Autocue, the leading provider of teleprompting and newsroom automation solutions, will showcase a prototype LED backlit MSP20 at IBC 2008 and present their initial assessment of the much-hyped technology. Customers will be invited to compare the features and pricing with the more traditional TFT technology.
Autocue CEO Frank Hyman adds a word of caution, We have again led the way in opening up new prompting technology to our customers. At the same time, we are realistic about the infancy of this particular technology and the proclaimed benefits from manufacturers that are yet to be proven by panel suppliers.
The new generation of LED backlit panels use hundreds of individual LED lights rather than traditional fluorescent tubing to give a more consistent distribution of brightness and greater contrast, making text easier to read even at lower levels of brightness. It is claimed that the panels will also dramatically reduce the on-camera weight and power consumption.
Hyman continues, Our initial tests have shown very marginal results compared to the claims weve seen elsewhere only a 10% reduction in weight, yet the power consumption is actually 8% higher at comparable levels of brightness and the panels will be up to 20% more expensive. Our panel suppliers have also warned us that the end of life is unknown at this stage.
Autocue want their customers to judge the results for themselves and will only launch when the technology is proven. Hyman concludes, Its important that our customers dont get swept up in the idea of the new technology without understanding if it will truly benefit them. We are ready to launch at any time, but first and foremost we want to ensure these products can balance technical superiority with economic viability. Come and judge for yourselves at hall 11, stand F60.
Radio Netherlands Worldwide has launching its Arabic radio programme at a ceremony in the Moroccan capital Rabat.
Dutch Deputy Social Affairs Minister Ahmed Aboutaleb, who was born in Morocco, officially launched ‘Huna Amsterdam’, which means ‘this is Amsterdam calling’.
The purpose of Huna Amsterdam is to provide listeners with an independent source of information. The programme can be heard in the Middle East and North Africa.
After the opening ceremony in Rabat, Moroccan and Dutch journalists debated image forming and stereotypes in the Arab and Western media. The title of the debate was ‘Moroccan scoundrels and Dutch contempt’; problems with youths of Moroccan origin are covered extensively in the Dutch media.
RRNW has had an Arabic internet site for a number of years. RNW, which had an Arabic radio programme for more than 20 years (until 1994) has decided to broadcast again in Arabic. Broadcasts can be received via short wave, satellite, podcasts and audio streams. Local partner stations will also broadcast some of the station’s programmes.
Deutsche Welle is increasing the Arabic programming on DW-TV once again. Starting 3 November 2008, Germany’s international broadcaster will offer 12 hours of programming in Arabic – instead of the eight hours that were offered up until now.
“We are increasing Germany’s media presence in one of the most important regions and media markets in the world,” says Deutsche Welle Director General Erik Bettermann. “Deutsche Welle will communicate the values and perspectives that represent our country throughout the world – including human rights, freedom and democratic development.” The expansion of the programming volume is accompanied by more regionalized content. “By tailoring our content for Northern Africa, Sudan, the Arabic countries and Iraq we can help improve the intercultural dialogue there,” says Bettermann. “This is a very heterogeneous region that differs not only geographically, but in its political and cultural characteristics as well – our content needs to represent that.”
The 12-hour programming schedule for DW-TV ARABIA will be characterized by the latest news from politics, business, culture, society and sport. The schedule will be complemented by documentaries and features dubbed in Arabic and magazines with Arabic subtitles.
DW-TV ARABIA is broadcast via Nilesat 102 and Hotbird 8. Its balanced mix of English and Arabic reaches more than 10 million viewers in more than 20 countries from Morocco to Saudi Arabia and Iraq. A live stream is also available on the Internet.
New: Culture Salon in Morocco
In conjunction with the programming expansion, Bettermann announced a joint project with a partner in the Arabic world. “We will start working with the Moroccan national broadcaster SNRT to produce Culture Salon – a show that examines the world of art and culture in Europe and Arabic countries.” This is the third co-production that has been developed by Deutsche Welle and its partners in the Arabic world in the last year.
