MEDIABLAB DAILY DIGEST APR 28: NZ RADIO LICENCE AUCTION: MURDOCH'S ASIA EXPANSION
April 28th 2008 02:34
FUND MANAGER DENIES NEWS STORY THAT HE HAS PURCHASED AUSTRALIA’S OLDEST NEW MAGAZINE, THE BULLETIN, WHICH WAS SHUTDOWN IN JANUARY
Fund manager and executive chairman of Hunter Hall Investment Management, Peter Hall discovered he had bought the recently-shutdown Australian oldest news magazine The Bulletin from Australian Consolidated Press.
He read the news in The Australian Financial Review, but it was news to him and he was rather surprised to read this in the supposedly sacrosanct journal of record that the Australian Financial Review sets itself out to be.
Hall, currently in London, corrected the story via News Corp’s The Australian over the weekend, saying, "I haven't bought it yet. I am in discussions with ACP. I am carrying out due diligence to see if I can build an economic model that might work. I am trying to prove that up. But, sadly, we are still a few months from working it out. It's looking a bit iffy about whether I should do it."
Hall said it would take him some months to conclude the due diligence on The Bulletin.
If he does go ahead and purchase The Bulletin, which was closed by PBL in January, the former journalist said he would turn it into a weekly magazine of comment and analysis, like The Spectator or the New Yorker.
Hall, who was a cadet journalist with The Canberra Times before moving into the funds management business 25 years ago, told The Australian, “I believe Australia needs an intelligent weekly magazine of comment and analysis. It is part of a country having a conversation with itself."
A SOBER LOOK AT THE MEDIA’S OFTEN OVER-EXCITED COVERAGE OF THE TIBET ISSUE
“In the squabble between Chinese and western media, truth, as usual, is the first casualty,” reports Asia Sentinel.
The web site went on to say, “Never mind the Tibetans, the media war between China and the West has been so furious that editors appear to have forgotten what the protests were all about.
“Much as western journalists distorted Burma’s [Myanmar] last year from a plea to help the poverty-stricken into a single-minded demand for democracy, the Tibetans’ case has been hijacked by a xenophobic Xinhua on the one hand and a Free Tibet-spouting, China-doubting, western press on the other.
“Where are the voices of reason?”
A Chinese academic who has been researching the country’s minorities for decades told Asia Sentinel, “The Tibetan problem is about religion. It’s not a question of independence. It’s about the condition of Tibetan’s lives.”
Asia Sentinel accuses the official Chines newsagency, Xinhua of being a little “hysterical” with its “rants, but also points out that, “Meanwhile, the western press, albeit usually a little more balanced…report allegations and claims from Tibetan exile groups without question and frequently without sourcing.
“Of course, with China denying foreigners access to Tibetan areas, overseas journalists say there is not much else they can do.
But Asia Sentinel pointed out there are a few voices of reason including on the Chinese mainland.
“In early April, Southern Weekend (Nanfang Zhoumo), a weekly magazine published by the Southern Media Group, well known for its controversial investigative journalism, ran an editorial by Cao Xin.
“In this 1,200-character essay entitled “A Different Kind of Thinking on Tibet”, Cao made the most reasonable arguments yet about the Tibetan question to appear in the mainland press. He suggested that the protests in Tibet demonstrated that many Tibetans still revere the Dalai Lama and that the government should distinguish between those Tibetans who advocate violence and independence and those who do not.
“For the good of the nation and to support the Olympics, Beijing should seek a dialogue with the latter group. More controversially, Cao suggested that Tibet is a special case and that policies adopted in other autonomous regions are perhaps not appropriate and that ‘genuine regional autonomy’ is the answer.”
NEW FREE DUTCH BUSINESS DAILY LAUNCHED LAST WEEK
Newspaper Innovation reports that the free Dutch daily newspaper De Pers launched a business daily spin-off last week, called De Financiele Pers.
The paper is handed out in business centres in major cities, and is a joint venture between De Pers and Internet business platform IEX.nl.
The first issue had 32 pages.
Circulation is not yet known. De Pers was launched in January 2007 and, after Metro, Spits, De Pers and DAG, De Financiele Pers is the fifth national free daily in the Netherlands.
