MEDIABLAB DAILY DIGEST JAN 13: US IRAN GULF FAKE FOOTAGE FIASCO PETER CHERIN HILLARY CLINTON FOXTEL
January 12th 2008 04:09
A compilation of MediaBlab items published over the last 36 hours
AUSTRALIAN JOURNALIST ISSUES FIRST ALERT OVER ALLEGED FAKED VIDEO FOOTAGE OF US-IRAN GULF CONFRONTATION
The BBC reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guards have claimed that the US navy fabricated evidence that a convoy of its ships was harassed by Iranian speedboats in Gulf waters on Sunday.
US Defence Department spokesman Bryan Whitman called the Iranian fabrication claim “absurd" and "factually incorrect.”
US military officials said the video was shot from the bridge of the destroyer Hopper. The audio and video recordings were made separately and pulled together by the Navy. Often uneven and shaky, the video condenses what Navy officials have said was a confrontation of about 20 minutes.
Prior to the original BBC report about faked footage, Melbourne journalist David Langsam alerted MediaBlab to “seriously amateurish Pentagon subterfuge” that he had detected in the footage which he claimed was faked.
Langsam told MediaBlab that he had also contacted the Melbourne Age and two BBC News sources about his claim that the footage showed obvious signs of being faked.
He said he contacted the news organisations, “Clearly stating they could easily find a better credentialed source than I.”
The BBC report about fabricated evidence came after the Iranian Foreign Minister originally played down the incident as one of mistaken identity.
The US released grainy footage, apparently showing small boats speeding near the American warships on Sunday. In an audio recording, an Iranian radio operator appears to say "I am coming at you; you will explode".
Iranian state-run state-run English-language channel Press TV quoted a Revolutionary Guards source as saying, "The footage released by the US Navy are file pictures and the audio has been fabricated."
The Guards official's name was not released and state TV did not offer details about how he knew the footage was "fabricated."
Earlier in the week, the Iranian parliamentary speaker dismissed the affair as being part of a US propaganda campaign against Tehran. Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said US reports about a confrontation between Iranian speedboats and US warships in the Persian Gulf were “part of a psychological and propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic.”
Also, before the allegation of faked footage, The Tehran Times reported,
“Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini also played down the incident, saying it was an issue of mistaken identity.
“’This happens between the two sides every once in a while, and after the two sides identify each other, the issue is resolved.’
”The incident was ‘similar to previous ones’ that were resolved ‘once the two sides recognized each other,’ Hosseini explained.”
In the latest update, AFP/Reuters report that Iran has also aired its own video of the incident in a bid to counter the Pentagon accusations that the Iranians warned they could blow up the American vessels.
The US has protested formally to the Iranian government about the incident, the US State Department said.
US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said a formal diplomatic note was sent via the Swiss ambassador in Tehran who acts as an interlocutor between the US and Iranian governments, which do not have diplomatic ties.
Meanwhile a report just released by the National Security Agency in the US said that declassified information confirmed US officials faked an incident to escalate the Vietnam war.
The declassified information also confirmed the North Vietnamese made hoax calls to get the US military to bomb its own units during the Vietnam War.
The report was released by the National Security Agency, responsible for much of the US's code breaking and eavesdropping work, in response to a "mandatory declassification" request, the Federation of American Scientists said yesterday.
During the war, North Vietnamese intelligence units sometimes succeeded in penetrating US communications systems, and they could monitor American message traffic from within, according to the report, Spartans in Darkness.
Director of the Federation of American Scientists project on government secrecy Steven Aftergood said the "most historically significant feature" of the report was the retelling of the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident.
That was a reported North Vietnamese attack on US destroyers that helped lead to president Lyndon Johnson's sharp escalation of US forces in Vietnam.
BRIT PAPERS STUFF UP AND WRONGLY REPORT THAT OBAMA WON NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY
Senator Hillary Clinton of course won the Democratic primary in New Hampshire, but according to several major UK papers, Senator Barack Obama won.
Patrick Goss, MSN.uk’s technology editor, summed up the gaffes reporting, "'Iowa... Hampshire... America? Barack Obama's incredible journey' announced the edition of The Independent that landed on my desk this morning, with a page three feature on 'How Senator Obama gained the momentum.' The Telegraph's front page story was titled 'McCain and Obama take second round.' The Times' article on the US election in '08 talks of Hillary Clinton watching her support 'melt away.'"
