MEDIABLAB DAILY DIGEST APRIL 17: CHINA CNN APOLOGY; MYSPACE IN STH KOREA
April 17th 2008 03:05
CHINA DEMANDS CNN APOLOGISE OVER “GOONS AND THUGS” COMMENT
China has demanded that CNN apologise for sharply critical remarks made last week about the Chinese government by one of its commentators.
The New York Times reported that Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, categorised the remarks as a slander against all Chinese people, though CNN later said the criticism by the commentator, Jack Cafferty, reflected his personal opinion and was focused solely on the government.
"We are shocked at, and strongly condemn, the vicious remarks against the Chinese people," Ms Jiang said during a regular news briefing. "We solemnly demand that CNN and Cafferty retract his vicious remarks and apologis to the whole Chinese people."
Cafferty’s more intelligent observations on China included, "I think they're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years."
Cafferty later clarified his comments, saying his phrase "goons and thugs" was intended to mean China's government, not its people.
Jiang's unusually strong reprimand comes amid widespread public anger among many Chinese, including those living overseas, at what they perceive as biased foreign media coverage over the Tibetan crisis.
The New York Times said specific criticisms have mostly focused on mislabeled photo captions that wrongly identified a police crackdown against Tibetan protesters in Nepal as having instead occurred in China.
Mr. Cafferty clarified his comments on Monday's broadcast of "The Situation Room," saying his phrase "goons and thugs" was intended to mean China's government, not its people.
NEW YORK TIMES POISED TO BRING THE AXE DOWN ON NEWSROOM STAFFERS
MediaBistro reports that the New York Times announced that it's all but a done a deal that the paper will have to lay off staffers in the newsroom.
MediaBistro said, “The drop-dead deadline is fast approaching for newsroom staffers to volunteer for a buyout (payout in Australian parlance) “An internal memo from the paper's assistant managing editor, Bill Schmidt, said that the paper expects it will be forced to cut the newsroom through layoffs.”
The New York Post reported that Schmidt said in a memo,"While we will not know the hard count until that time, every effort to handicap the outcome suggests that we are almost certain to fall short of the number of volunteers we will need."
HONG KONG’S PHOENIX SATELLITE TV’S ANNUAL REVENUE UP 14 PERCENT
Marketing reports that Hong Kong’s Phoenix Satellite Television's annual report showed a positive trend in its total revenue over the year, with an increase of 14 percent, nearly reaching HK$1.18 billion (A$161 million.).
Advertising and subscription revenues in TV broadcasting for 2007 increased by 61 percent contributing to 91.9 percent of the group's total revenue.
Marketing said the segmental result for TV broadcasting recorded a profit of approximately HK$37 million, whereas 2006's was HK$35 million.
Revenue from the dominating channel, Phoenix Chinese, accounted for 68.1 percent of the group's total revenue, followed by Phoenix InfoNews channel, which showed a decline of 8.9 percent, contributing to only 17.3 percent.
The cumulative revenues from Phoenix Movie channel, Phoenix North America Chinese channel and Phoenix Chinese News and Entertainment channel gained 12.9 percent.
Marketing reported that the group's join ventures with Beijing Broadcasting Company, Beijing Simulcast Communication and Regal Fame Investments were the highlights of 2007 performance. It has been considering other investment options but no solid plan has been made so far.
SRI LANKAN LABOUR MINISTER ONCE AGAIN SENDS THUGS IN AGAINST JOURNALISTS
Sri Lankan Labour minister Mervyn Silva's bodyguards threatened two photographers working for the Daily Mirror and Daily Lankadeepa newspapers during a ceremony to rename the Kelaniya flyover outside Colombo on April 10.
Silva, who is known for his hostility towards the press, initially singled out a cameraman who was covering the event for News First, a Sirasa TV news service, ordering his men to make him leave.
He then turned on the two photographers when they took photos of the cameraman's removal. "I will hit you and break your cameras if you don't go from here now," Silva's head of security told them.
All three journalists were forced to leave. The Daily Mirror and Daily Lankadeepa are both owned by Wijeya Newspapers.
Meanwhile, two journalists who took part in an army-organised press trip to the northern Jaffna region, where there is fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels, were subsequently subjected to verbal harassment by military officers who disliked their coverage.
Daily Mirror reporter Poornima Weerasekera was berated via telephone by an officer on April 8 about photos of soldiers in Jaffna. The newspaper said they illustrated the military presence in the region, but the army said they were just there to protect the journalists during the trip.
Vindya Amaranayake, a reporter with the daily The Bottom Line, was admonished by telephone on April 9 by army spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakara, who accused her of giving a "negative" picture of the situation in Jaffna and said the army would think twice next time about inviting journalists to visit the region. Amaranayake said she felt directly threatened by Nanayakara's comments.
FRENCH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ABOUT TO CRIMINALISE MEDIA DEPICTIONS OF EXTREME THINNESS
BBC News reports that the French National Assembly has passed a groundbreaking bill which seeks to criminalise the promotion in the media of extreme thinness.
The bill targets pro-anorexia websites and publications that encourage girls and young women to starve themselves. It will affect websites, fashion houses, magazines and advertisers.