CAMBODIA’S PUBLISHING SURGE CONTINUES WITH A FREE ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY TO LAUNCH IN MID-MAY
Former Australian Anthony Galloway, founder of Cambodia’s Expat Advisory website, is about to launch a free weekly entertainment and lifestyle paper in the capital, Phnom Penh.
The 24-page paper, to be distributed from mid-May on through bars, restaurants, hotels and spas, will be modelled on the successful Asia city publishing group magazines: BK (Bangkok); HK (Hong Kong,) and SH (Shanghai.)
According to South Eastern Globe magazine, the initial print run is estimated to be between 6,000-10,000.
Galloway said, “Cambodia is growing at a fierce pace and we will not be alone entering the market in 2008, as others are launching new publications as well.”
SIX MEKONG SUBREGION NATIONS COMBINE TO PRODUCE A DOCUMENTARY SERIES ABOUT LIFE ON THE GREAT RIVER
Six nations in the Greater Mekong Subregion have come together to produce a documentary series featuring the stories of people living along the Lancang-Mekong river, reports enews.mcot.net.
The documentary, entitled 'Nourished by the Same River', was the first collaboration of its kind among national broadcasters of the six nations along the Lancang-Mekong river, namely TVK-Cambodia, CCTV-China, LNTV-Laos, MRTV-Myanmar, VTN-Vietnam and MCOT-Thailand.
The documentary features the Greater Mekong’s geographical and cultural treasures, and aims to weave together and depict all walks of lives along the Lancang-Mekong river, which originates in Tibet and flows through China before breaking into many rivers including the Mekong.
Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama presided over the launch of the event and represented Thailand at the official release of the documentary.
The foreign minister said, “This jointly produced TV documentary is testimony that countries in the subregion now realise the importance of media in promoting and realising what I would like to call the three Cs in our subregion: connectivity, competitiveness and community/”
Taking three years to finish, 'Nourished by the Same River' was filmed by 11 camera teams and produced in China by CCTV International.
NEW ZEALAND GOVT TO AUCTION OFF 47 NEW FM RADIO LICENCES NEXT MONTH
The New Zealand government will auction 47 new FM radio licences next month, reports Television New Zealand.
Thirty-one of the licences will be for local commercial use and 16 for non-commercial use.
Broadcasting Minister David Cunliffe says the focus of the new allocation will be on making licences available for locally owned and operated radio stations.
He says it's to strengthen regional and community broadcasting.
One of the conditions is that bidders reside within the coverage area and target the needs and expectations of its local audience,
MCOT-THAILAND TELEVISION FORECASTS A 15-20 PERCENT REVENUE INCREASE THIS YEAR
MCOT-Thailand expects its revenue to increase 15-20 percent this year from additional news programs and a reshuffling of shows, its president Wasan Paileekleem according to a report in The Nation.
"A rise in revenue will come from news and in the adjustment of show times," he said, adding that company plans to change its non-prime-time television shows in July to meet its revenue target.
Modernine TV vice president Suthichai Bunnag said the channel would expand airtime for mid-day news shows from Monday to Friday by 15 minutes. The company will also adjust some programs which cannot generate revenue as planned.
Mr Suthichai said some producers of TV shows for TITV channel are keen to produce programs for Modernine TV. The firm will also produce shows itself, focusing more on educational-entertainment shows.
MCOT shareholders also approved the nominations of new four directors.
They are Nathi Premrasmi, deputy permanent secretary of the Prime Minister's Office; Danucha Yindeepit, deputy director of the State Enterprise Policy Office; academic Anusorn Thamajai; and Pongchai Amatanon, managing director of Forth Corp Pcl.
A plan to add five members to the board was suspended. The shareholders said they did not know beforehand that there was an agenda to approve another five members,
SOME NEWSPAPERS DON’T GIVE A HOT ABOUT OBJECTIVITY ACCORDING TO INDIAN REPORT
The Hoot, based in New Delhi, looked at four Indian newspapers, the Times of India, the Hindustan Times, the Hindu, and the Indian Express, from March 15 to April 7 to examine the coverage on the Tibetan protests in Lhasa and other places and the Chinese and international response, and to measure the objectivity of the reporting, if any.
Editors Weblog Newsletter reported that “The Hoot found that the Hindu and Indian Express were ‘narrower in their breadth of coverage and less inclined to give all sides of the story.’ The Indian Express had catchy headlines that supported Tibet, but did not cover other aspects of the story.