The Independent subsequently posted an apology and explanation which closes with this bizarre statement, “Now technology means that newspapers don't simply rely on print for the dissemination of news. Keep your eye on our web site."
Of this, the Poynter Institute said, “Unfortunately, comments are not allowed on that post. It would be interesting to see readers' responses to that remark, which might be viewed as shrugging off responsibility for accuracy in print about breaking news.”
THE BILL’S REG HOLLIS SLASHES HIS WRISTS AFTER BEING DUMPED FROM PROGRAM
The Bill actor Jeff Stewart was taken to hospital last night after reportedly harming himself at the studios where the show is filmed, according to The Australian.
The incident occurred after producers of the popular British program, also aired in Australia, told the 52-year-old they were terminating his role on the program.
Reports suggest the actor, who plays PC Reg Hollis, slashed his wrists shortly after being told the news by TalkbackThames, who makes the series.
A spokesperson for the ITV1 police drama said confirmed an incident occurred following a meeting with Jeff Stewart, when it was discussed that his contract would not be renewed."
Aberdeen-born Stewart has worked on the show since 1984, when the program began. He has recorded more than 300 episodes and is the only remaining original cast member.
Last year, he was admitted to psychiatric hospital The Priory after collapsing at his home. He was suspended from The Bill for a week in December, after reportedly losing his temper on set.
MYANMAR COMEDIAN WRITES FILM SCRIPT ABOUT AUNG SAN SUU KYI’S FATHER
Myanmar film director Maung Thura, better known as the comedian Zarganar, is writing an ‘interactive’ script for a movie he hopes will be made about the life of independence hero Aung San, father of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Irrawaddy Journal reports that Zarganar, “who has repeatedly fallen foul of the present regime because of his iconoclastic humor and pro-democracy activities,” said he wanted the film to be made by a foreign producer. He is banned by the regime from film and video work.
Zarganar is publishing his script on his web site Really Long Link inviting readers to contribute their input.
The scenario begins with the assassination of Aung San and 17 comrades on July 19, 1947, and then recounts his life in flashback.
Ironically, Aung San is the ‘father’ of the Tatmadaw, the same military machine that imprisoned his daughter.
CHECHNYA TO CLOSE TV STATIONS THAT DON’T BROADCAST ENOUGH ISLAMIC VALUES
Chechnya’s president has threatened to shut down local television companies that fail to allocate enough time to the explanation of basic Islamic values, the presidential website said this week.
An RIA Novosti report via Media Network said that Ramzan Kadyrov, 31, urged administration leaders and top television managers to devote more airtime to spiritual and patriotic programs that would keep youngsters away from the hard-line Islamic Wahhabi and other extremist movements.
“As the head of the republic, I guarantee the necessary financial and technical support in this issue… Today, as never before, we must pay attention to the moral and ethical education of the youth,” said Kadyrov, a former separatist whose private army has been accused by human rights groups of kidnapping and extortion.
Kadyrov also said that television broadcasting did not always reflect the norms and ethics of Chechen society.
He said, “Some channels run unedited music shows or Western films nearly around the clock. And very few companies show programs about their homeland, the history of the republic or Islamic sermons.”
Kadyrov called for the restoration of the culture and traditions of Chechnya. “We must be patriotic about our homeland and the media must directly help us develop the culture of our people,” he said.
US BLACKLISTS SUPPOSEDLY SHUT DOWN IRAQI SATELLITE TV CHANNEL
Media Network reports that the US Treasury Department announced on January 9 that it was to blacklist the Iraqi Al-Zawraa satellite TV channel, which it alleged was “fuelling” insurgent activity in Iraq.
BBC Monitoring said the Treasury also blacklisted the station’s owner Mishan al-Juburi, the former Iraqi MP and leader of the Sunni Front for Reconciliation and Liberation, who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in his absence for embezzling Iraqi government funds.
In blacklisting the TV channel, which appeared to close down in July 2007, a US Treasury press release alleges that the station received funding from Al-Qai’dah and broadcast “open-coded messages through patriotic songs to the Sunni terrorist group the Islamic Army of Iraq”. The station also broadcast recruitment videos for Al-Qai’dah in Iraq and graphic videos of attacks on US forces, the US Treasury said.
The order prohibits all transactions between Al-Zawraa TV, its owner and any US person, and freezes any assets Al-Zawraa may have under US jurisdiction.
