Posts from ‘November, 2008’

The leader of the Tamil Tigers has said Sri Lanka is “living in a dreamland of military victory”, moments after government jets for a second year running destroyed a rebel radio station broadcasting his annual address. Even with a Sri Lankan military offensive besieging the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s (LTTE) self-declared capital, leader [...]

Nigeria’s Kano State Executive Council has approved the release of funds for the purchase of a new AM digital transmitter for the state Radio Corporation, Radio Kano. Briefing the press on the outcome of the council’s meeting, the State Commissioner for Information, Barr. Haruna Isa Dederi, said that the decision is part of the government’s [...]

The initiative for opening a whole new public TV channel just for the minorities, particularly for the Serbian minority, has won wide support in Kosovo. This project should meet professional standards and be financially stable, was the conclusion of a meeting organized by the Independent Media Commission, attended by the representatives of international organizations and [...]

The Lesotho cabinet has endorsed a new communications policy that proposes wide-ranging improvements to the broadcasting sector, writes Mzimkhulu Sithetho. The policy proposes the transformation of the state broadcaster into a public service broadcaster, and the formation of a self-regulatory body that will adjudicate on complaints brought against radio and television stations.
The policy envisages corporatising the [...]

A project consultand, Nii Tackie Otoo, has called on Ghana’s National Communication Authority (NCA) to enforce its regulations that prevent radio stations broadcasting beyond their boundaries. He said some radio stations were broadcasting beyond their boundaries because certain aspects of the NCA regulations, LI 1719 of 2003, were not proactive [sic].
He was speaking at a one-day [...]

An independent TV channel featuring sports will be launched in summer 2009, said the deputy head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) TV. Speaking to Morteza Mir-Baqeri added that the channel was earlier scheduled to become operational this year with the support of the Majlis and government. However, this did not happen and the [...]

A hoax Dutch television show in which three desperately ill contestants vied with each other to be given a donor kidney has won an Emmy in New York. The Big Donor Show was billed as the ultimate reality show, but was in fact a fake. It was designed to highlight the scarcity of donated organs in [...]

Media Network contributor Christopher Lewis reported this morning “0858 UTC. I am currently listening to BBC and DW Test (the text as appeared on the display) on 9610 kHz DRM. I am not sure where the transmission is being relayed from, but signal is steady, with stereo audio. Programming is featuring reports about the environment, [...]

Rwanda’s Minister of Information has called the recent report on press freedom by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) biased. “The report is biased; these people don’t understand the reality of our countries. Our government is committed to press freedom and we’re committed to a legal press environment,” Louise Mushikiwabo said in a phone interview with The New Times.
According to [...]

Text of report in English by Ethiopian opposition website Ethiopian Review on 24 November
The [armed opposition] Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF) launched a new website, eppfonline.org, on Sunday, 23 November. The official launching of the website was announced by the organizational affairs head of EPPF’s International Committee, Ato [Mr] Sileshi Tilahun, in an interview with [...]

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Member States met to further discuss policy, technology and content issues in regard to the implementation of digital broadcasting in the region. The 7th ASEAN Digital Broadcasting (ADB) Meeting, co-chaired by Brunei Darussalam and Singapore in Bali, Indonesia on 18 November 2008, successfully concluded with officials agreeing to set [...]

Broadcast Now reports that BBC World Service director Nigel Chapman is to leave the Corporation after almost 31 years service. From March 2009 he will become chief executive of children’s charity Plan International, of which he has been a UK trustee for six years. The BBC is to begin advertising for his successor shortly. In [...]

In an open letter to thePublic Diplomacy Council (PDC), the US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) says it takes ’sharp exception’ to many points in Reforming US International Broadcasting for a New Era, a document issued by the PDC on 17 November.  The BBG says it is false to claim that it has acted in any way that contravenes [...]

RNW’s Rob Kievit writes: Staff at France’s public broadcasters have gone on a 24-hour strike, protesting at planned reforms. The unions have issued a strike call to 10,000 radio and television employees. The interruption of radio and TV programmes on Tuesday coincides with a session of parliament where the proposed changes will be discussed. President Nicolas [...]

We have received word from VT Communications that the BBC’s relay station in Thailand will resume operations tomorrow, 25 November. The station has been off the air following flooding in the region. This means that the temporary BBC transmissions via RNW Madagascar have now ended.
Update 1700 UTC: Alok das Gupta in Calcutta reports that the station [...]