“The Hindu had less than half of the number of items on this story than the Times of India and was the only paper that did not have a story on Tibet everyday and that had a pro-China headline.”
According to the newsletter, “The four papers also shaped each story differently, evident on the March 17 headlines: Hindustan Times: ‘Unrest spreads to Sichuan’", Times Of India: ‘Lhasa lockdown, violence continues’, Indian Express: ‘Beijing declares ’peoples war', troops pour into Lhasa’, and the Hindu: ‘Lhasa returns to normal.’”
Examining the bias in each paper through their editorials, the Hoot found that The Hindu was "the most unequivocal one." On March 26, they ran a story called ‘The question of Tibet,’ which included a statement on the violence by Tibetans in Lhasa, critics of China's handling, and a look at China's options. The story concluded with a negative slant toward New Delhi for giving the Dalai Lama and his followers too much freedom for their political activities in India. The Hindu also described the Tibetans as ‘rioters,’ while the other three papers called them ‘protesters.’
The Indian Express was also explicit in its stance, by writing that democracies must allow peaceful protests on their soil in their Olympic Torch editorials on March 29 and April 5.
The Times of India ‘urged China to talk to the Dalai Lama,’ and urged India to stand up to Chinese threats and ensure that ‘Beijing respects the differences between the political systems in the two countries.’
The Hindustan Times highlighted India's interests by reminding its readers that the conflict was taking place on Indian ground. It recommended ‘deepening Sino-Indian relations through economic engagement.’
On April 14, The Hindu's readers editor acknowledged that the paper's coverage lacked balance, and "that there was a surprising absence of letters to the editor on the issue," according to the Hoot. He quoted from readers' complaints on the type and amount of coverage on the issue, wrote his own thoughts on the situation, and gave the chief editor space to respond.
The Hoot also found that what is newsworthy for some, is not for others. For example, The Hindustan Times had three stories on the disruption of the Olympic torch ceremony in Greece on March 25, while the Times of India had two. The Hindu and Indian Express chose not to cover this incident.
CONCERNS ABOUT MEDIA RESTRICTIONS IN TONGA DURING NATIONAL ELECTION
Tonga's media council has voiced concern about reporting restrictions on the Pacific Island's public broadcaster during its national election, reports Radio Australia.
The council says restrictions on the government-controlled Tonga Broadcasting Commission are affecting the reputation of all the island's media outlets.
The Pacific Islands News Association has said it is very concerned about the new rules, while the New Zealand government has described the move as unfortunate.
The Tongan government has defended its actions as necessary to ensure balance and objectivity.
The chairman of the Tonga Media Council, Pesi Fonua, says restrictions placed on the Tonga Broadcasting Commission are having a knock-on effect.
He said, "They have the only television that runs local programs, and that's why candidates want to use the TV. They also have the only AM station going out to the villages and people out in the other islands.
"So from our point of view I think it was mishandled, and people who did this are not aware of the damage they have done for Tonga's image because, rightly so, the media overseas will say that they are trying to interfere with public opinion.”
RUPERT MURDOCH LOOKS SET TO FURTHER EXPAND HIS EMPIRE INTO ASIA
Rupert Murdoch has flagged the possibility of expanding his Asian empire and launching a business channel via News Corp's Star TV network.
This became evident last week when Marcus Brauchli quit as managing editor of The Wall Street Journal after less than a year for a consulting position with the paper's new owner, News Corporation.
A Dow Jones statement said Brauchli will provide guidance to senior management in a wide range of areas, from advising The Wall Street Journal to exploring the possibility of launching a business news channel for Star TV in Asia.
The Wall Street Journal itself reported that “Brauchli, who is 46 years old, ultimately agreed to stay on at News Corp. as a consultant, providing "guidance to senior management in a wide range of areas," including whether News Corp.'s Star-TV service in Asia should launch a business-news channel, the company said in a statement.
“In the statement, Mr. Murdoch said he believed Mr. Brauchli's experience "will be a great asset, especially in Asia – a region where we see significant growth potential and where he has particular expertise."
AUSTRALIAN PUBLISHER OF GRAZIA STARTS HIRING EDITORIAL STAFF
ACP Magazines in Sydney is upping the hype factor for its forthcoming launch of Grazia magazine and last week it heralded the fact that three “leading Australian journalists” were joining the magazine.