ONLINE VIDEO BOOMS AND PART OF THE REASON IS THE US WRITER’S STRIKE
The US writers strike has proved a boon for online video broadcasters and the expense of traditional television, and according to new figures from Nielsen Online some online video sites have doubled their audience since the strike began.
TechCrunch reports that according to Nielsen’s figures, YouTube’s audience was up 18 percent in the two months after the strike started and Crackle doubled its audience from 1.2 million users to 2.4 million users
A BBC report quoted Nielsen analyst Alex Burmaster saying, “that is greater growth than you would normally see in such a short period and the strike could be a possible factor.”
A new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project also confirmed a trend to online video, finding that 48 percent of internet users said they had visited a video-sharing site such as YouTube. A year ago, in December 2006, 33 percent of internet users said they had visited such sites. That represents growth of more than 45 percent year-to-year.
The report also said that 15 percent of respondents said they had used a video-sharing site “yesterday” – the day before they were contacted for our survey. A year ago, 8 percent had visited such a site “yesterday.” Thus, on an average day, the number of users of video sites nearly
doubled from the end of 2006 to the end of 2007.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that as the internet becomes a larger provider of video, and technology makers ease the flow of that content to television sets, it threatens the US cable and satellite industries. Consumers may be more inclined to keep their less-expensive internet services than their cable-TV subscriptions.
DENNIS PUBLISHING BUYS ONLINE DAILY NEWS MAGAZINE, THE FIRST POST
Dennis Publishing has bought British online daily news magazine The First Post, the company said. Financial terms were not disclosed.
PaidContent UK reports that the new addition is intended to complement Dennis' main news summary print mag The Week, which is published both in the US and the UK.
The three-year-old digital publication claims to draw one million monthly uniques. The First Post's website will be headed by Kerin O'Connor, executive director at Dennis in the UK and Pete Wootton, managing director of Dennis Interactive
Three-year-old The First Post is owned by its own First Post News Group Ltd, funded by digital media private investors and professes to be “a place to find out what the news means, a place to read about the issues of the day in short, sharp, informative articles”.
Like 13-year-old The Week, it publishes roundups of news and opinion from other news media.
PaidContent said, “The Week, which doesn’t publish online, will now get to play in the world of daily online publishing at a stroke.”
The two are “natural stablemates”, editor Mark Law told Press Gazette.
It is “the ideal next step” for growth in online current affairs publishing and will be used to increase The Week subscriptions in the UK and US, Dennis ceo James Tye said.
RUSSIA TRYING TO START UP A SEPARATE CYRILLIC WEB
Russian internet users fear that the Kremlin is trying to establish a separate web for Russia where it will be easier for the authorities to control access and monitor users, according to The First Post.
According to the international domain agency ICANN, the aim is to start up a Cyrillic internet – the alphabet used in Russian and other languages of the former Soviet Union – separate to the rest of the worldwide web.
ICANN reports that Russia is seeking a new domain name – '.rf' in the Russian alphabet – in addition to its current Roman alphabet one, '.ru'. This request echoes recent Chinese trials to establish Chinese-character domains in order to restrict and monitor internet users.
DISAGREEMENT IN FRANCE OVER PLAN FOR FRENCH-LANGUAGE-ONLY PUBLIC TV
AFP reports that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday that he did “not completely” agree with abandoning the broadcasting in foreign languages advocated by President Nicolas Sarkozy for the future publicly-owned channel, France-Monde.
Sarkozy caused surprise on Tuesday when he said he wanted this new channel – bringing together the resources of TV5, France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI) – to be created “this year” and to broadcast only in “French”.
“It seems pointless to him to compete in English with news channels such as CNN, Al Jazeera or BBC World. To me, not completely. I think there is a ‘French touch’ which will have to be developed,” Kouchner told the press when asked about Sarkozy’s announcement.
The 24-hour news channel France 24 broadcasts in French, English and Arabic, and RFI broadcasts in French and 19 foreign languages.
CITIZEN JOURNALIST BEATEN TO DEATH IN CHINA HINTERLAND
A man who used his mobile phone to film a violent clash between villagers and officials in rural China was beaten to death by public order ‘enforcers.’
