An editorial in the Los Angeles Times severely criticises Radio/TV Martí. The newspaper says “it’s disappointing that the US, which in recent years has taken steps to improve relations with Cuba, has opted to sustain and expand these anachronistic broadcasts that serve no purpose other than to placate Cuban exiles in Miami and stoke Castro’s [...]
Posts from ‘October, 2011’
New SES satellite Astra 1N operational
SES today announced that its new Astra 1N satellite has entered commercial service at the orbital position of 28.2 degrees East. Astra 1N was built by Astrium on the Eurostar E3000 platform and is equipped with 52 transponders in the Ku frequency band. The satellite was successfully launched on board an Ariane 5 rocket from [...]
Netflix to launch in UK and Ireland in 2012
The US online video rental service Netflix is to launch in the UK and Ireland in early 2012. Netflix confirmed its first move into Europe today, six years after shelving plans to launch in the UK. British and Irish film fans will be able to subscribe to Netflix for a monthly fee – likely about [...]
Radio 4 longwave ‘could be alive for another decade’
Reports of the death of BBC Radio 4’s long wave broadcasts may be a little premature, it seems. They could continue for at least another 10 years, according to Radio 4 controller Gwyneth Williams. Ms Williams told the Church and Media forum on Thursday that the BBC’s recent announcement that Radio 4 LW was to [...]
“We will not be biased” says ZimPapers Talk Radio
ZimPapers Talk Radio (ZTR), one of four prospective radio licence holders in Zimabwe, says that if granted a licence, it will break away from the patent bias towards President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF), something that has now been associated with its papers. ZTR is one of the four prospective broadcasters shortlisted for ongoing public hearings [...]
Fujairah Media Group to launch rock station
The Fujairah Media Group (FMG) plans to launch a rock music station in the UAE and says it will boost its radio investments further by acquiring two international broadcasters. Rock 909 is transmitting test broadcasts on 90.9 FM in the UAE. FMG, which is part-owned by the Government, plans to launch the station in the [...]
Family Radio appeals for financial support
Family Radio Stations, Inc, the radio network founded and managed by Bible teacher Harold Camping, was broadcasting a message on Saturday, one day after the world failed to end as the 90-year-old evangelist had predicted, encouraging remaining supporters to keep making donations to the network.
The message also revealed that the station, which reaped about $80 [...]
Egypt TV host suspends show to protest media control
An influential Egyptian talk show host has suspended his show in protest of media censorship, he said in a statement on Friday, amid rising discontent from journalists towards the ruling military. Yosri Fouda, host of the Last Word show on the private satellite channel ONTV, said there had been “a noticeable [...]
EBU on the ground supporting Tunisian member
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Tunisia TV have successfully deployed a broadcast network across Tunisia to ensure the whole population can follow electoral developments in all constituencies during the first democratic vote in the country, and the first in the wake of the Arab Spring.
The strategic placement of satellite dishes and other network facilities [...]
German government launches channel on YouTube
Text of report by independent German Spiegel Online website on 19 October
[Unattributed report: "Federal Government on Internet: Merkel Goes YouTube"]
Berlin: At the start, users are invited to participate in an interview with Chancellor Angela Merkel: the Federal Government has launched its own YouTube channel. “When the media open new ways, we must use them to [...]
Just A Minute to be adapted for TV for 45th anniversary
One of the longest running panel games in the world, BBC Radio 4’s Just A Minute - also aired for many years on the BBC World Service - is to be adapted for television to celebrate the show’s 45th anniversary. A ten-part series will be broadcast in BBC Two’s daytime schedule, presented by long-serving host [...]
Somali workshop on humanitarian reporting
Correct information is essential to accurate reporting, Ahmed Ali Mohamed, a trainer for Radio Ergo, recently told a gathering of 27 Somali journalists at a five day multimedia workshop on Humanitarian Reporting held in Hargeisa. “Somali Journalists have a lot of missing knowledge” said Mr Mohamed. “For example, they report on food distribution and press [...]
EBU leadership voices unease over ERTU riot coverage
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) President Jean-Paul Philippot and Director General Ingrid Deltenre have written to Egyptian EBU Member ERTU, expressing their “extreme concern” about independent reports and allegations regarding the broadcaster’s coverage of a deadly riot in Cairo on 9 October.
Egyptian and international media, as well as NGOs monitoring reporting standards, have criticized the [...]
Romanian Antena 3 signs affiliation agreement with CNN International
Romanian news TV station Antena 3 has signed an agreement with CNN International which allows the Romanian station to broadcast news shows from CNN. In return, Antena 3?s stories will also be broadcast by CNN International. Romanian Antena 3 is owned by the Intact group, controlled by the Voiculescu family. The TV station is the [...]
Baseball is the reason for encryption of Radio/TV Martí
Following news that an Israeli firm had won the contract to broadcast Radio/TV Martí to Cuba via satellite, with the capability of encyption, Cuba renewed its allegations of a US “cyber war” against it. The contract was “suspicious” because of the requirement for encryption, “which can have no other purpose than intelligence,” noted a column [...]
