turning up on the door usually leads to disappointment!
Another recommendation if you’re in need of a quick fix of freshly-made pasta, or a pizza, is Vapiano. This chain has two branches in Amsterdam, the first at Amstelstraat 2-4, 1017 DA Amsterdam, the second at Oosterdokskade 145, 1011 DL Amsterdam, south-east of Centraal Station, alongside the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. While these are reasonably large, they do get busy so allow a bit of time to cope with numbers of young Amsterdammers!
Our final recommendation is Le Debut in the Skotel Amsterdam. This is a fine dining restaurant within Amsterdam’s hotel training school. Your food and drink will be prepared and served by the students under the watchful eye of a tutor or two. We’ve always had remarkable food here – booking’s essential and the restaurant is only open Monday to Friday for lunch from 1200-1400 and dinner between 1800 and 2230 (but you need to be seated by 1830 at the latest).
Don’t share this information too widely – keep it a secret between the AIB and you…
7 September 2015
Roman Steuer, currently head of Sky Deutschland’s Sky Sport News HD channel, is to become the network’s head of sports in mid-September.
Dirk Grosse, the former head of sports communication at Sky Deutschland, is to take a new role as head of Sky Sport News HD.
7 September 2015
The BBC has set out an ambitious plan for the next decade as it strives to “make Britain the greatest cultural force in the world”.
Speaking on Monday 7 September, BBC Director-General Tony Hall said that the Corporation wanted to become “an open BBC for the Internet age”.
The plans include a number of key international initiatives, including:
- a daily news programme in the Korean language, beamed into North Korea on short wave radio;
- a satellite TV service for Russian-language speakers, or an enhanced digital presence on platforms like YouTube and Rutube;
- Additional regional content in the BBC Arabic service, with increased coverage of the MENA region;
- A news service for Ethiopia and Eritrea delivered on traditional medium and short wave platforms.
BBC World Service – which will operate these planned services – is funded from the UK licence fee that all viewers of live TV must buy. However, the BBC is expected to seek funding for the enhanced output from the UK government.
The main proposals set out by the BBC are:
- A commitment to original, high-quality British drama to enrich content for UK viewers and boost the creative industries. This will be the backbone of a more distinctive approach across all of the BBC’s services, from BBC One to online.
- A partnership to create an Ideas Service providing the public with the best of British ideas and culture.
- A new children’s service – iPlay – creating a single front-door for children to the wealth of the whole BBC and our trusted partners beyond – giving more content to children that matures with them, across more platforms, in a safe and trusted way.
- Finding digital ways to support music discovery to help audiences find new music and the best from the archive. This is backed by the UK music industry and focused on promoting the best of new British talent.
- Responsive radio to give audiences a personalised schedule of programmes.
- Significant investment in the World Service to parts of the world where there is a democratic deficit in impartial news. This is about upholding Britain’s place in the world and the promotion of British values.
- The offering of a new partnership with local newspapers on local reporting, shaped in discussion with the industry. This content would be shared, jointly created, and backed by licence fee funding, thereby helping to secure the future of local newspapers and democratic reporting.
- Opening up BBC iPlayer to showcase content from others.
- A review of the BBC’s website to ensure that it is distinctive with a stronger focus on online broadcast content.
- A transition from rolling news to streaming news, with BBC Newstream, bringing the expertise of our journalism into the palm of your hand.
- New versions of our education, news and entertainment services in the Nations, as the start of our consultation about how to reflect deepening devolution.
- The BBC will also set out its ambition to find close to 20 per cent of its cost base in savings. As much of that as possible will come from efficiency and commercial growth, but it will also require service reductions or closures. The BBC says that it will seek to go further than required by the recent Budget agreement in order to invest in the above proposals.
Full details of the Director-General’s speech are here and you can see a film that accompanied the proposals here.
2 September 2015
The Association for International Broadcasting has expressed its condemnation of the seven and a half year jail sentence imposed on Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova.
“The sentence marks a new low in Azerbaijan’s treatment of the country’s journalists and civil society,” commented Simon Spanswick, chief executive of the Association for International Broadcasting. “The AIB has observed continuing harassment of those who attempt to provide Azerbaijan citizens with unbiased information. Broadcasters such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – for whom Khadija worked – have had their offices in Baku closed. Unsubstantiated charges have been brought against RFE/RL and its staff, and against other journalists working in Azerbaijan. The AIB believes that Khadija’s sentencing is entirely politically motivated and we call on the country’s authorities to quash the sentence.”
Azerbaijan is, according to a number of international non-governmental organisations, one of the worst countries in the world in terms of press freedom and free expression. There have been repeated cases involving the jailing of journalists and members of civil society organisations.
The state’s case against Khadija Ismayilova centred on tax evasion, illegal business and embezzlement. No substantive evidence was produced during the trial, illustrating the flimsy nature of the prosecution.
AIB will be taking up the issue with the Azerbaijan authorities.
