6 January 2015
Nastoyashchee Vremya, a new Russian-language television program, launched yesterday in Latvia, expanding its reach to audiences in five countries bordering Russia. The show is a joint production of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Voice of America.
“The aim of the program is to provide audiences in countries neighboring Russia with an alternative point of view on current events in their countries, in their region, and in the world,” said Nenad Pejic, RFE/RL editor in chief and co-CEO. “It is committed to providing professional, intelligent journalism, and is guided by the belief in the power of good journalism to promote peace and democracy,” he said.
The 30-minute program, a dynamic mix of live news coverage, interviews, original features, and political satire, will air nightly at 11:00pm on Latvia’s private Russian-language channel, TV5. In a press release announcing the program, Baiba Zuzena, the head of TV5’s parent company MTG TV Latvia, explained, “The broadcast of ‘Nastoyashchee Vremya’ on TV5 is not an attempt to convince someone of something, but an opportunity we present to our viewers. Everyone can decide for himself or herself what information to believe, but it’s important that Latvians hear every side and be aware of every point of view.”
Nastoyashchee Vremya, or Current Time began airing in October 2014 and is now carried by TV channels and internet portals in Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, and Ukraine, in addition to Latvia.
On January 1, Latvia assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first six months of 2015, during which it has pledged actively to promote media freedom, the EU’s Eastern Partnership program, and democratic institutions.
5 January 2015
MediaCorp launches two news portals for Malay and Tamil news
& current affairs consumers. MediaCorp Berita and MediaCorp Seithi go live on 5th January
2015. Each online portal will cater to their respective Malay and Tamil-speaking news
consumers to follow all major developments within and outside Singapore as well as key events
of interest to the communities.
The user experience will be further enhanced with the introduction of an application in March
2015 that will optimize the website content for mobile and tablets. The free app for Android and
IOS devices will make it an even more enriching experience for users with drop-down options
that will bring you straight to the desired page at a tap.
At both portals, consumers have a wide range of information to browse, read, watch or listen to.
Breaking news video clips will be uploaded as they happen, including contributions from
witnesses. Financial and business news and sports are some of the categories on offer. For the
Berita website, updates from the Malay literary and artistic world will be found in the
Lifestyle/Literary segments. Movie and entertainment news seekers can catch trailers and
reviews on famed Bollywood and Kollywood screenings at Seithi.
Digital journalists working on the two portals are well supported by established editorial teams in
the MediaCorp Editorial Division which produces content for all the MediaCorp TV, radio, print
and digital platforms. The Malay News and Current Affairs department produces content for TV
on Suria, for radio on Warna and Ria, while the Tamil News and Current Affairs department
produces programmes for TV on Vasantham and for radio on Oli. With this linkage, both
websites also have the unrivalled access to insightful stories filed by the wide network of
regional Channel NewsAsia and TODAY correspondents.
Each website will upload current affairs programmes that have been aired on Suria and
Vasantham, and users can tap to link up to any of the MediaCorp Radio stations to catch up
with breaking news as it is aired.
Supervising Editor for Malay News and Current Affairs, Mr Ibrahim Hassan, says, “This new
platform will definitely be a great addition to viewers and listeners who have been following our
news and current affairs programmes. They can now catch these programmes and enhanced
content conveniently from one portal.”
Supervising Editor for Tamil News and Current Affairs, Mr R. Nadarasan, adds, “With this
launch into a new digital stage, we are giving today’s busy consumers more choices and
flexibility to be informed and entertained at their preferred times, or when they are on the move.”
The websites can be accessed by mobile and desktops at the following urls:
Malay: http://berita.mediacorp.sg/
Tamil: http://seithi.mediacorp.sg/
29 December 2014
The Association for International Broadcasting today condemned the detention of Baku-based staff of RFE/RL and a raid on the broadcaster’s bureau in the Azerbaijani capital.
Police detain RFE/RL staff in Baku, Azerbaijan
The raid on RFE/RL’s bureau took place on 26 December, seizing documents, computers, memory sticks and other items. The office was then sealed, preventing staff from accessing the bureau. The following day the first of a series of raids on homes of RFE/RL employees in Baku began, with a number of staff – including the bureau’s cleaner – detained. No charges have been brought against any of the RFE/RL staff.
“It appears that Azerbaijan is continuing a comprehensive campaign against the freedom of expression and the press,” said Simon Spanswick, chief executive of AIB. “This latest act follows the detention in February and most recently in December of Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who contributes to RFE/RL and other media outlets. The raid on RFE/RL’s bureau in Baku and the detention of many of the station’s staff – including the office cleaner – shows a total disregard for media freedom in the country. AIB calls on the authorities to cease this campaign of intimidation and allow free reporting in Azerbaijan.”
The raids and detention of RFE/RL staff comes as the broadcaster is under investigation as a “foreign-funded entity”. The offices of a range of non-governmental organisations including the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) and the Media Rights Institute were raided and sealed in August 2014.
International radio stations – including the BBC, Radio Azadliq (the Azeri-language service of RFE/RL), and Voice of America – were taken off the air in Azerbaijan in 2008. International stations have broadcast on satellite or via the Internet since then.
The raids come soon after Azerbaijan’s six-month presidency of the Council of Europe ended in November. The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation.
“Azerbaijan has sought to position itself as an important player both regionally and in the global arena,” commented Spanswick. “These latest moves are against international broadcasters and non-governmental organisations that are seeking to assist in the development of Azerbaijan. The raids demonstrate that the country is retreating from the international stage, rather than taking its place on it. It is time to once again move forward. The country can demonstrate this through ceasing the harassment of journalists and NGOs. Instead, the country should uphold the ideals of the Council of Europe.”
