Prompted by the tense relations between Tehran and The Hague following the execution of Dutch-Iranian Zahra Bahrami, RNW is launching a new website aimed at Iran. The new site www.rnw.nl/farsi, – as the name suggests – be produced in Farsi, the language spoken in Iran and by the many Iranians who live outside the country.
The decision to start this new internet service has also been prompted by the continuing crises in Egypt and Tunisia, both of which are of great significance for many other countries in the region, including Iran. The current Islamic Republic there is itself the result of a popular uprising which took place in Iran in 1979. This new RNW website is also Radio Netherlands Worldwides first service in Farsi, the stations 11th broadcasting and website language.
RNW Editor-in-Chief Rik Rensen believes that there is a large market within Iran which would welcome an independent and balanced service from the Netherlands: The websites initial launch is for a period of one month, at the end of which well decide whether it should be continued.
With social media providing popular information-sharing platforms for many Iranians, too, much of the output of rnw.nl/farsi will also be re-published via these channels.
The International News
Safety Institute has reported that news crews covering the violent clashes
in Egypt are facing increased threats to their safety, amid reports that a
growing number are being targeted by protesters loyal to President Hosni
Mubarak, angry at the foreign media’s coverage of the situation in the country.
Al Jazeera has had its offices in the country closed, while Al Arabiya reported
that one of its correspondents, Ahmed Bagatu, was injured.
But, even though some government supporters are said to have been carrying
placards saying ‘Down with Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, other non-Arab news
organisations have been attacked.
The Associated Press said two of its correspondents had been "roughed up" by
the crowd.
A Belgian reporter on Wednesday was arrested, beaten and accused of being a
spy by men in plain clothes in the central Cairo neighborhood of Choubra.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that four Israeli reporters had also been
arrested.
CNN reported that an Egyptian reporter for Al-Arabiya went missing. He was
beaten and handed over to Egyptian military. It said that journalists from the
BBC, ABC News and CNN were also attacked. Among them were CNN’s Hala Gorani and
Anderson Cooper, who said he was hit on the head by a protester.
Hala Gorani was quoted as saying, "I got slammed against the gates and was
threatened by one of the pro-Mubarak protesters who was … telling me to ‘get
out, get out!’ and saying it very close to my face. The pro-Mubaraks, whoever
they are, whoever sent them, are being threatening toward camera crews,
journalists, anybody who looks like they may be onlookers. Some of the elements
there are rather thuggish and they seem to be intent on causing trouble."
NBC News’ Richard Engel said, in a message on Twitter, that journalists in
Cairo had been "mobbed on the streets" by people angry with foreign press
coverage.
A spokesman for the US State Department PJ Crowley also took to Twitter to
say it was "concerned about detentions and attacks" on the media, saying that
"the civil society that Egypt wants to build includes a free press"
INSI advises all journalists covering civil disturbances to plan accordingly and
take appropriate precautions. The following information may help:
CIVIL DISTURBANCE CHECKLIST
Plan in advance
Establish pre-arranged contact points with the rest of your team
(photographer, camera operator, producer, etc.) if you are separating
Always carry press identification but conceal it if it attracts unwarranted
attention
Bring a cellular phone with emergency numbers pre-set for speed dialling
Position yourself upwind if there is a possibility that tear gas will be
used
Bring eye protection such as swimming goggles or industrial eye protection
Carry first aid kits and know how to use them
Wear loose natural fabric clothing as this will not burn as readily as
synthetic ones; remember there is always the possibility of gasoline bombs being
exploded
Carry a small backpack with enough food and water to last for a day in case
you are unable to get out of the area
If you are a reporter you dont have to be in the crowd as long as you can
see whats happening
If you are a photographer or camera operator, try to shoot from a higher
vantage point
The use of flats and buildings to report is common-place, but ensure exit is
possible and does not become obstructed.
Work with the team and keep a mental map of your escape route if things turn
bad
Have an immediate newsroom debriefing after the coverage to extract lessons
from the coverage
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
1. Baseball Bump cap (Head Protection in style of Baseball Cap)
2. Standard Eyeshields
3. Goggles (Protection against Tear Gas)
4. Footwear — boots with non-stick sole and ankle protection
5. Personal First Aid Kit
6. Knee Pads
7. Ear Plugs
Also consider:
1. Stab Resistant Vest
2. Flame Retardant Spray
3. Flame retardant Underwear
4. Steel Toe Cap Footwear
5. Hi-Visibility Vest
6. Hand Protection
Bloomberg Television, the global 24-hour business and financial news network, today announced that the network will launch as a basic service on Singtel’s IPTV platform mioTV.
This launch of Bloomberg Television on Singtel’s IPTV platform is an important distribution initiative as it will allow Bloomberg TV to reach 100% of mioTV subscribers. With the new deal with Singtel MioTV, Bloomberg Television is now the only international business news channel available across both pay TV platforms in Singapore. As a result, Bloomberg Television’s distribution will immediately double to a total of approximately 500,000 households, making Bloomberg Television the most widely distributed international business news channel in Singapore.