The People's Daily reported that 24 residents of Tianmen, a city in central China's Hubei province, have been detained after Wei Wenhua, the general manager of a company owned by the local water resources bureau, was pulled out of his car and savagely beaten. Wei was driving through the area when he stopped to film the protests, which were triggered by a decision to build a rubbish tip close to a residential area.
The Guardian reported that one indignant contributor to a local online discussion group said that the people doing the beating were ‘inhuman’ and ‘out of control’. Another, worried that the news will be suppressed by government censors, urged fellow internet users to spread the message as far as they could.
MALAYSIAN MEDIA TOLD TO BE NICE TO INDONESIA
The media in Indonesia and Malaysia must exercise self restraint when broadcasting or writing reports that might affect bilateral ties, said Malaysian Information Minister, Zainuddin Maidin.
Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union reports that Zainuddin also said he disagreed with the Indonesian media's view that the Malaysian media were free to criticise Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or any other leader of the republic.
He said it was not the practice of the Malaysian media to criticise or hurt the feelings of Indonesian leaders.
Zainuddin said there were many other aspects that need to be learned about each other's countries and one way of doing so was through having journalist exchange programs. He said his ministry had taken the initiative in this and arranged for many Indonesian journalists to be trained in engineering and journalism aspects at Radio Television Malaysia, as well as arranging for visits by newsmen from Indonesia.
Malaysian news agency Bernama said the Malaysian Press Institute was also involved in the exchange program.
NIGERIAN BROADCASTING GROUP UNABLE TO AFFORD AFRICA CUP SOCCER TV BROADCAST RIGHTS
Nigerian football fans may not be able to watch their team, the Super Eagles on television when the 2008 African Cup of Nations starts in two weeks ' time in Ghana, according to the Nigerian news business directory.
Afrique en ligne reports that the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria says it cannot afford to buy the rights to the tournament since the company that owns the rights is demanding EUR3 million (A$5 million.)
The Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria says it can only offer EUR1.25 million ($2 million) for the rights. And this was not acceptable to the rights owners.
More than 30 percent of Africa's TV audience for football is in Nigeria.
TWO FRENCH JOURNALISTS ARRESTED IN NIGER FACE DEATH SENTENCES
Two French journalists arrested in Niger in west Africa face a possible death sentence when they go on trial next week, according to the Independent.
Thomas Dandois, a reporter, and Pierre Creisson, a cameraman, who were working for the Franco-German television channel, Arte, were arrested on December 17.
They were accused by the Niger authorities of visiting Tuareg rebels in the north of the country without permission, a charge punishable by death.
They are charged with, ‘involvement with armed gangs’, by whom the authorities mean the Tuareg separatist rebels who have been active in the north since last February.
The French newspaper, Liberation, complained on Wednesday that the French government's response to their arrest had been muted. It made a comparison with the personal intervention of President Nicolas Sarkozy to free three journalists arrested in Chad in November while covering a failed attempt by a French charity to smuggle orphans out of the country.
Last Thursday, an appeal for clemency was made by France to Niger's government, calling on it to release the two journalists who were, ‘fulfilling their duty to inform the public’.
On Tuesday, several of the men’s relatives and colleagues appealed directly to Niger's President, Mamadou Tandja, in a letter published in the newspaper Le Monde.
WRITERS GUILD 3-YEAR DEAL WITH CBS FOR ITS US TV AND RADIO STAFF
CBS and the Writers Guild of America have settled a three-year-old contract impasse, according to the Wall Street Journals.
The two outfits have reached a tentative employment agreement for 500 news writers, editors, desk assistants and others who work for CBS's television and radio outlets. The agreement, which will run until April 1, 2010, will now be subject to approval from the union's membership.
The contract is separate from that of the striking Hollywood writers, who work on network entertainment shows, including prime-time and late-night programs. The agreement comes seven weeks after CBS employees voted to authorise a strike in a bid to kick-start stalled negotiations. The employees never actually walked off the job, but the strike authorisation drew attention to their dispute
PETITION TO GET RID OF ADS ON AUSTRALIA’S SBS TV
A petition is circulating in Australia to stop ads being run on SBS television and to properly fund it so it doesn’t need ads to stay on air.
The petition, at www.SaveOurSBS.org calls for the minister to immediately require that:
1. The SBS board cease disrupting all programs for advertisements;
2. Amend the SBS Act to prohibit advertising and sponsorship on SBS;
3. Fund SBS so it is not dependent on commercial revenue nor supplementation from advertising;
4. Introduce a new system of appointments to the SBS board that will result in board members being appointed on the basis of merit with a strong commitment to multiculturalism and SBS independence, and, that the board is independent from the government of the day and commercial influence.
