5 May 2009
As reported by BBC News, an appeal will begin next week for US-Iranian reporter Roxana Saberi, who was sentenced to eight years in jail for spying, an Iranian official has said. ‘There has been a date set for next week,’ judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi told a news conference, giving no further details.
Ms Saberi, 32, was sentenced behind closed doors by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran last month. US President Barack Obama has appealed for her release. Mr Obama and the Saberi family have dismissed the charges as baseless, insisting that she is not a US spy.
Ms Saberi’s father says she has been on hunger strike since 21 April in protest at the sentence. But Iranian officials have denied that she was refusing to eat or that her health had been affected.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has refused to intervene in the case, saying the courts acted independently and that she will be accorded her full rights. Iranian authorities earlier said they would hear her appeal fairly and quickly. The journalist has been in jail in Tehran since January.
5 May 2009
Voice of America’s (VOA) Persian News Network (PNN) has launched a new interactive television program which aims to promote engagement and interaction between Iranians and Americans.
Roya Khat (Straight Talk), which airs Monday through Friday at 1730 UTC (10:00 p.m. local Iranian time), will look at a topic of great interest to a youthful audience for an entire week, examining it in-depth, from different angles. Accomplished guests may discuss science, technology, social issues, the environment, politics, economics, art or culture. News on the United States and information about the lives of Americans will also be featured.
For its debut week, Roya Khat focuses on press freedom, highlighting World Press Freedom Day. Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi participated live from Atlanta in today’s program, discussing media restrictions and censorship in Iran.
Regarding the show’s format, host Mehdi Falahati said, “Subjects will be designed to generate debate and will be very interactive. The audience is expected to play a major role, contributing and voting on topics of interest through our website, e-mails, SMS, blogs and phone calls to the show.”
Before joining VOA’s PNN last year, Falahati was previously a freelance reporter for the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Persian service and also served as chief London correspondent, senior editor, and broadcaster for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s (RFE/RL) Radio Farda. He has published ten books in Persian in Iran and abroad, including one featuring 50 interviews with prominent Iranian authors, politicians, poets and intellectuals.
VOA’s PNN has the largest combined radio and television audience of all international broadcasters in Iran, with one in four adult Iranians tuning in to a VOA show at least once a week. VOA’s PNN broadcasts seven hours of television daily, repeated in a 24-hour format, and five hours of radio. Broadcasts are available round-the-clock on the Internet at www.VOAPNN.com.
5 May 2009
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day being celebrated on 3 May, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has promised a review of the country’s law on information which has been in force since 1990. Speaking on national television, Bouteflika said the State should do its best to facilitate and promote journalism in a bid to improve the profession.
The new law will take into account strides made through information and communication technologies and the development of new processes in training and improving services. Bouteflika also called on journalists to use the press as a ‘tool to preserve democracy and its noble values’, ading ‘Journalists must be effective in their work and shun attempts to use them as tools of destabilization,’ he said.
During his first two terms, from 1999 to 2009, relations between the Algerian Head of State and the press were tense with the president accusing the press of spreading rumours about his private life and the way the State affairs were conducted.
5 May 2009
NASCAR Media Group has selected a Quantel Pablo non-linear color correction system for the high end color correction and editing suite at the NASCAR Plaza facility under construction in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Pablo will be equipped with the stunning Neo control panel as well as Quantels Stereoscopic 3D toolset. The Pablo will initially be involved in finishing and color correction of the over 900 extensive post production projects done by NASCAR Media Group on a yearly basis. The Pablo will also provide a full online post production environment, including handling native RED material and Stereoscopic 3D projects as NASCAR Media Group looks to embrace this new media opportunity for its wide ranging audience.
“NASCAR Media Group is very excited to partner with Quantel in light of ever expanding needs for world-class color correction of traditional workflows as well as new paradigm-changing technologies like that of RED,” said Jeff Lowe, NMGs Managing Director of Broadcast and Media Technology. “We are really looking forward to working with the new 3D option that allows Pablo to edit with 3D files in real time, something we could only do with Quantel. This fabulous system will be available for all major production projects in the south-eastern United States as NASCAR Media Group builds its state-of-the-art facility in Charlotte, NC.”
“With its reputation for excellence and the enormous audiences it commands, NASCAR Media Group is undoubtedly one of the worlds leading sports media organizations,” said Ray Cross, Quantel CEO. “Were delighted that they have chosen Quantel technology as an important part of their future, and were very proud to be part of this exciting sport.”
1 May 2009
Nieman Reports, part of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, has published a comprehensive resource for journalists about coverage of a pandemic flu, available at www.nieman.harvard.edu.
The information comes from a conference held at the Nieman Foundation during the time when the concern about the potential of Avian Flu to evolve into a human flu epidemic was high. In the report, journalists at The Associated Press, Reuters and CNN pass along valuable information about how their newsrooms prepared to cover flu outbreaks and shared insights about their on-the-ground frontline coverage.
Also useful as reference are the tips issued by Al Tompkins at the Poynter Institute which include recommendations from the World Health Organization (www.poynter.org).
1 May 2009
Japanese government officials this week urged the Philippine government to adopt its Integrated Services Digital Broadcast (ISDB) technology standard over Europes Digital Video Broadcast Handheld or DVB-H platform, Manilas BusinessMirror reports.
Japans Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said it was aware that the technical working group (TWG) formed by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) had twice recommended the DVB-H platform.
But the ministrys Deputy Director for International Relations, Yasushi Furukawa, said at a press briefing last night that there was more to learn about the Japanese standard.
One reason why our technology platform was not recommended was because there was little information about ISDB. The information was not really disseminated to the Philippines, particularly during the time when the Europeans came to the Philippines to promote their own standard, he said.
It is only now that we are here to explain what our technology can really do. The Philippine government has allowed us to explain this matter.
Countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) endorsed the DVB-T standard as the common digital TV broadcasting standard during the 9th conference of ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information, held in Jakarta in May 2007.
