14 January 2015
BBC Indonesia has launched #TrenSosial (Social Trend) project which will involve the Indonesian audience in an exciting new approach to digital journalism.
Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, is the city that tweets the most in the world, and the country, which ranks Facebook’s fourth largest market, is referred to as Asia’s social-media capital and one of the most “social” countries in the world. Around 70% of mobile social-media users in Indonesia are under 25. They spend more time on social media than watching TV, reading news websites, listening to the radio or reading a newspaper.*
The BBC Indonesia #TrenSosial teams in London and Jakarta engage with audiences via social channels to identify topics that matter to them, bring in experts to talk about the issues – and create more stories for the BBC Indonesia website, bbcindonesia.com. The project will bring at least one social media-sourced story a day to the site, to be shared across other BBC Asian outputs.
BBC Indonesia Editor, Karishma Vaswani, sees #TrenSosial as a way to reach young social audiences who like to talk about news: “With our new social-media product, #TrenSosial, we will engage with more young Indonesians, attracting them to our news content. #TrenSosial will energise both the BBC Indonesia content and our interaction with the Indonesian users. Users of social media, who are looking for accurate, engaging and informative news reportage online, will love #TrenSosial.”
David Cuen, Social Media Editor at BBC World Service, adds: “Social media is no longer a distribution channel or a marketing window. It’s a space for engagement and it’s a source of original journalism. Young people consume news and engage with news on social media, through mobile devices. If that’s where they are, that’s where we as a news broadcaster need to be. There’s a huge scope to do original journalism through social media. With #TrenSosial we will be able to use social media to source original Indonesian stories – and do that based on the same distinctive values of impartiality and accuracy that the BBC is known for.”
With #TrenSosial, BBC Indonesia adds to the BBC World Service languages output that builds around social audiences, adapted to regional media consumption habits: the BBC Turkce Sosyal Meydan, the BBC Brasil #SalaSocial, and BBC Thai – a social-only service delivered as a news stream on social media. BBC Trending (#BBCtrending; @BBCtrending) on BBC World Service explains the stories the world is sharing on social media – in a weekly radio programme and a regular blog.
BBC Indonesia is part of BBC World Service.
(Source: BBC press release)
23 October 2014
AIB, the Association for International Broadcasting, will present a special posthumous Founders Award to the family of gifted BBC journalist, Komla Dumor, who died suddenly in January at the age of 41. The award will be given at the 10th annual AIB Awards on November 5 in London.
Born in Ghana in 1972, during his short career, Dumor had an extraordinary impact, epitomising a new Africa, one of success and hope. Through his compelling story telling he worked tirelessly to bring this narrative to the world.
In 1998, during a break in his studies, Dumor answered an ad for a job as a part-time reporter for Ghanaian local radio station Joy FM and quickly moved on to become presenter of Joy FM’s Super Morning Show. He was named Journalist of the Year by the Ghana Journalist Association.
In 2007, Dumor joined the BBC as host of Network Africa for the BBC World Service, moving on to The World Today programme, then Africa Business Report for BBC World News television.
In June 2012, he was named the presenter of Focus on Africa, the BBC’s first-ever dedicated daily TV news programme in English for African audiences, broadcast on BBC World News. He also interviewed a number of high-profile guests including Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Kofi Annan, Tony Blair and Africa’s wealthiest businessman, Aliko Dangote. He anchored live coverage of major global events including the death of Nelson Mandela and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
In 2013, the respected publication, New African, listed Dumor in its list of 100 most influential Africans.
Peter Horrocks, Director of the BBC World Service, said at the time of Dumor’s death, “Komla was a leading light of African journalism – committed to telling the story of Africa as it really is. Africa’s energy and enthusiasm seemed to shine through every story Komla told.”
And Dumor said on the launch of Focus on Africa in June 2012: “After decades of turmoil and uncertainty, a new Africa is emerging. The old stereotypes are being challenged and a new, compelling narrative is being written. I am incredibly excited to be part of a new programme that will provide solid coverage and analysis of Africa’s challenges and prospects.”
“AIB is delighted to be able to commemorate the life and work of this accomplished and respected journalist,” said Simon Spanswick, chief executive of the Association for International Broadcasting. “Komla was an inspiration to his BBC colleagues and respected by viewers and listeners across Africa. He is sorely missed across the media industry.”
The AIB Awards, taking place on November 5 at London’s LSO St. Luke’s, honor the highest achievements in factual content for TV, radio and online. Komla Dumor’s legacy of high-quality journalism and knowledge-sharing across borders represent the ideals AIB aims to foster as the world’s leading knowledge network for the global broadcast industry.
A limited number of tickets to the AIB Awards are still available. Guests are travelling from all over the world to share ideas and knowledge and reward the very best in factual programme making globally.
16 October 2014
The BBC World Service today launched a new ‘lifeline’ Ebola service for people in West Africa on instant messenger app Whatsapp.
The new service is in both English and French and will comprise public health information on Ebola from the BBC, using audio, text message posts and images. It will also include breaking news alerts related to Ebola. The service is available on +44 7702 348651. Whatsapp is the most popular chat app in Africa.
This means Ebola is now the BBC World Service’s biggest health focus since its reporting on HIV/Aids in the 1980s and 1990s.
In addition to this service, the BBC’s Ebola efforts now include:
- News About Ebola, a news and information programme broadcast twice every weekday from 22 September. The programme is focused on the affected region of West Africa, where half of World Service English’s 13.1m African listeners are based. Shortwave transmissions to the affected areas have been increased.
