6 May 2010
Nigerian pay-TV news channel NN24 went live on 3 May, broadcasting on the DStv platform. The new channel is run by Anthony Dara who has worked in a range of TV jobs both in broadcasters and in equipment companies.
NN24 is the first news channel to come from West Africa and Dara says that the Lagos-based channel already has a content partnership deal with CNN International, a distribution deal with South African DSTV and an advertising arrangement with Nigerian firm MediaCom.
“We have a three-year plan to plant ourselves in the market, in the minds of the people. We want to establish our credentials, establish our unique position and build leadership from there,” he said. “We are aspiring to be the premium national TV news channel. In terms of branding if you talk about Sky, you think British, if you talk about CNN, you think about the United States of America. NN24 is an African concept with global reach,” he said.
Dara is quoted by AFP as saying around US$8million dollars has been spent on the project. “We are working on a shoestring budget with the best hands capable because we see ourselves as trying to reinvent the industry in Africa,” he said.
4 May 2010
Al Jazeera Childrens Channel (JCC) has signed an agreement with Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP), Qatars first publishing house, to publish a series of books inspired by the Channels most popular programs and educational characters. The Fafa book series based on JCCs famous Baraem character will be the first to be launched. The series of books will be distributed by BQFP in Qatar, across the Arab region, and in international markets.
This step comes as part of the channels strategy to further expand Baraems reach to more pre-school children and to generate more interactivity and family engagement. By collaborating with BQFP and drawing on their publishing expertise, the Channel aims to produce a creative and educational book series that will appeal to young children and create a passion for reading.
Further agreements with leading Arab and international publishers are in the pipeline. This project comes as JCC pledges to enrich the lives of Arab children by promoting reading and helping them develop their creative and learning abilities.
JCCs Executive General Manager, Mahmoud Bouneb said: We strive to diversify our communication tools with children to achieve the highest and most effective reach. There is a major readership deficit in the Arab world nowadays. Therefore, we have taken this initiative in order to provide appealing and vivid content for children in their formative years and play a key role in the rise of an avid readers generation. We are also hoping to assist parents involved in their childrens reading activities.
Amira Abed, Education Program Developer at Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing said: We at BQFP are delighted to work on this new childrens book series with JCC. Fafa in recent years has gained unmatched popularity to become one of the most popular characters developed specifically for pre-school children in the Arab world.
Award-winning author Sally Grindley will write this series of books basing her characters on Fafa and her friends and bringing in new adventurous plots that children just love. Illustrator Sirine Matta has created delightful versions of the characters for the printed page. I think fans of Fafa will be delighted with this new series. The books will be released in Arabic and English editions at the same time later this year.
4 May 2010
Nepal’s Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar, tells VOA he is willing to resign if “it’s better” to aid the peace process in his country.
Kumar spoke exclusively to VOA Correspondent Steve Herman aboard a commercial flight taking him to Kathmandu.
Nepal’s government has been under growing pressure from former Maoist rebels, who won national elections in 2008, but quit the government last year over terms of a peace agreement.
Kumar told Correspondent Herman he is willing to leave his post if it will help expedite the peace process in Nepal, including the drafting of a new constitution, which is mandated by May 28th.
Mr. Kumar said: “If someone comes forward and there’s an understanding over any questions then it’s better that there be a national consensus government involving all the people.”
Thousands of Maoist supporters are now in the capital preparing for a May Day protest that the former rebels promise will be peaceful.
The decade-long civil war in Nepal ended in 2006 with a peace agreement that brought the Maoists into the political mainstream, leading to the formation of a democratic republic and the toppling of the country’s 250-year old monarchy.
A full report on Mr. Kumar’s interview is being broadcast on the Voice of America and can be found on the VOA website: www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Nepals-Prime-Minister-tells-VOA-of-Willingness-to-Resign-92490009.html.
4 May 2010
Chinas official Xinhua news agency will launch a 24-hour, global English TV service that will be broadcast via satellites, cable systems, the Internet and cell phones.
The English TV service will be produced by China Network Corporation (CNC), which is affiliated to Xinhua.
A ceremony was held in Beijing today to mark the start of a trial broadcast scheduled for tomorrow. After a trial operation of two months, the English service will be officially launched on 1 July.
Backed by the local and overseas Xinhua correspondents network, CNC aimed to quickly respond to major news events in China and abroad, and provide objective, comprehensive, in-depth and multi-dimensional news analysis, Xinhua President Li Congjun said.
He said: “CNC will offer an alternative source of information for a global audience and aims to promote peace and development by interpreting the world in a global perspective.”
CNC’s programmes include World News, China Report, Business News, Lifestyles, and news magazine programmes, such as China View and Click On Today, as well as feature programmes such as World Perspective and Global Visitors. (Source: ABU web site)
4 May 2010
Members of the audiovisual archive trade body, FOCAL International have voted AP Archive Footage Library of the Year at its annual awards event in Central London.
The award was presented by the prominent film producer and patron of FOCAL International, Lord Puttnam in front of 500 figures from the audiovisual production sector. Now in their seventh year, the FOCAL International Awards celebrate the best use of archive material across all production sectors with footage users being allowed to vote for who they believe to be the best supplier out of over 50 footage libraries.
APs Director of International Archives, Alwyn Lindsey accepted the award for AP Archive at the event held in the Royal Lancaster Hotel on April 27th. Speaking of APs win, Lindsey commented, This award means a great deal to us and is a great reward for all of the hard work that our team puts in every day. Its a great thrill to get this recognition especially as the award is given by customers theres no better endorsement than that.
AP Archive was also nominated in the category of Best Restoration & Preservation Project for its ongoing work in restoring the 3,500 hours of the lost United Press International Television News (UPITN) archive. That award was given to restoration of Michael Powells 1948 classic film, The Red Shoes, and was accepted by the film director Martin Scorsese.
29 April 2010
WRN is adopting a new brand identity – from 29 April 2010 the company will be knows as WRN Broadcast.
The change of company name reflects last year’s acquisition of TSI Broadcast and the integration of the two companies is now complete. WRN Broadcast’s technical facilities have been rebuilt and the new Media Centre represents one of the finest state-of-the-art ingest and playout centres in Europe. Not only has this resulted in an increased range of broadcast services but technical staffing levels have doubled as the company continues to invest in service delivery for clients.