If approved by France's upper house, those found to have encouraged severe weight loss could be fined up to Euro45,000 (A$76,500) and face three years in prison. French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said the proposed law would help stop advice on how to become ultra-thin being spread through pro-anorexia sites on the internet.
The law could also affect the fashion industry and magazine editors who publish photographs of extremely thin models. If the bill is passed by France's upper house, the Senate, in the coming weeks offenders could face jail sentences of up to two years and Euro30,000 in fines. A three-year term and Euro45,000 in fines could be sought against offenders if the incitement was found to have lead to death.
The BBC's Emma Jane Kirby in Paris estimates there are 40,000 anorexics in France.
AFGHAN JOURNALIST CONDEMNED TO DEATH MAY NOW POSSIBLY BE ABLE TO APPEAL
Bloomberg reports that a young Afghan journalist, sentenced to death in January for spreading feminist criticism of Islam, has been granted an appeal, according to one of the international organisations monitoring his case.
Jean MacKenzie, program director in Afghanistan for the Institute for War & Peace Reporting said there have been promises from officials in the government of President Hamid Karzai that Kambakhsh would be freed.
MacKenzie credited international protests in the wake of the death sentence as a key factor in getting Kambakhsh out of the control of regional religious and secular authorities.
She also said that within Afghanistan, protests in several cities organized by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan , a banned group, had made local citizens aware of the case.
News of the ‘trial' and death sentence sparked protests from human rights and journalists' organizations, including International PEN, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Committee and Reporters Without Borders.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISTS GROUP APPEALS TO CHINA TO NOT INTERFERE WITH OLYMPIC COVERAGE
An international journalists group appealed to Chinese authorities on Monday to stop interfering with coverage leading up to the Beijing Olympics.
Expatica Belgium reported that the International Federation of Journalists began a four-day visit to China to make its case in person.
The Brussels-based group is to meet with Chinese government and media officials as well as with foreign correspondents. The International Federation of Journalists said its mission will discuss with the Beijing Olympic Committee how to ensure journalists can be protected and exercise the right to report without interference during the Games.
The International Federation of Journalists mission is made up of representatives of journalist groups from Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia, and represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries.
MYSPACE LAUNCHES INTO THE WORLD’S MOST COMPETITIVE SOCIAL NETWORK MARKETS – SOUTH KOREA
MySpace on Tuesday muscled in on one of the world's most competitive social networking markets, launching a localised version for South Korea. The News Corporation-owned site has, like the rest of MySpace's 28 other regional versions, been customised to appeal to the Korean market with a simplified design, local TV and music content and a new ‘minilogs’ feature - diary notes that can be customised with animations and colours.
A dedicated gallery will display the best ‘skins’ - style templates - by Korean designers, allowing users to customise their profiles.
Recent figures from comScore put MySpace at 107 million users globally per month, representing one in eight of the world's web users, and the website has been aggressively expanding its network.
But MySpace faces stiff competition in South Korea, where local site Cyworld is reportedly used by as much as 90 percent of the country's under-20s.
South Korea is a key market because it is one of the world's most advanced web audiences, with near universal broadband distribution and high-speed connections available to nearly one third of the 48 million population. A report last year by Ipsos Insight found South Koreans to be the world's most regular social network users, with 55 percent accessing such sites every month, compared with 24 percent in the US.
BBC ASIAN NETWORK DIGITAL RADIO UNVEILS THE FIRST OF ITS PLANNED BIG CHANGES
BBC Asian Network has unveiled a new weekend schedule as part of the first changes introduced to the digital radio station by controller Andy Parfitt.
Tommy Sandhu will present the network's first weekend breakfast show on Saturday and Sunday, with a new request show fronted by Asian Network DJ Murtz replacing sports show Kickin' Off on Saturday afternoons.
Raj and Pablo will present an overhauled Love Bollywood show on Saturday and Sunday mornings, while religious music slot Devotional Sounds is being moved an hour earlier, to run from 4am to 7am, to help make space for Sandhu's new breakfast show.
Media Guardian reports that Parfitt, also controller of BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and the corporation's multimedia teen BBC Switch, said the changes were intended to "simplify and strengthen" the Asian network's content.
Rajini Vaidynathan, who previously presented the Saturday edition of Love Bollywood, will remain with the station, said an Asian Network spokeswoman.
An Asian Network spokesman said the changes were intended to appeal to a twenty- and thirtysomething market. They come into effect on Saturday, May 17.
The station said the new schedule would "further Asian Network's sound as the best mix of new and classic Asian music and entertainment on the radio".
Parfitt took charge of the Asian Network when Adrian van Klaveren was appointed BBC Radio Five Live controller in February.
He had been looking after the Asian Network on an interim basis following the exit of former Radio Five Live boss Bob Shennan, who had previously overseen the station, last year.
AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC TV BROADCASTER WINS TOP GONG AT IT JOURNALISM AWARDS
Australian public broadcaster ABC TV’s program Good Game has been awarded Best Multimedia Coverage and the top honour, Technology Title of the Year at the 6th annual IT Journalism Awards, known as The Lizzies.
