3 May 2011
The Director-General of Deutsche Welle, Erik Bettermann, pointed out that authoritarian and despot regimes are increasingly eradicating the freedom of the Internet. To mark World Press Freedom Day (May 3) he told an event in Brussels that in some regions of the world the free exchange of information and opinions for Internet bloggers and people using social networks can be dangerous.
Technical aids make it possible to trace the origin of even anonymous expressions of opinion and to take action against different-minded people. The Internet is no longer an instrument for dissidents and activists, but also for dictators, said the Director-General.
State-run organizations in the Arab World and in China use it to keep them in line and cut off from the outside world. In China the digital wall has downgraded the Internet to a national intranet. It is used to choke the creation of a counter public. The measures make it difficult to get information about China. For example, search requests from abroad are censored in China or do not lead anywhere. This influences our perception of China in the West. There seems to be a regular export of censorship expertise between China and other authoritarian regimes.
The Chinese government employs tens of thousands of paid bloggers with its so-called Five-Cent Party. They post articles in forums out of political conviction or for financial motives. Its hard to differentiate whether it is original or paid-for opinion. Foreign media have to be careful using such sources. Regarding the harsher measures being imposed on Chinese regime opponents, said Bettermann, the list of interview partners for the Chinese Service is getting shorter every day because of state repression.
The manipulation of the Internet is a huge challenge for journalism. It has to be incorporated in the apprenticeship and vocational training of journalists. The Web 2.0 and its opportunities and risks has become a key element of the DW-Akademie curriculum, said the Director-General.
Bettermann pointed out that the journalistic program of Deutsche Welle continues to be banned in key target regions. Since April broadcasts of the Amharic Service have again been jammed. Satellite broadcasts to Iran continue to be interrupted. In China, DW is strongly censored.
28 April 2011
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) has selected award-winning broadcaster and communications executive David Ensor to serve as the next director of the Voice of America (VOA). VOA reaches an audience of 123 million people with unbiased news and information in 44 languages across multiple media platforms.
The democracy uprisings of the past two months have shown the critical importance of the free flow of credible information in empowering people around the world. The Voice of America has been pursuing this mission for seventy years by providing great journalism and a clear presentation of America and its policies, said Walter Isaacson, Chairman of the BBG which oversees all U.S. international broadcasting including the VOA. David Ensor is uniquely suited to lead VOA in fulfilling this dual mission. We are deeply honored that he would continue to be of service to journalism and to his country by following in the tradition of Edward R. Murrow and John Chancellor.
Ensor has been Director for Communications and Public Diplomacy of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan since January 2010 and will join VOA in June.
David Ensors unique experiences and skills make him a solid fit for this role, said Judith A. McHale, the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, who serves as Secretary of State Hillary Clintons representative to the BBG, and who oversaw Ensors work in Afghanistan. The State Department has been very fortunate to have David oversee our public diplomacy effort in Afghanistan, and we wish him well as he prepares to take the lead at VOA.
Ensor is a winner of a National Headliner Award and an Emmy-nominated broadcast journalist whose 32-year career in television and radio news included extensive reporting on international affairs. Ensor covered the demise of Communism in Russia and Poland, armed conflicts in Bosnia, Chechnya, El Salvador, and Afghanistan, and the U.S. response to the 9/11 attacks. He was CNNs National Security Correspondent and prior to that, an ABC News correspondent, with assignments in Washington, Moscow, Rome, and Warsaw. Ensor reported from Washington for National Public Radio covering foreign policy and defense issues.
In welcoming David Ensor, the BBG thanked retiring VOA Director Danforth Austin for his outstanding leadership. The Board recognized Austins role in improving VOA’s ability to engage with and grow audiences across multiple media platforms, integrating broadcast, online and social media while remaining steadfast to the principles of sound journalism enshrined in the VOA charter. Appointed to the post in October 2006, Austin has been one of the longest serving VOA directors.
Ensor is a member of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations and is fluent in French. He received a B.A. with honors from the University of California, Berkeley. Ensor holds the Knights Cross awarded by the President of Poland.
28 April 2011
The Network is a brand new talk-show in debate format, presented by Chris Burns, an experienced journalist, a dual French-American and a European resident for the past 18 years.
The programme links 3 personalities with diverging opinions and points of view. Each guest answers questions on a current headline.
The Network is a short and straight-to-the-point debate around burning issues, produced in a 3D environment with a clear and uncompromising view of the story of the week, driven by Chris Burns energetic style, allowing each viewer to compare and form his or her own opinion.
The Network is a bi-monthly 8 talk-show programme broadcast throughout the week from Thursday to Monday, edited in 10 linguistic versions. Available 24/7 on euronews.net. This week: Portugal: time to declare bankruptcy? On air Thursday 14th April at 9:45PM Paris – 8:45PM London – 11:45PM Moscow – 3:45PM New York
Next issues Thursday 28th April, 12 May, 26th May
and following each two weeks
« The Network » is on-air alternaly with « I Talk », Alex Taylors new rendez-vous on euronews.
About Chris Burns : Chris Burns has been a print, TV and radio journalist for more than 25 years, including reporting for CNN, Bloomberg TV, France24 and Associated Press. Hes covered conflicts in the Balkans, Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan, politics at the White House and across Europe, global business and financial crises, earthquakes, volcanoes and other disasters, as well as cultural events including the Cannes and Berlin film festivals. Chris is French and American-born with dual citizenship, speaks five European languages (also German, Italian and Spanish) and has lived in Europe for more than 18 years in Paris, Rome, Berlin, Frankfurt and now Brussels. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy and French, and post-graduate studies in Europe.