The petition will be handed to the minister “soon.”
In a report in The Australian newspaper on November 27, 2007, and following the Labor election victory, the managing director of SBS, Shaun Brown said he wants the channel to continue to operate as a commercial network. He also said the “ABC should be forced to run advertisements.”
Yesterday MediaBlab reported that French President Nicolas Sarkozy caused headlines and a rush of blood on the stock market by called for an end to advertising on French public television.
QUALITY NEWSPAPERS IN US AND UK INCREASE COVER PRICES
Geneva-based Followthemedia reports that The Financial Times, The Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune are just three major newspapers that within the past couple of weeks have raised their newsstand prices.
FollowTheMedia said, “The biggest surprise came from the UK’s Financial Times that it was raising its price yet again, having just done so just six months earlier, and with the 50 percent increase over both raises it became, by far, the UK’s most expensive newspaper, at GBP1.50 during the week and GBP2 on Saturday.
“The FT is coming off four years of large losses starting in 2001 with relatively small profits the past three years and a 50 percent increase of its cover price, even if it lost a few fringe readers, makes a major impact on the bottom line.
The Financial Times decided to hit that GBP2 mark for Saturday, the day it distributes its How To Spend It glossy magazine aimed at the well-to-do with lots of luxury trade ads.
Is there perhaps a hidden irony that the well to do who wish to buy a paper with a magazine giving advice on how to spend their wealth will have to spend an extra penny, or fifty for the privilege?
The only other newspaper to try GBP2 is Murdoch’s Sunday Times and it cost that newspaper more than 100,000 lost circulation, although it still has about 1.2 million buyers every Sunday and, as sagely stated by FollowThe Media “only the accountants know if the deal was a win or a loss.”
MAYBE THE NEWSPAPER ISN’T ON THE EVE OF EXTINCTION?
Online sites and bloggers have over the past year or so gleefully heralded the demise of the newspaper, referring to printed media as dead tree media.
But now the conventional webdom wisdom seems to be reversing and some online sites are predicting either the rebirth of the printed word or at least the non-death of newspapers and magazine.
Latest online convert to the cause is Australia’s high-profile Crikey.com which yesterday asked, “Has the decline of print been greatly exaggerated?”
The answer, according to Crikey?
“The print media will live on because of its limitations as much as its strengths, argues William Powers in Hamlet’s Blackberry: Why Paper is Eternal, a discussion paper from the Joan Shorenstein Centre on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. For concentrated reading of longer articles, essays and books, free of distractions, there’s nothing like this old-fashioned medium, Powers argues.
Crikey also cites a survey US survey conducted for Deloitte by the Harrison Group which reports, “Nearly three-quarters of respondents prefer a printed version of a magazine even if they could get the same information online.”
Three quarters of respondents “find Internet ads more intrusive than print ads, and 64 percent pay more attention to print ads than those online”, the survey found.
“Interestingly, the Gen-X sector (ages 25–41) found online ads more intrusive (79 percent) than baby boomers (72 percent).
Crikey also claimed the decline in overall newspaper sales seems to be tapering off, (whereas MediaBlab has been claiming newspapers in Australia have been holding their own) or even reversing slightly.
Crikey cites the 2004 book, How Australia Compares by Rodney Tiffen and Ross Gittins which showed that the big decline in total newspaper sales in Australia occurred in the 1990s and was mainly driven by the fall in the number of titles as a result of the closure of papers like the Melbourne Herald and the Sydney Mirror.
Crikey said the just-arrived 2007 edition of the World Association of Newspapers’ World Press Trends, provides the latest circulation figures from around 100 countries, and “some of the figures seem surprisingly positive.”
Meanwhile on Wednesday Goldman Sachs warned of a of a potential double-whammy downturn in the US newspaper industry, forecasting a 7.9 percent decline in revenue, a much more substantial drop than their earlier prediction of just 2.6 percent. .
The collapse in classifieds leads the way in the downturn it said, particularly with a meltdown in real-estate classifieds.
Goldman Sachs has cut earnings forecasts for the New York Times Company, McClatchy, Gannett, Belo, Journal Communications, and E.W. Scripps.