It added that the three “leading” journalists, Anita Quigley, Lucinda Pitt (formerly Mendel) and Matthew Evans will join Grazia’s “acclaimed” editorial line-up.
Alison Veness-McGourty, editor-in-chief, Grazia, said the appointment of the journalists “further cements Grazia’s position as the hottest new property in Australian magazine publishing.”
Anita Quigley will be features and entertainment editor and joins Grazia from The Daily Telegraph where she has been a columnist since 2003. Quigley began her career as a cadet journalist and rose to chief of staff at The Herald Sun before moving to London. She worked on a number of UK national newspapers, including The Times, The Observer and The Sun, before returning to Australia and The Daily Telegraph.
Lucinda Pitt (formerly Mendel), will be beauty and health director. Pitt has written for a broad range of publications including: Harper's BAZAAR, The Weekend Australian Magazine, The Age, The Sun-Herald and the (Sydney) magazine. She is the former editor of ELLE magazine and has worked at Cosmopolitan, Australian Gourmet Traveller and Australian Business Monthly.
Matthew Evans joins Grazia as food columnist. A chef by trade, Evans has been a freelance writer, specialising in food and travel, since 1996. His articles have appeared in Travel and Leisure, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Good Weekend, Sunday Life, The Sydney Magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, The West Australian, Australian Gourmet Traveller and The Canberra Times. Evans has also been features editor, food and travel, for Vogue Entertaining Travel.
AUSTRALIAN MEDIA MOGUL DEFENDS HIS DEAD FATHER AGAINST ALLEGATIONS THAT HE WAS HEATHER MILLS’ SUGAR DADDY
Australian media mogul James Packer defended his father, Kerry, against British media claims that the billionaire regularly bonked former Beatle Paul McCartney's ex-wife Heather Mills.
James Packer described the claims to be aired in a British television documentary as a "cheap shot".
British tabloid The Daily Mail yesterday claimed to have seen the documentary, saying it reported Kerry Packer had been Ms Mills's "sugar daddy" when she worked as a high-class prostitute.
The claim about the Australian billionaire was made by Denise Hewitt, who said she worked as a 10,000 pound (A$21,000) a night escort with Ms Mills in the 1980s, the newspaper reported.
"We went into high-class prostitution behind closed doors and nobody knew about it ... (Adnan) Khashoggi, Kerry Packer and one of the royal princes of Saudi, they were the big fish, and there were a couple of others that were classed as Heather's sugar daddies," Hewitt, 44, says in the documentary, What Really Happened.
Heather Mills has declined to comment on the documentary, but details of her “colourful” sexual history were first revealed in Britain's News of the World newspaper in June 2006, one month after she separated from McCartney.
She has denied being a call girl for wealthy businessmen but has never sued over the allegations.
CHINES TEACHER AND BEAUTICIAN SUE CNN ON BEHALF OF ALL THE CHINESE PEOPLE
A Chinese primary school teacher and a beautician have filed a suit against CNN in New York over remarks they claim insulted the Chinese people and are seeking US$1.3 billion in compensation – $1 per person in China, a Hong Kong newspaper reported.
Reuters reports, “The case against the Atlanta-based cable channel, its parent company Turner Broadcasting and Jack Cafferty, the offending commentator, comes after 14 lawyers launched a similar suit in Beijing alleging that Cafferty's remarks earlier this month violated the dignity and reputation of the Chinese people.
“Cafferty said the United States imported Chinese-made ‘junk with the lead paint on them and the poisoned pet food’ and added: ‘They're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years.’.”
CNN said Cafferty was expressing an opinion about the Chinese government, but the Foreign Ministry demanded an apology and accused the network of trying to drive a wedge between the Chinese people and leadership.
GERMAN PUBLISHER TO TURN WIKIPEDIA INTO A PRINTED YEAR BOOK
Germany's Bertelsmann AG will publish what could be the first in a series of annual yearbooks whose content is derived entirely from the content of Wikipedia.
Yahoo reports that the media company – whose units include publisher Random House Inc. and music venture Sony BMG – plans to publish ‘The One-Volume Wikipedia Encyclopedia’ starting in September with the content made up of 50,000 of the most-searched terms on the German language edition of Wikipedia.