In May 2008, the company partnered with Egyptian television station ERTU in Egypt to produce “Youth Across Borders”. This talk show brings younger individuals from Germany and Egypt together to discuss current affairs and show short films that they created themselves. The monthly talk show will alternate being produced in Berlin and Cairo. In March 2008, Deutsche Welle partnered with the Algerian broadcaster EPTV to produce an Arabic talk show: “North-South Dialogue”. In both cases, the partners agreed to a long-term partnership. In addition, Deutsche Welle has been producing a radio program with Radio Dishla in Iraq since 2005. Hosts discuss current events from politics, culture and business with listeners and guests.
“The populace in Arabic countries is young – around 50 percent of the people are under 25 years of age,” explains Bettermann. Co-production projects with partners in these countries are especially interesting for a younger audience – a market that DW-TV is looking to for the future.
All of these co-productions are funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. “Working with select partner stations is an essential part of our sales strategy,” says Bettermann. “It helps us to reach the people who represent our most important target audience.”
By increasing the amount of programming in Arabic countries, Deutsche Welle will be able to intensify the examination of societal developments in those countries and further develop the dialogue with people who are interested in Europe and Germany. “We are going along this path knowing that there are similarities and differences,” Bettermann emphasized.
Al Jazeera Network has announced the opening of a Commercial Sales office in Kuala Lumpur. The new office will be launched in Q1 2009 to focus on serving the Asia Pacific market. The office and existing commercial division will help advertisers and business partners in the region capitalize on Al Jazeera’s global reach and international brand.
“This is an important stepping stone for our commercial efforts in the region as we begin to extend our global brand. While we remain focused on bringing ground-breaking news to the world, we are venturing and expanding into new commercial areas. The Al Jazeera family of channels which now includes Al Jazeera Satellite Channel, Al Jazeera English, six Sports Channels and Al Jazeera Documentary gives extensive market reach and advertising value for our partners” said Dr. Al-Horr. “The aim of the Commercial Office in Kuala Lumpur will be to get closer to our Asia Pacific partners beginning with introductory offers for new sponsors and potential partners for 2009 onwards.”
Al Jazeera English launched in 2006, has been making steady progress in the region with developments this year in Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, building on top of existing reach and strong market presence in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Macau and free-to-air Asia-wide footprint on AsiaSat3. Al Jazeera English is currently available to over 130 million households worldwide, including 25 million across Asia Pacific.
At a star-studded evening in London tonight (12 November), the AIB revealed the winners of this year’s International Media Excellence Awards – the “AIBs”.
Well over 200 journalists, editors, producers and executives from more than 20 countries joined the celebration of excellence at the central London venue, LSO St Luke’s.
Hosted by France 24’s Mark Owen, the Awards recognised work in television, radio and online. The results of the Awards – evaluated by an international panel of judges from the US, UK, Germany, Australia, Egypt, Ghana, France and the Netherlands – brought prizes to BBC World Service; Tinderbox Production; SABC; France 24; Al Jazeera; Link Research; Strix TV; Sveriges Radio; SVT; and NPO 3FM.
“Since we launched these Awards four years ago, we’ve looked at more than 1,000 productions,” says Simon Spanswick, AIB Chief Executive. “This year we had the largest-ever number of entries and the quality and range of material submitted was higher than ever. This presented a range of challenges to the judges and led to some extremely close calls.”
You can see the winners’ brochure here (it is around 3MB so we recommend right-clicking and saving to your computer).
The 2009 AIB Media Excellence Awards will be launched in March and the Awards event will take place on Wednesday 11 November 2009.
The AIB Diner Pensant and Media Excellence Awards
take place on 12 November and the event is fully booked!
We have a standby list for last minute reservations. To
add your name to the list, send an e-mail to register (@) aib.org.uk.
210 guests
from broadcasters, vendors, and news organisations worldwide include senior
representatives of CBC, SABC, France 24, BBC, Vizrt, Russia Today TV, INSI, Al Jazeera Network, Bloomberg TV, BBC World
Service, Strix TV, BSkyB, Deutsche Welle, Link Research, Swedish Television,
RFE/RL, WDR, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, VRT, VT Communications, 3FM,
Pharos, TV2, BTV Balkan News.
Last minute tickets are priced at £295 plus VAT
for the evening, or £225 plus UK VAT for AIB members. The ticket price includes the champagne reception, three-course meal
(catered by Jamie Oliver’sFifteen restaurant) and wines.
Make sure you don’t miss out
on this highlight of the year in international broadcasting by getting on to our
standby list today. We’ll let you know as soon as a place becomes available.