IRON-YA-SHIRTS RADIO JOCKS GET FLATTENED BY A STEAMED UP HILLARY CLINTON
Two US radio jocks who tried to put Hillary Clinton down for being a woman will probably think twice before pulling a similar stunt.
According to Consortium.com, “The two yahoos, who interrupted one of Clinton’s last speeches on the Monday before the New Hampshire primary, were later identified as Nick Gemelli and Adolfo Gonzalez Jr, who are associated with Toucher & Rich, a white-guy-oriented talk show on Boston’s WBCN radio.
Consortium said, “Hillary Clinton helped turn her political fortunes around in New Hampshire by flipping a tasteless shock jock stunt – two guys shouting “iron my shirts!” – into a case study of male oppressors blocking her route to the presidency.”
On hearing the chants of ‘iron my shirts,’ Clinton called for the lights in the auditorium to be turned up. Then, seeing the two young men near the front of the audience, she said, “Oh, the remnants of sexism alive and well.”
As security guards escorted Gemelli and Gonzalez from the auditorium in Salem, Clinton added, “As I think has just been abundantly demonstrated, I am also running to break through the highest and hardest glass ceiling.”
She later joked, “If there’s anybody in the audience who wants to learn to iron his own shirt, we can talk about that.”
Clinton’s comments drew a standing ovation from the crowd as well as widespread media attention on New Hampshire’s news shows in the hours before the first-in-the-nation primary.
One source inside the Clinton camp said the ‘iron my shirts’ comment appeared to anger and energise women in particular, boosting Hillary Clinton’s share of the women’s vote and pushing her to a narrow upset victory over Barack Obama.
NO SIGNS OF BUSINESS SLOWDOWN AT NEWS CORP SAYS CHERNIN
Reuters reports that News Corp has not seen signs of a business slowdown due to US economic weakness and the company can withstand the Hollywood writers strike, according to chief operating officer Peter Chernin.
His comments on Wednesday at an investor conference came hours after Goldman Sachs analysts warned investors to beware of various parts of the media sector in 2008, especially if the US goes into recession.
"We are seeing no signs of any slowdown in our business," Chernin said at a Citi conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
He added that the company was aware of wider economic troubles and said, “Obviously we live in the world, and Rupert lives in the world, and God knows I'm sure everybody here is buzzing about the economy and where we're headed."
Goldman expects News Corp's television revenue growth to beat its peers, but it lowered its estimate of News Corp's calendar year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to 10 per cent annual growth from 13 per cent.
Goldman expects News Corp revenue growth to slow in TV and cable networks, newspapers, film and interactive media.
FOXTEL TIPPED TO AGAIN GO AFTER AUSTAR ACQUISITION
Speculation abounds again that Australian pay TV provider Foxtel might again consider buying regional rival Austar.
Such negotiations went nowhere last year, but now that Austar has sold its wireless spectrum to the Opel telco alliance it now has less risk attached to it (see MediaBlab archive.)
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the major stockholder in Austar, US-based Liberty Global, had demanded $A2 per share, with Foxtel not prepared to offer above $A1.80.
On Wednesday the stock closed at $A1.595.
Greg Fraser, an analyst at Shaw Stockbroking, told the Sydney Morning Herald that the deal is now “less complex, it's now just basically pay TV. It's a real no-brainer for Foxtel to buy it and put the two together."
AUSTRALIAN JOURNALIST ISSUES FIRST ALERT OVER ALLEGED FAKED VIDEO FOOTAGE OF US-IRAN GULF CONFRONTATION
The BBC reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guards have claimed that the US navy fabricated evidence that a convoy of its ships was harassed by Iranian speedboats in Gulf waters on Sunday.
US Defence Department spokesman Bryan Whitman called the Iranian fabrication claim “absurd" and "factually incorrect.”
US military officials said the video was shot from the bridge of the destroyer Hopper. The audio and video recordings were made separately and pulled together by the Navy. Often uneven and shaky, the video condenses what Navy officials have said was a confrontation of about 20 minutes.
Langsam told MediaBlab that he had also contacted the Melbourne Age and two BBC News sources about his claim that the footage showed obvious signs of being faked.
He said he contacted the news organisations, “Clearly stating they could easily find a better credentialed source than I.”
The BBC report about fabricated evidence came after the Iranian Foreign Minister originally played down the incident as one of mistaken identity.