Beate Varnhorn, the head of publishing at Bertelsmann Encyclopedia Institute said the ‘condensed, one-volume print edition’ would bring Wikipedia to a new audience.
Like its web-based namesake, the book will be under a free license, meaning its content can be distributed and copied, including commercially. Copies of the 992-page book — available only in German — will retail for US$31.80.
Bertelsmann has agreed to pay Wikimedia Deutschland eV, which promotes the German-language version of the online encyclopaedia, $1.59 a copy, said Arne Klempert, the group's executive director.
MORE REVELATIONS EMERGE FROM LITTLE-REPORTED NEWS CORPORATION HACKING COURT CASE IN CALIFORNIA
News com au reports that a computer hacker, described as one of the two best in the world, has told a court hearing into corporate spying that he was hired by News Corporation to develop pirating software.
But Christopher Tarnovsky, who said his first payment was $US20,000 (A$21,136) in cash hidden in electronic devices mailed from Canada, denied using the software to hack into the security system of a rival satellite television service.
Tarnovsky was testifying in a Santa Ana court in a corporate-spying lawsuit brought against News Corp's NDS Group by DISH Network Corporation.
The trial could result in hundreds of millions of dollars in damage awards.
Tarnovsky told the court he was paid on a regular basis by Harper Collins, a publishing arm of News Corp, for 10 years.
He said one of his first projects was to develop a pirating program to make DirectTV more secure.
Lawyers for DISH said Trotsky’s mission was to hack into DISH's satellite network, steal the security code then flood the market with pirated smart cards, costing DISH $US900 million in lost revenue and system-repair costs.
A BIDDING WAR EMERGES IN THE US OVER SALE OF NEWSDAY TO HEAD OFF RUPERT MURDOCH
AFP reports that “rival US media titans” have launched a bidding war for Newsday.
The New York-area paper itself reported on Saturday that Daily News owner Mortimer Zuckerman had matched Rupert Murdoch's US$580 million bid.
AFP said Zuckerman's deal would involve a joint venture that would see Newsday parent Tribune Company owning approximately five percent of the paper for the next 10 years, according to a source cited by the paper.
The Australian-born Murdoch made a "handshake" offer to buy Newsday from debt-laden Tribune, Newsday reported, although the deal is likely to draw the scrutiny of US federal regulators amid anti-competitive concerns.
Murdoch's News Corp. owns two New York television stations, and should he buy Newsday it would give him three New York-based newspapers.
Zuckerman did not outbid Murdoch, but instead will argue to the Tribune Co. that his bid makes more sense because it is less likely to undergo delays due to regulatory checks, the New York Times reported.
The Post and the Daily News have been battling for New York tabloid supremacy for years, and owning Newsday could provide a distinct financial advantage by consolidating costs for printing and distribution, according to media reports.
AMERICAN NEWSPAPER STOCKS BOUNCE BACK STRONGLY IN WHAT MAY HERALD A SUNNY MOOD ON WALL STREET
Editor &Publisher reported that the day after “Wall Street beat down newspaper stocks – sinking several to yearly bottoms, and The McClatchy Co. to an all-time low – the sector rebounded sharply on Thursday.”
McClatchy was the biggest gainer on the day, closing at U$9.48, up $1.18 (or 14.22 percent. On Wednesday, investors bid McClatchy down to a historic low of $8.32 after the publisher of The Miami Herald and The Sacramento Bee reported its first-quarter revenue fell 13.8 percent on poor advertising performance, including a 35% plunge in real estate classified.
McClatchy stock is down about 90 percent from its high, and some financial blogs have been talking it up as a bargain with a big upside.
Gannett Co rebounded to $27.93, up $2.07, or 8 percent -- a day after investors pushed it to a new 52-week low.
Media General Inclost a proxy battle at its annual meeting on Thursday, as a big majority of shares were voted for three representatives of the dissident shareholder group Harbinger Capital Partners. But its stock was a winner on the day, closing at $13.92, up 52 cents, or 3.88 percent.
Of the 14 stocks that Editor &Publisher monitors, all rose on Thursday except GateHouse Media, which closed off 5 cents, or 1.04 percent, at $4.74.
