29 September 2006
The news media death toll for 2006 has reached 102, yet another blood-stained milestone for those covering the news around the world, according to the International News Safety Institute.
The deaths of two journalists in a helicopter crash on assignment in Nepal, correspondent Hem Bhandari and cameraman Sunil Singh of NTV, were the latest in a spiralling death toll between January and the end of September.
And the outlook is grim. This time last year the total casualty count stood at 77.
The International News Safety Institute recorded 147 news media dead covering the news in 2005, making it the worst year ever. The numbers included 48 killed when a military aircraft packed with journalists crashed in Iran.
The majority of the dead between January and September this year were apparently murdered because of their work. Seventy-nine were shot, stabbed, bombed or beaten to death, 13 died in accidents and 10 in crossfire.
The journalists and support staff in their news gathering teams, such as drivers and translators, died covering stories in 33 countries through 29 September.
As has become customary, most – a total of 34 – were killed in Iraq, the vast majority by insurgents. Almost all were Iraqis, reporters and cameraman in the main, who bear the burden of keeping the world informed about their country’s agony. A total of 137 news media personnel have fallen in Iraq since 2003.
After Iraq, the deadliest countries were Sri Lanka, Guyana – where five newspaper print technicians were murdered by gunmen in one incident on 8 August – Philippines, India, Brazil and Argentina.
“The rising death toll suffered by people covering the news is a stain on free societies everywhere,” commented INSI Director Rodney Pinder. “Free societies cannot exist without a free flow of information and whenever a member of the news media is slain a window to the truth is slammed shut.
“We need fast and effective action by democratic governments and international institutions to halt this deadly spiral. If we do not act, our freedom will slowly wither and then it will be too late.”
INSI has joined with the International Federation of Journalists and the European Broadcasting Union in proposing a UN resolution on the protection of journalists around the world. Thus far it has met with little success but the effort will continue.
“We owe it to hundreds of brave colleagues around the world, who bring us the news at great risk to their lives, to press on with this initiative – to keep hammering on the doors of our governments and international bodies until someone wakes up,” Pinder said.
INSI monitors all places where members of the news media are in danger at work, whether from conflict, disaster, disease, hostile regimes or other violent elements. We track and record all staff and freelance casualties during coverage-related activities – print, photo and video journalists as well as essential support staff such as drivers, fixers and translators. As we are a safety organisation, our casualty list includes all causes of death, whether deliberate, accidental or health-related.
26 September 2006
The BBC has unveiled the new channel identity for its flagship domestic network, BBC ONE. Launching on 7 October, the new idents use a circle theme treated in a variety of ways by the creative team from Red Bee Media that was commissioned to create the new visuals.
One of the idents features a fantastical exploration of what it would look like if adult hippos could swim. The action climaxes with synchronised swimming in a circle. The 3D hippos were created by Framestore CFC, the team behind the famous Walking With series led by Mike McGee.
Naomi Gibney, Head of Marketing, BBC ONE adds: “In developing the new BBC ONE identity, the key for me was simplicity.
“Out of an incredibly challenging brief, Red Bee has created a simple, true, idea with the branding at the heart of the execution. We chose this idea from Red Bee as it celebrated BBC ONE’s unique ability to bring people together, and their executions beautifully convey magical moments when this happens.”
26 September 2006
More than 90 entries have been received for the 2006 AIB International Broadcasting Awards.
Broadcasters all over the world have answered the call to celebrate success in international broadcasting, submitting a wide range of programmes in a variety of languages that have been watched and heard by audiences worldwide.
Now the judges are starting work, evaluating the entries and deciding who will be the winners of the second AIB Awards.
Our international judges – in countries from Australia across to Canada – have looked at the range and quality of the entries and have asked for additional time to evaluate and do full justice to the remarkable programming and technological innovations that have been submitted. For this reason, we are postponing the AIB Awards ceremony until after the summer break in the northern hemisphere. Look out for details of our evening of celebration of success in international broadcasting that will be taking place in early September.
See who’s entered and who’s judging by clicking
here.
25 September 2006
The Voice of America (VOA) has added additional live and direct broadcasts to its broadcasting to Thailand in Thai and English as part of VOA’s coverage of the coup that removed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
“At a time when the people of Thailand were most in need of reliable information, VOA’s Thai Service went from broadcasting a 15-minute daily news feed to a daily 60-minute direct broadcast, transmitted via the Internet and on special shortwave frequencies,” said VOA Director David S. Jackson. VOA’s Worldwide English and Special English, which is designed for non-native speakers, also pre-empted their normal programs to provide live updates focusing on events in Thailand. Said Jackson: “This shows once again how VOA can provide a valuable service to audiences in times of crisis or uncertainty, particularly when local news is unavailable, as it was in this case.”
