3 September 2014
The annual general meeting of the Southern Africa Broadcasting Association [SABA] took place in Swaziland on 29 August, following the organisation’s second Digital Broadcasting Summit, hosted by Swazi TV. AIB CEO Simon Spanswick chaired the second day of the Summit.
Gender equality was one of the discussion points and SABA took the lead when it held elections for its board of directors and the appointment of the organisation’s new Secretary-General. Albertus Aochamub, D-G of Namibian Broadcasting Corporation, was appointed SABA President for a third term, while Ellen Nanuses – also from NBC – was appointed Secretary-General, succeeding long-serving Cecil Nguvauva.
The board elections resulted in four women being appointed:
- Ms Marlyn Garises – Chief Accounting Officer
- Ms Elisa Martin – Director of Programmes, Television Mozambique
- Ms Soondaree Devi Soborun – Deputy Director General, Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation
- Ms Thembi Hlope – Radio Programme Manager at Swaziland Broadcasting & Information Services
Appointments to the remaining positions were:
- Bontle Mogotlwane – Director, Broadcasting Services of Botswana
- Ambassador Dr Benson Tembo – Director General, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation
- Antoine Onezime – CEO, Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation
- Clement Mshana – Director General, Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation
“This is the first time that SABA’s membership has elected women to its board,” reports AIB CEO Simon Spanswick from the event just outside the Swazi capital of Mbabane. “It marks a major shift in thinking on the continent that is not known for gender equality. It’s an important, noteworthy step and the SABA membership is to be congratulated for putting gender equality at the very heart of the Association.”
1 September 2014
Peter Horrocks has been Director of the World Service since 2009 and has worked at the BBC for 33 years.
Under Peter’s leadership weekly audiences for the BBC’s global news services – BBC World Service, BBC World News and BBC.com – have reached a record 265m.
Peter has led the World Service through some of its most challenging times, responding to funding cuts by modernising the World Service for the digital age.
He successfully oversaw one of the biggest changes in the history of the World Service as it moved from Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) funding into the licence fee, leaving its historic headquarters of Bush House for the BBC’s New Broadcasting House.
BBC World News has undergone a creative renewal that is being appreciated by audiences around the world and bbc.com/news now regularly achieves one billion page views a month. BBC News is the most retweeted news source in the world.
Peter Horrocks said: “It has been a privilege to be Director of the BBC World Service, which is loved and trusted by hundreds of millions of people around the world.
“I am hugely proud of the dedication, the creativity and the reinvention shown by my team. The World Service now has its largest ever audience, an expanding number of languages, and is modernised and transformed for a digital age.
“Having overseen this recovery and taken the World Service into the new era of licence fee funding, it is time for me to move on to my next challenge. I will miss the BBC but am confident that the BBC’s global news services are in strong shape for the future.”
Director-General of the BBC, Tony Hall, said: “Peter’s remarkable career at the BBC has spanned more than three decades. Starting as a News trainee, he established himself as the youthful editor of Public Eye before going on to lead teams that produced some of the BBC’s most important news programmes, including Newsnight and Panorama. He also edited general election programmes before running several News departments, latterly the World Service Group.
“Those who have worked with him know of his energy, drive, his passion for journalism and his innovation but they have also come to appreciate his editorial integrity and his deeply rooted sense of BBC values. He leaves us as one of our most respected leaders. He is a force of nature and we will miss him.”
Director of BBC News and Current Affairs, James Harding, said: “Peter Horrocks has been a defining figure in the modern history of the BBC World Service and global news. He has demanded the highest standards of its journalism, he has driven innovation in the ways we tell stories and deliver the news, he has opened the BBC to new voices and fresh ideas and he has presided over the extraordinary growth of the BBC’s worldwide audience.
“His sharp intellect, open-mindedness and good judgment have shaped BBC News and Current Affairs for three decades. He has recruited and inspired hundreds of people here in the UK and around the world. And, like few others, he has set his stamp on both the programmes and the personality of the BBC.
“Since I joined the BBC last year, Peter has been a constant source of good advice, organisational wisdom and personal support. Of course, I respect Peter’s decision to move on, but, both personally and as an organisation, we will miss him.”
The BBC will advertise for Peter’s successor as Director, World Service Group.