28 April 2011
Vimond Media Solutions, which provides a comprehensive environment for managing and delivering multiformat over-the-top (OTT) media services, announced today at the 2011 NAB Show that it is teaming up with Vizrt, a leading provider of digital media software for the TV and online publishing industries, to offer an end-to-end solution that allows broadcasters, distributors, and media companies to create and offer their own online video services that monetize content with full broadcast quality.
At the heart of the combined solution is the Vimond video player, which supports simultaneous streaming to different devices and opens up for payment and access to content directly through a television set. The same player logic and functionality works across multiple platforms, allowing consumers to enjoy the video experience over PCs, TVs, mobile phones, tablets, IPTV boxes, media center consoles, connected TVs, game consoles, and IP-enabled set-top boxes. The platform also can be extended to other formats through its open API.
“Our combined solution with Vizrt will allow broadcasters, distributors, and media companies to monetize their content while providing superior, engaging, and attractive end-user experiences based on live and on-demand video services,” said Helge Høibraaten, CEO of Vimond Media Solutions. “And because our player has been developed and intensively tested in real production for many years, broadcasters will now have a flexible, proven, and stable system with which to create their own online video services.”
“With Vimond on board, Vizrt offers one workflow for video streaming and all supporting functionalities, such as subscriptions, advertising, geo-blocking, digital rights management, and analytics,” said Francois Laborie, chief commercial officer at Vizrt. “The complete live and on-demand package comes in one framework, securing smooth delivery on every viable platform or device needing a specific video format or content enhancement.”
The Vimond control servers and the Viz Media Engine transcoders are central to the online video solution that takes advantage of the Microsoft® Smooth Streaming adaptive streaming technology to provide a high-quality viewing experience that scales massively on content distribution networks. Broadcasters can build their own Hulu-like websites and offer a range of business models, including subscription, pay-per-view, and ad-supported services.
The production workflow is tightly integrated, keeping costs low and efficiency high. Vimond already integrates with the existing Vizrt workflow, from storage and transcoding in the Viz Media Engine to online publishing via Escenic Content Studio. All live streams are logged and archived to a dedicated media asset management (MAM) server to build highlights, teasers, or editorially enhanced content later on. Vizrt offers the entire spectrum of Web TV players from in-page standalone players to advanced Web TV players with live sports statistics and subscription management to live TV with electronic program guides (EPGs).
The solution also includes advanced monetization and administration logic. The solution can be made available on-premises, hosted as a SaaS or as a hybrid hosted/on-premises model. Although Vimond Media Solutions is a new company launched in Q1 of 2011, the technology embodied in the Vimond Video Platform has been developed and proven in production over more than 10 years at TV 2 in Norway and at other Scandinavian broadcasters. Now available for the first time to broadcasters, telcos, and media organizations, the Vimond Video Platform provides an intuitive and mature environment for production staff to manage the distribution of online video content, a powerful set of tools for managers to create commercially successful services, and a stable, high-quality experience for viewers.
Vimond Media Solutions is demonstrating the full range of Vimond functionality at the 2011 NAB Show in the Vizrt booth, SL5408.
26 April 2011
Darren Long, a London-based media professional, has been named to the post of Video Integration Manager for The Associated Press, a new position. Its the latest appointment tied to APs multimillion-dollar upgrade of its newsgathering infrastructure in order to provide high-definition images to the broadcast and digital industries.
As Video Integration Manager, Long will play a vital role in this process by helping the AP transform its international video production processes to ensure our journalists around the world are equipped for the digital age and the AP leads the market in creating and delivering video content for all platforms, said AP Director of Emerging Products-International Sue Brooks, who made the announcement today. Long reports to Brooks. He will be responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of several projects which will fundamentally affect how AP staff collect, produce and archive content, she added.
Last year, Long was appointed CEO of Screenocean and succeeded in starting up this new business-to-business media licensing and content management venture representing content from the UK Channel 4 network and a range of rights holding production and distribution companies. Before that he was Head of Collections and Information at the British Film Institute from 2005 to 2010. He started working for Independent Television News in 1987 and left in 2005 as Director of Operations at the ITN Archive, now ITN Source.
As part of its video business transformation, AP will also significantly increase the depth and breadth of video content available from around the world. The upgrade, aimed at helping the AP lead the market in creating and delivering video content for all platforms, is the single biggest investment in the APs London-based video business since 1998, when the AP bought its competitor, Worldwide Television News.
26 April 2011
Al Jazeera English has announced the launch of The Stream, a social media show which is premiering online at Stream.aljazeera.com.
The programme draws on the enormous growth of the social networks that are transforming today’s news and current affairs agendas and that have played a key communication role in the recent revolutions in emerging democracies.
The Stream, which will be airing live daily at 1930 UTC, has launched in beta form online and will begin broadcasting on Al Jazeera English on 2 May.
The programmes host is Derrick Ashong, a passionate advocate for the power of social media to promote change and development. Working with various guest co-hosts, Derrick will guide the show, monitoring live activity on the web and presenting viewers with real-time developments from around the world.