AMERICAN MEDIA DUMPS OBAMA AND SWITCHES ALLEGIANCE TO CLINTON IN “A BLINK OF AN EYE”MediaBistro reports that last week, “in a blink of an eye,” the US media jumped ship from the Obama campaign and became “ a crucial Clinton ally, pressing just the message – that Obama is a likely loser in the general election – that Hillary and her allies have been promoting for the past six weeks.”
MediaBistro said, “The new tenor of media coverage is visible almost everywhere, from Politico, Time, and The New Republic to the Washington Post and The New York Times.”
RUSSIA’S SUPER-RICH TO BE FETED WITH MAGAZINE CALLED SNOB Reuters reports that Russia's super-rich, who love to flaunt their wealth, will soon have a magazine called Snob.
Mikhail Prokhorov, whose wealth is estimated at around US$22 billion, plans to spend $150 million setting up a magazine, website and television station called Snob, the general director of the new venture told Reuters.
"It's for people who are successful and those who want to be successful," said Andrei Shmarov, who will run Snob.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary's online edition, www.askoxford.com, a snob is, "A person who has an exaggerated respect for high social position or wealth and who looks down on those regarded as socially inferior".
Shmarov said Russians attach a different meaning to the word,
"Snob to us means a person who is a 'self-made man', a person who has gained a right to snobbishness," he said emphasising the main difference with the British meaning which he said referred to inherited wealth.
WALL STREET JOURNAL POST-MURDOCH SEES LESS BUSINESS COVERAGE, AND MORE POLITICAL AND GENERAL INTEREST EDITORIAL
Editor & Publisher reports that since Rupert Murdoch took over The Wall Street Journal, the paper has seen a marked increase in political and general interest coverage and a decrease in business reporting, which is down more than 50 percent, according to a new study released on Thursday.
The Project for Excellence in Journalism contends that since Murdoch finalised his purchase of Dow Jones, the paper has seen such a shift.
"Many people expected Rupert Murdoch to be an activist owner when he bought the Wall Street Journal last year. So what’s happened to the paper under his tenure?" a release on the report asked.
"A Project for Excellence study finds that under the new regime, there’s a lot less business and a lot more Beltway."
The Project for Excellence examined the Journal's front pages from every other weekday edition between December 13, 2007, and March 13, 2008, to determine if the paper’s agenda had changed, the report said.
Its findings include that fact that business coverage dropped more than half -- falling from 30 percent in the months prior to the sale to 14 percent.
It found that in the first four months of Murdoch’s ownership, the Journal has shifted its focus, opting for less business coverage and for more coverage of national politics and international issues."
Politics and campaign coverage more than tripled from December 2007 to March 2008, reaching 18 percent of the news hole compared to 5 percent in the months before the takeover."
A comparison of the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times front pages now suggests the editorial competition is largely in the area of politics.
The report stated, “Under the Murdoch regime, the single biggest change in front-page coverage occurred with politics and the presidential campaign since the front page has a finite amount of space, that increase in political coverage seems to have come largely at the expense of business news."
"Among the other notable gainers in the Murdoch era is coverage of foreign events that do not directly involve the US, which jumped to 25 percent from 18 percent. (Roughly one third of that (9 percent is related to overseas economic and business affairs.)
“Coverage of government also increased a bit, up to 4 percent from 3 percent. Aside from the business beat, other subjects that experienced drops in coverage under Murdoch include health and medicine, which fell to less than 1 percent from 5 percent. Transportation issues fell to 0 percent on the days studied from 3 percent. And the environment dropped to 1 percent from 3 percent.
"Several key categories appeared unchanged. Economics—which includes the faltering US economy, the mortgage crisis and other macro concerns— remained at 15 percent. Coverage of foreign events in which the US played a major role has been steady at 4 percent as has lifestyle coverage (about 4 percent) and education (3 percent)."
The full report can be found at: www.journalism.org
SRI LANKAN MILITARY OBSTRUCTS MEDIA OVER COVERAGE OF CLASHES IN THE NORTH
The Sri Lankan military is preventing the media obtaining information after violent clashes in the north of the country on April 23 in which the Sri Lankan army reportedly lost 185 men.
"The clashes and the evident losses have pushed the military authorities into establishing preventive censorship, preventing photographers and reporters from reaching hospitals and morgues to establish the death toll," according to Reporters Without Borders.