19 August 2014
Vizrt Ltd. announced today a deal worth USD 297,000 for the implementation of broadcast graphics products with Tek Signals LLC, a systems integrator in the Middle East. Tek Signals LLC is working with a 24 hour news channel to upgrade and expand their existing facility including their current Vizrt installation.
The deal includes adding additional channel branding capabilities for the news channel with Viz Multichannel and Viz Ticker, Vizrt’s real-time 3D ticker control system. Viz Engine was also purchased to provide real-time rendering of graphics for Viz Multichannel and Viz Ticker. (Source: Press release)
7 August 2014
On Thursday, 7 August Al Jazeera English began special coverage of ‘Gaza Under Fire’, one month since the start of the conflict. From online infographic and in-depth analysis, to news features throughout the day, the coverage will be in comprehensive, culminating in a full special news hour at 1800 GMT (9pm Gaza, 7pm London).
“Our reporters on the ground in Gaza delivered exceptional insights, updates and witness accounts during the heat of the conflict,” commented Managing Director of Al Jazeera English, Al Anstey. “At the one-month mark, with a ceasefire in place, we can now look at the impact and assess the damage to both sides.”
Al Jazeera assesses the scale of destruction of the Gaza strip, after a month of Israeli bombardment. The coverage also look at attempts to rebuild lives and infrastructure after weeks of airstrikes and a ground offensive, which has included heavy tank shelling in civilian areas.
Correspondents Andrew Simmons, Imtiaz Tyab and Charles Stratford will deliver live crosses from Gaza, covering the human impact of the conflict in Gaza; from child trauma to the reality of life under siege.
Diplomatic Editor James Bays will assess how the conflict is playing out politically for all sides, as well as the overall cost to both Hamas and Israel from the month-long conflict. Senior Correspondents Jonah Hull and Patty Culhane in London and Washington, DC will review the international reaction to the crisis.
Also covered are the UN accusations of war crimes committed by Palestinian factions operating in densely populated civilian areas and claims of a disproportionate use of force by Israel. Further, the diplomatic attempts to negotiate a lifting of the Israeli imposed blockade.
AlJazeera.com will feature an infographic detailing the scope of the destruction in Gaza and will also hear from ordinary Gazans, highlight how world leaders responded and photo galleries detailing the month-long conflict.
‘We will provide comprehensive insight into the conflict itself, but also the bigger story on the ongoing siege of Gaza, highlighting the crucial facts the latest escalation of violence has exposed”, stated Salah Negm, Director of News for Al Jazeera English.
Download promo: http://goo.gl/1wofvc
7 August 2014
Everyone is preparing for IBC 2014 that takes place in Amsterdam. The conference opens on 11 September, and the exhibition gets underway the following day, running until 15 September.
AIB will be in Amsterdam, meeting members, discussing key issues from spectrum reallocation to new digital production tools.
And copies of the latest edition of The Channel, our international media magazine, will be available for all delegates at IBC.
5 August 2014
BBC Russian and other Russian-language news websites have been told by the Russian state media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, to remove interviews with Artem Loskutov, a Russian artist and activist. In the interviews, Loskutov talks about a forthcoming march in favour of the “federalisation of Siberia” due to take place in Novosibirsk.
In the case of the BBC, Roskomnadzor is concerned with an audio interview first broadcast on 31 July as part of BBSeva, a programme which looks at current affairs from a human-interest angle, with a special focus on arts and culture. In it, Mr Loskutov (pictured above) spoke with the BBC’s Seva Novgorodsev about the planned “march for the federalisation of Siberia” in Novosibirsk. On the webpage, the BBC also added background on Mr. Loskutov and his previous activities to provide further context to the story. A quote was added from a blog by Mr Loskutov in which he says that as an artist he views the event as “part parody, part provocation, but also, partly, a real attempt to gain autonomy” – but, he adds, as a Siberian, he is trying to raise serious questions about the future of Siberia.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We have no plans to remove this interview from our website. Mr Loskutov is an artist and activist known for organising events which are, at first sight, parodies of political activity, but which also bring out serious issues about life in Russia. Mr Loskutov’s views represent his personal position. The BBC aims to present all sides of a story in an impartial, unbiased way, and we have also requested an interview with a Russian government official to explain their position on the planned march. Our editorial decisions are guided by the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines and the story in question is in full compliance with the requirements set out by this document.”
It appears that the march organisers’ page on Russian-language social networking site VKontakte has been taken down or blocked.