AIB will be raising the matter with the Azerbaijan Ambassador in London and with the authorities in Baku.
29 December 2014
Twelve employees of RFE/RL’s Baku bureau have been forcibly detained by Azerbaijani authorities for questioning, with more ordered to appear for questioning today or face similar detentions.
All 12 were released without charge on December 28 after being questioned for up to 12 hours in the latest crackdown against the activities of RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service, known locally as Radio Azadliq. Those summoned for questioning were not allowed representation by a lawyer.
Journalists with RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service reported Saturday that police were pursuing them individually, going directly to their homes to take them in for questioning following a raid on the service’s Baku bureau on Friday.
In a move the news bureau’s legal team called “unprecedented – even by Azeri standards,” police late in the evening on December 27 knocked on the doors of at least four bureau reporters demanding that they accompany them to the prosecutor’s office for questioning. An additional eight journalists were told to report for questioning on Monday.
“These people are being dragged to the prosecutor’s office by force and by threats,” said one of the lawyers, who asked that his name be withheld out of concerns for his personal safety. “By being summoned over the weekend, they are being denied the opportunity to have any legal defense, despite the fact that by Azeri law a witness is normally summoned by phone or official summons to enable a lawyer to be present.”
RFE/RL Editor in Chief and Co-CEO Nenad Pejic condemned the police action, and said Azeri authorities are “terrorising our staff and their families.”
In one case, a journalist’s mother answered the door and was told by police that RFE/RL’s bureau is closed and that the daughter must go with them to have “a conversation.” In addition to the journalists, the bureau’s cleaning woman was also confronted at her home by Azeri police.
The employees, who have all requested legal representation for their questioning sessions, have been told they will be taken by force to the prosecutor’s office if they do not cooperate. A lawyer for the bureau who demanded that his clients’ right to counsel be respected was threatened by Iqbal Huseynov, a senior investigator in the case, with being disbarred.
Siyavoush Novruzov, deputy executive secretary for the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party, commented on the raid on Friday, characterizing it as a national security issue. Speaking to the local web portal Media Forum, he said, “Every place that works for foreign intelligence and the Armenian lobby should be searched.”
In a related development, a Baku court yesterday heard and rejected the appeal of investigative reporter and RFE/RL contributor Khadija Ismayilova, who remains in prison after being sentenced on December 5 to two months’ detention on charges of inciting a colleague to attempt suicide.
18 December 2014
A scene from “Tek Turkiye”
AIB is concerned about what appears to be a politically-motivated campaign of intimidation against journalists and media workers in Turkey.
The detention of editors and journalists over the past few days is worrying as it goes against norms of freedom of speech. It is essential that the press and media have the ability to do their work without fear of arrest. Their work- and the overall concept of, and adherence to, freedom of speech – is core to the functioning of any country that, like Turkey, aspires to be a democratic nation that respects the rule of law.
The detention of a number of staff working on the popular TV soap opera “Tek Turkiye” is also of concern to AIB. The arrest of writers and production staff – including, for example, graphic designers – on this soap opera is outrageous.
“Turkey enjoys a vibrant media market,” commented Simon Spanswick, chief executive of AIB. “This market has developed as a direct result of the freedom of expression that has existed in Turkey for many years. It is regrettable that this freedom now seems to be at risk. AIB calls for these detentions to be halted with immediate effect and for intimidation against the press and media workers to stop.”
18 December 2014
Newstag – the Stockholm-based crowd-curated news service – is opening a subsidiary in Cairo, Egypt to handle all its incoming video news content.
Newstag’s approach to sharing news through social media will bring together video news stories from professional content producers around the world, including AP, AFP and Reuters.
The six-strong Cairo-based team will be responsible for handling, verifying and tagging stories as they arrive in one central location from all over the world. The multilingual team will operate round-the-clock handling thousands of stories each week.
The multinational team is made up of editors from around the world who have chosen to be based in Cairo for their work in journalism and media. They will also provide bespoke production and post-production services in Egypt and the region as a whole.
“Cairo is booming again: Egypt is at the crossroads of East and West and there are so many talented individuals in this city. This megalopolis with its tens of millions of inhabitants is a great centre from which to understand the world in a more nuanced way. This is at the heart of Newstag’s philosophy,” says CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund.
Chairman and Founder Camilla Dahlin-Andersson, who has had a long career in social services and academia, added: “We are taking our first steps towards serving this dynamic market and continent and this is a significant and exciting move for Newstag.”
The opening of the Cairo bureau follows a $1.3m investment into Newstag from a group of private and institutional investors. In recent months, the company’s rapidly expanded its network of commercial and content partners as it gears up to launch its application.
Newstag’s ‘mobile-first’ service will enable users to create their own personalised ‘tagstream’ – or TV Channel – sharing the stories that they care about among their social networks. In an attempt to rebalance the traditional relationships between industry stakeholders, Newstag also offers users an opportunity to have a real impact on the world around them through the tagging of brands and NGOs.
CEO and Founder, Henrik Eklund, was AP’s Director of Digital Partnerships and Distribution in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia. Before joining AP, Henrik was the founder and CEO of Kamera – one of the world’s leading mobile and online distributors. Prior to Kamera, Eklund founded PAN Interactive, one of Europe’s leading game publishers and distributors.
Company Chairman and Founder, Camilla Dahlin-Andersson been a member of parliament and served on several boards for large institutions. She is currently completing her doctorate in Innovation Management at Stockholm School of Economics and Mälardalens University.
Image: Ahmed Photographer under Creative Commons licence