- Ebola Infos, a twice-daily Ebola bulletin in French on BBC Afrique
- Increased partnerships with other broadcasters: the Ebola programmes are being broadcast by more than 50 radio stations in West Africa and on the BBC’s own FM transmitters in key cities.
- Special new interactive editions of Focus on Africa on World Service English on Mondays and Thursdays for audiences to share experiences, concerns and questions on Ebola
- New twice-weekly interactive programming on BBC Afrique, Parlons d’Ebola
- A new daily 10-minute Ebola bulletin on BBC World News TV
- Weekly Ebola bulletins, Ebola Public Health Broadcast, have been produced by BBC Africa in conjunction with the BBC’s international development charity BBC Media Action since August. They are broadcast in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria on the BBC’s English, French and Hausa services. The Swahili, Somali and Kinyarwanda/Kirundi services also carry the broadcasts.
- BBC Media Action has been helping to tackle misinformation about the disease in a radio programme, Kick Ebola Nar Salone (Kick Ebola out of Sierra Leone), produced and broadcast three times a week on 35 partner stations across the country. The show gives people a chance to ask questions of experts, and voice their concerns.
- BBC Media Action has partnered with the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to deliver ‘lifeline’ communication training to media, officials and humanitarian workers in countries at risk across West Africa. It will also produce media outputs – from discussion programmes to mini-dramas – to tackle rumour and stigma and to help people take action to protect their health in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
In additional to this special programming, BBC News has been reporting from affected regions across all of its domestic and international outlets from the outset of the outbreak.
Director of the World Service Group Peter Horrocks said:
“This outbreak of Ebola shows no signs of abating. Myths and misinformation about Ebola are still widespread – and life-threatening. The BBC is trusted by millions of people in the affected countries, so we are stepping up our efforts to reach people with timely information, whether they’re listening to the radio, watching TV or using chat apps. We’re committed to playing our part and will continue looking at new ways to reach audiences, for example by developing programmes in local vernacular languages.”
This is the first time the BBC has used a chat app specifically for health information programming, although instant messaging applications including Line, Mixit, BBM, WeChat and Whatsapp have been successfully used for breaking news alerts and while reporting the elections in India and South Africa.
Notes to Editors
News About Ebola is broadcast on World Service English every weekday at 1420 and 1950 GMT.
Focus on Africa is broadcast on World Service English at 1900 GMT on Mondays and Thursdays.
Ebola Infos is broadcast on BBC Afrique every weekday at 1730 and 0802 GMT.
Parlons d’Ebola is broadcast on BBC Afrique on Mondays and Thursday at 1502 GMT.
A daily Ebola TV bulletin is broadcast on BBC World News at 1830 GMT.
The BBC’s Whatsapp Ebola service is available on +44 7702 348651. Users can subscribe by messaging JOIN or JOINDRE to that number on Whatsapp.
22 September 2014
The BBC World Service is launching special Ebola broadcasts for West Africa starting today (Monday 22nd September). Each evening shortwave transmissions to the region will be increased. There will be a round-up of News concentrating on efforts to combat the virus particularly to the three worst affected countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
News About West Africa will be a 9-minute daily programme (Monday to Friday) broadcast live at 19:50 GMT around the world and presented by BBC Africa’s Kim Chakanetsa. Through local stories, correspondents and interviews, the broadcast will include the latest information about local, regional and international effort to contain and combat the disease. There is a great deal of new information emerging about how best to respond to Ebola and the programme aims that to share that with an African and global audience.
BBC Africa in conjunction with the BBC’s international development charity, Media Action, has since August been broadcasting two weekly Ebola bulletins on the BBC’s English, French and Hausa services.
BBC Media Action has also been helping to tackle dangerous misinformation about the disease in a new radio programme. Kick Ebola Nar Salone (Kick Ebola out of Sierra Leone), is a 30-minute show produced weekly and broadcast three times a week on 35 partner stations across the country.
Peter Horrocks, Director, BBC World Service Group says: “Lack of knowledge and myths about the disease are killing people as surely as Ebola is. Quality information from both within and outside the countries affected about how the risks of Ebola can be safely managed will save lives. The range of emergency activities on Ebola from the BBC World Service are in the finest traditions of the humanitarian instincts of our broadcasting.”
This week’s programming includes:
Assignment (Thursday 25th September) will hear from a wide variety of people living through the three-day lock-down in Sierra Leone as the authorities hope to restrict the spread of the disease.
A special edition of BBC Africa Debate (Friday 26th September) from Ghana will look at the state of Africa’s health systems in the light of the Ebola outbreak. The debate will be hosted by BBC Africa’s Akwasi Sarpong, and broadcaster and health practitioner, Dr Graham Easton.
Over the weekend, Mike Williams asked why people risk their lives for strangers as they talk to health workers who return to the packed West African hospitals to help those with the disease in The Why Factor. (Source: BBC press release)
29 May 2014
As authorities in Thailand take key national and international channels off air in the country, BBC World Service has increased its shortwave English-language radio broadcasts to Thailand, to continue the delivery of its independent news and analysis to audiences there.
From 01:00 GMT on Monday 26 May, BBC World Service expanded its availability via shortwave to Thailand by adding ten hours of broadcasts to its daily shortwave schedule (all times GMT):
01:00-03:00 on 11600 kHz
03:00-05:00 on 7370 kHz
05:00-11:00 on 11700 kHz
Acting Director, BBC World Service Group, Liliane Landor says: “In times of national crisis, there is an acute need for accurate, trusted and impartial news. This is why, with our international TV news channel off the air in Thailand, we have increased BBC World Service radio broadcasts in the country.”
The above transmissions add to BBC World Service’s six hours of shortwave broadcasts at peak times for Thailand. (Source: BBC press release)