Amanda Duthie, head of arts, entertainment and comedy, ABC TV said "We are thrilled that Good Game has been recognised for both editorial coverage and technological innovation at the Lizzie Awards.”
“The success of this breakout ABC2 program needs to be shared with our die-hard user-audience that is a significant part of the creative and editorial process – active on posting boards, contributors of video segments and accepting of experimental programming styles such as machinima – the audience is a true collaborator and unsung hero.”
The IT Journalism Awards recognise excellence in IT media and journalism. The awards are affectionately known as The Lizzies, in reference to the 'Lizards' nickname that has been adopted by the Australian IT media community.
The ABC2 program was a clear winner for the Best Multimedia Coverage award and became only the second non-print title to take home the top prize.
In a world first, Good Game and the Australian Film Commission are currently developing an audience-generated online game and offering two mentorships with Australia development company, Infinite Interactive for the best contributors.
AUSTRALIA’S LONGEST RUNNING RADIO SHOW HOST CALLS IT QUITS AFTER FORTY-PLUS YEARS ON AIR
Australia’s long-term living radio legend John Cargher has finally called it quits after more than 40 years of bringing the world’s finest singers to Australian radio audiences in his weekly program Singers of Renown.
Cargher’s final program will be heard on ABC Radio National on Saturday 26 April.
For generations of listeners to ABC Radio, John Cargher has made classical music both enjoyable and accessible. Singers of Renown – “in opera, operetta and song” –has celebrated the art of singing from the earliest days of recording to the latest releases.
John Cargher made his first broadcast for the ABC in 1959, and presented the first edition of Singers of Renown in April 1966. It began on 3LO (now 774 ABC Melbourne) for what was planned to be a 13-part series. Because of its success, it was soon transferred to the ABC's national network. Forty-two years on, Singers of Renown is acknowledged as the longest running ABC program to be hosted continuously by the same presenter.
John also presented a program of orchestral music, Music For Pleasure, on ABC Radio every week for thirty years until 1997.
John Cargher’s love of music began as a teenager in London, and he worked as a toolmaker, art gallery director, television producer, ballet company manager and theatrical agent, before migrating from London to Australia in 1951. In Melbourne he managed several music stores and for some years he was managing director of the Australian National Memorial Theatre in St Kilda.
All of the music heard in Singers of Renown has been from John's extensive private collection. He brought a couple of hundred 78s when he came to Australia and has been collecting ever since.
A special encore season of Singers of Renown will continue on ABC Radio National throughout May and June, featuring a selection of programs about the great operas, along with John's landmark series A Century of Singers, first broadcast in 2000.
NEWS CORP SHARES SUFFER BIGGEST FALL IN FIVE YEARS FOLLOWING ANALYSTS OUTLOOK CUT
The Los Angeles Times reported that concerns about profit growth for News Corps MySpace social network and the need to invest in Dow Jones & Co helped prompt the biggest fall in five years for News Corp’s shares, to US$18.14.
The fall occurred after Sanford C. Bernstein & Co and UBS analysts cut their outlook for the stock, citing concerns that growth will slow.
Bernstein's Michael Nathanson reduced his 12-month share-price target to US$21 from $24 and lowered his rating to "market perform" from "outperform" in a note Monday.
UBS's Michael Morris cut his price projection to $25 from $26.
Nathanson said profit growth is likely to slow because the MySpace social-networking website will fail to meet targets. He added that Dow Jones & Co, acquired in December, will require additional investment and might be slow to turn around because of weak newspaper advertising.
"We are wary of News Corp.'s relative positioning in this intensely competitive business that features established players including Google and Yahoo," Morris said.
NEW ASSOCIATE EDITOR AND BEAUTY DIRECTOR FOR AUSTRALIA’S HARPER’S BAZAAR
ACP Magazines in Sydney announced that Eugenie Kelly has been appointed as associate editor and beauty director of Harper’s Bazaar, Australia’s leading prestige fashion magazine.
During her six year career at Harper’s Bazaar, Kelly has held the roles of beauty news director, beauty director and most recently, deputy editor.
Prior to this, Kelly freelanced for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun-Herald and The Sunday Telegraph and has also held the position of beauty director at Elle magazine.
Jamie Huckbody, editor, Harper’s Bazaar, said, “Eugenie boasts an unparalleled level of knowledge and experience in the beauty industry and this appointment will further strengthen Harper’s Bazaar’s market leading position.”
Kelly’s appointment is effective immediately.
CNET BECOMES BNET AND ADDS AUSTRALIA AND THE UK TO THE ROLLOUT
CNET has made inroads into the alphabet and launched BNET, a new website featuring original and syndicated news, analysis and blogs on industry sectors including health care, energy and financial services.
Reuters reports that BNET Australia and BNET UK have also been launched.
Greg Mason, CNET’s senior vice president of the business media group, told Reuters, “You look at a lot of the content that’s available, it still predominantly lives in trade journal articles. And then there’s a lot of content that’s sort of housed behind subscription firewalls. And so, consequently, it’s very fragmented.
“There are good online newsletters that cover specific industries, but they’re sort of hit-or-miss.”
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