Gary Groenheim, Bloomberg Television’s Commercial Director for the Asia-Pacific region said, “This is a major strategic development for Bloomberg Television in one of our most important markets and fits in our overall plan to more aggressively expand Bloomberg TV’s availability. Singapore plays a growing role as a leading regional and global business hub and it’s vital that viewers can access Bloomberg Television¹s global news coverage.”
Bloomberg Television, currently available in more than 252 million homes globally, provides continuous 24-hour coverage of the latest and most comprehensive news and headlines for business leaders around the world. The network has studios in Hong Kong, London and New York.
Guests from all over the world were in London on 9 November for the annual AIBs, the international media excellence awards.
At a gala evening hosted by Vanessa Mock of FSN, the outstanding finalists drawn from entries submitted by broadcasters, production and technology companies in all parts of the world were shown to a packed venue.
Winners came from Sri Lanka, the UK, Canada, Germany and Qatar among other countries. Full details of the 2010 AIBs winners can be found
href=”https://aib.org.uk/Resources/AIBs_Winners_2010.pdf”>here.
You can see the Winners & Finalists booklet
href=”https://aib.org.uk/onlinepubs/The_2010_AIBs/winners.html”>here.
Very noticeable this year were the vast improvements in entries to the cross-media category a range of submissions ably demonstrated the potential for story-telling across multiple platforms, whether serving a highly web-literate audience or an audience in an area where mobile rather than web is the most effective way to reach people.
The Association for International Broadcasting, the industry association for international TV, radio, mobile and online broadcasting, strongly condemns the closure of the Cairo bureau of Al Jazeera Network and the withdrawal of accreditation to Al Jazeera correspondents in Egypt.
The moves by the Egyptian Ministry of Information, announced on Egyptian TV and by MENA, the official news agency in Egypt, come at a time when the focus of a majority of the worlds media is on the continuing unrest in the North African country. The announcement on MENA said: “The information minister [Anas al-Fikki] ordered … suspension of operations of Al Jazeera, cancelling of its licences and withdrawing accreditation to all its staff as of today.”
Al Jazeera Networks Arabic- and English-language services have provided extensive, constant coverage of developments in Egypt since the start of demonstrations across the country, providing news and analysis to viewers in Egypt, across North Africa and the Middle East and to a global audience.
“AIB and its global membership of broadcasters protests strongly at the restrictions placed on Al Jazeera Network in Egypt,” says AIB CEO Simon Spanswick. “The Arabic and English channels reach tens of millions of viewers, including significant numbers of Egyptian expatriates around the world who have come to rely on Al Jazeera for up-to-the-minute coverage of the fast-moving events in Egypt. The move by the authorities in Egypt demonstrates a complete disregard for freedom of expression as well as media freedom in the country. AIB looks forward to the Egyptian authorities swiftly reconsidering the restrictions they have placed on the channel and allowing Al Jazeera and all other media companies to report from the country without hindrance.”
The move by the Egyptian authorities follows similar restrictions by other governments around the Middle East on print and broadcast news media preventing them from reporting freely. Despite the restrictions, media outlets find ways of circumventing restrictions thanks to extensive technological developments and it is expected that Al Jazeera Network and other news media will find ways to bring news from Egypt as the crisis continues to audiences both within the country, across the region and throughout the world.
In an presentation to staff this morning (January 26), BBC World Service
director Peter Horrocks gave details of significant cuts to the output of BBC
World Service, the publicly-funded international broadcaster.
The cuts follow a 16% budget cut in World Service funding from Britain’s
Foreign & Commonwealth Office in the Comprehensive Spending Review announced in
October 2010. BBC World Service has been funded by the UK government for many
years but in a new move from 2014, the BBC – Britain’s national public
broadcaster, funded by the TV licence paid by all TV-watching households – will
assume financial responsibility for the international operation.
Horrocks announced closure of five services: Albanian, Macedonia, Serbian,
Portuguese for Africa and English for the Caribbean. Radio broadcasting will
cease in Russian, Ukrainian, Mandarin, Turkish, Vietnamese, Azeri and Spanish
(for Cuba), although these languages will retain an online presence and delivery
via platforms such as partner (affiliate) stations and mobile. Shortwave
transmissions will reduce at the end of March by a significant amount. Shortwave
in Hindi, Indonesian, Kyrgyz, Nepali and Swahili will end, and a service to the
Great Lakes region of Africa will also lose short wave.
Cuts will also affect Arabic- and Persian-language TV output while radio
output in these languages will also be reduced.
In English services, programmes will be cancelled and editorial posts lost.
Overall, there will be staff cuts amounting to a little under one quarter of
the total World Service staff.
AIB members will receive an initial analysis of the cuts and new plans
announced by the World Service during the course of the afternoon (Wednesday 26
January).