VOA will continue the special programming as events warrant, at the following times and on the frequencies below:
2300-2400 UTC Thai Language Broadcast 7215, 9685
1130-1200 UTC Worldwide English Broadcast 1575
1530-1600 UTC Special English Broadcast 1575, 6160, 9590,
9760,12040, 15550
More VOA coverage of Thailand’s political situation can be found at: www.VOANews.com.
25 September 2006
Wohler Technologies Inc, world leader in rack audio and video monitoring, has appointed Alan Bunting as Regional Sales Manager for Europe. Bunting will be responsible for defining and strengthening Wohler’s European strategy and developing their successful partner program giving pro active dealers and S.I.’s access to the best selling audio and video monitors in the industry.
“We are proud to have someone of Alan’s calibre join our European office, and this appointment demonstrates our commitment to the European market. Alan’s extensive knowledge in the application of professional broadcast equipment will be a major addition to our dedicated team. Alan and his staff will ensure continued growth of Wohler and Panorama products and will advance our channel distribution within the European region. said, Carl J. Dempsey, President and CEO of Wohler Technologies, Inc.
Mr. Bunting was instrumental in establishing Hitachi/Denshi as a major manufacturer and supplier of professional television cameras in Europe. Prior to that he was the Managing Director at Lee Communication Limited.
25 September 2006
Harris Corporation announced that Commonwealth Broadcasting has taken delivery of three Harris® NetWave digital on-air consoles with VistaMax studio audio networking for the upgrade of its Glasgow, Kentucky, facility. Commonwealth Broadcasting also will upgrade its Campbellsville facility with the same complement of Harris digital studio equipment by the end of September. The installations will serve to replace analog equipment as the broadcaster moves toward an HD Radio future. Commonwealth Broadcasting owns 21 radio stations in four small- to mid-sized markets in Kentucky.
“Harris’ reputation as a radio supplier is unequaled going back to the days of analog-only studio equipment, and the VistaMax and NetWave offer the studio technology we need moving forward at the right price point,” said Steve Newberry, president and CEO of Commonwealth Broadcasting. “Studio-to-studio flexibility is vital in markets of our size, and the VistaMax/NetWave combination allows us to be agile with our studio configurations. The flexible VistaMax networking connections ensure that all studios have access to each other’s sources. Ease of installation is a bonus as VistaMax eliminates the need for hundreds of pairs of audio cables. And in today’s world, small- to mid-sized markets don’t need as many direct channels on each console. The NetWave digital on-air console offers all the flexibility and versatility of a larger board in a fresh, compact configuration.”
Newberry noted that the Glasgow and Campbellsville facilities are ready for upgrades for different reasons. The Glasgow facility, serving the Bowling Green market, is targeted as the Commonwealth Broadcasting’s first HD Radio conversion. Bowling Green is the company’s largest market.
“The Glasgow upgrade is HD Radio-driven simply because that facility serves our largest market,” Newberry said. “HD Radio technology is being embraced by the radio industry because it will give us the opportunity to improve audio quality and offer multiple channels of programming, among other benefits. However, it isn’t feasible for most small- to medium-sized markets to upgrade the entire audio chain at once. The best move for us was to start at the origination point and work up to the transmitter in a staged process. Mike Graham, our chief engineer, highly recommended the Harris NetWave and VistaMax as the first big step.”
The Campbellsville facility, also a top performer for Commonwealth Broadcasting, needed more flexibility in the studio environment to modernize the facilities. The NetWave digital consoles will replace 20-year-old consoles. “They were workhorses, but they were yesterday’s technology,” Newberry said.
NetWave digital on-air consoles (NetWave-8, NetWave-16 and NetWave-24) are the most affordable, full-featured, stand-alone console solutions yet from Harris. The design of NetWave as a standalone console brings flexibility to broadcasters who may wish to upgrade to a networked studio audio system in the future.
NetWave, as other consoles in the Harris PR&E family, can be VistaMax “activated” for sharing on-air and production sources across multiple studios. The NetWave console with VistaMax activation permits further convenience, as any Dual Fader module can be upgraded to have dynamic, dial-up selection of network sources features previously unavailable on lower-priced consoles.
“Harris is pleased to announce the first U.S. installations of its new NetWave digital on-air console at Commonwealth Broadcasting,” said Debra Huttenburg, vice president and general manager of Harris Broadcast Communications Division, Radio Broadcast Systems business unit. “NetWave was designed specifically for customers like Commonwealth Broadcasting that need a flexible, yet compact console at an affordable price. The addition of VistaMax networking will deliver a powerful, studio-wide platform for sharing sources among multiple studios, which results in greater convenience and utility while offering lower costs of both installation and ownership going forward.”