"The contradictory statements by those involved and constant pressure from the government which only wants to see the most patriotic articles, shows the urgent need for independent coverage of events currently shaking the region," it added.
On April 14 soldiers prevented photographers from entering a Colombo hospital in which wounded soldiers were being treated.
In one of the most violent engagements on the Jaffna Peninsula in recent years, security forces battled Tiger Tamil fighters of the LTTE, leaving losses apparently much heavier than those reported by either side. Each side claimed to have killed around 100 troops.
While the defence ministry said on the day of the battle that 43 soldiers had been killed and that 33 others were missing, unofficial military sources said the army had lost 185 men and that 20 were missing. The army also claimed to have killed more than 3,000 LTTE fighters since the start of 2008, which corresponds to the figure for the total Tigers force provided by the military command six months earlier.
The government is trying to win the news war by doing its utmost to keep journalists away from combat zones and medical facilities as well as trying to influence the editorial stance of both local and national newspapers.
Five journalists' organisations, including the Free Media Movement, have signed a statement condemning the pressure being brought to bear on the media by the armed forces, in particular against the Tamil daily Thinakural. The Tamil Tigers and the paramilitaries have also been urged to "respect the right to information" and to halt attacks against journalists.
MEDIA MONITORS AND FACTIVA THE BIG WINNERS IN AUSTRALIAN GOVT MEDIA MONITORING SPREE
The Australian newspaper reports that the Rudd Government has committed more than A$1.5 million to media-monitoring services in its first five months of office, despite castigating its predecessor for doing the same.
The Australian reported, “It also spent $60,000 on ‘media management’ of the recent 2020 Summit and has found at least $35,000 to pay for media training for public servants. “Tender records, published this year and covering contracts starting after Labor won government, show federal departments are still committing hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy media-monitoring services regardless of staff cutbacks and other savings across the public service.
“The big spenders include the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, which awarded a $400,000 contract to Media Monitors for eight months of tracking news reports.
The Department of Parliamentary Services paid the same company $594,000 for online news services, in a three-year contract ending late 2010.
Media Monitors also won a six-month $231,363 deal from the Department of Defence, and a three-year $216,000 contract from the Australian Electoral Commission.
A separate, one-year $269,280 contract with the Australian Crime Commission went to rival news provider Factiva.
MORE STRIFE AT THE MELBOURNE AGE NEWSPAPER AS SECTION CUTS COME INTO BEING
Australia’s Crikey reports that there is “more agony” ahead for The Age newspaper in Melbourne in coming weeks.
Crikey reports, “News has emerged that in the next few weeks there will be big cut backs in page numbers. The paper’s most popular sections - Green Guide, Money, Insight, Sport, and A2 are all about to lose pages, and special sections and news may be in the gun as well.
“This follows the dropping of Friday’s form guide, which has resulted in a record number of over 600 reader complaints. The guide was cut, incredibly, on the eve of the Golden Slipper in Sydney, which is a bit like blocking up the chimney the night before Christmas.
“Even more bad news. A staff freeze is also about to be imposed.”
Crikey said it understand “all these cuts have been vigorously fought by besieged editor Andrew Jaspan, and are the result of direct intervention by the Victorian chief executive Don Churchill.
“It is happening because, while circulation is comparatively good and ad volumes are up, heavy advertising discounting means that revenue has gone backwards over the last three years.
“Apparently things are even worse in Sydney, with the Sydney Morning Herald revenue about $24 million behind on budget.”
Meanwhile the Age Independence Committee met last week to consider its next move in the push to protect editorial independence from the paper’s commercial arrangements, but no news has been forthcoming from the committee.
AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY RADIO STATIONS LOCKED OUT OF DIGITAL BROADCASTING
Australian community radio stations have been locked out of ownership of digital radio, and therefore a large part of the future of the medium, according to Crikey.
Last week commercial radio rejected community broadcasting organisations' last ditch attempt to sign up to joint ventures conditional on government funding.
Crikey comments, “The whole thing really looks like a train wreck – and it has largely been caused by the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy, who has completely clammed up on the issue despite submissions from all sides urging him to bring forward funding to help community radio make the leap into the digital age.”
The ceo of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner, said she had written to Conroy last December supporting community radio’s request that funding be brought forward, but had received no response.
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