The US released grainy footage, apparently showing small boats speeding near the American warships on Sunday. In an audio recording, an Iranian radio operator appears to say "I am coming at you; you will explode".
Iranian state-run state-run English-language channel Press TV quoted a Revolutionary Guards source as saying, "The footage released by the US Navy are file pictures and the audio has been fabricated."
Earlier in the week, the Iranian parliamentary speaker dismissed the affair as being part of a US propaganda campaign against Tehran. Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel said US reports about a confrontation between Iranian speedboats and US warships in the Persian Gulf were “part of a psychological and propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic.”
Also, before the allegation of faked footage, The Tehran Times reported,
“Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini also played down the incident, saying it was an issue of mistaken identity.
“’This happens between the two sides every once in a while, and after the two sides identify each other, the issue is resolved.’
”The incident was ‘similar to previous ones’ that were resolved ‘once the two sides recognized each other,’ Hosseini explained.”
In the latest update, AFP/Reuters report that Iran has also aired its own video of the incident in a bid to counter the Pentagon accusations that the Iranians warned they could blow up the American vessels.
The US has protested formally to the Iranian government about the incident, the US State Department said.
US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said a formal diplomatic note was sent via the Swiss ambassador in Tehran who acts as an interlocutor between the US and Iranian governments, which do not have diplomatic ties.
Meanwhile a report just released by the National Security Agency in the US said that declassified information confirmed US officials faked an incident to escalate the Vietnam war.
The declassified information also confirmed the North Vietnamese made hoax calls to get the US military to bomb its own units during the Vietnam War.
The report was released by the National Security Agency, responsible for much of the US's code breaking and eavesdropping work, in response to a "mandatory declassification" request, the Federation of American Scientists said yesterday.
During the war, North Vietnamese intelligence units sometimes succeeded in penetrating US communications systems, and they could monitor American message traffic from within, according to the report, Spartans in Darkness.
Director of the Federation of American Scientists project on government secrecy Steven Aftergood said the "most historically significant feature" of the report was the retelling of the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident.
That was a reported North Vietnamese attack on US destroyers that helped lead to president Lyndon Johnson's sharp escalation of US forces in Vietnam.
BRIT PAPERS STUFF UP AND WRONGLY REPORT THAT OBAMA WON NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY
Senator Hillary Clinton of course won the Democratic primary in New Hampshire, but according to several major UK papers, Senator Barack Obama won.
Patrick Goss, MSN.uk’s technology editor, summed up the gaffes reporting, "'Iowa... Hampshire... America? Barack Obama's incredible journey' announced the edition of The Independent that landed on my desk this morning, with a page three feature on 'How Senator Obama gained the momentum.' The Telegraph's front page story was titled 'McCain and Obama take second round.' The Times' article on the US election in '08 talks of Hillary Clinton watching her support 'melt away.'"
The Independent subsequently posted an apology and explanation which closes with this bizarre statement, “Now technology means that newspapers don't simply rely on print for the dissemination of news. Keep your eye on our web site."
Of this, the Poynter Institute said, “Unfortunately, comments are not allowed on that post. It would be interesting to see readers' responses to that remark, which might be viewed as shrugging off responsibility for accuracy in print about breaking news.”
THE BILL’S REG HOLLIS SLASHES HIS WRISTS AFTER BEING DUMPED FROM PROGRAM
The Bill actor Jeff Stewart was taken to hospital last night after reportedly harming himself at the studios where the show is filmed, according to The Australian.
The incident occurred after producers of the popular British program, also aired in Australia, told the 52-year-old they were terminating his role on the program.
Reports suggest the actor, who plays PC Reg Hollis, slashed his wrists shortly after being told the news by TalkbackThames, who makes the series.
A spokesperson for the ITV1 police drama said confirmed an incident occurred following a meeting with Jeff Stewart, when it was discussed that his contract would not be renewed."
Aberdeen-born Stewart has worked on the show since 1984, when the program began. He has recorded more than 300 episodes and is the only remaining original cast member.
Last year, he was admitted to psychiatric hospital The Priory after collapsing at his home. He was suspended from The Bill for a week in December, after reportedly losing his temper on set.
MYANMAR COMEDIAN WRITES FILM SCRIPT ABOUT AUNG SAN SUU KYI’S FATHER
Myanmar film director Maung Thura, better known as the comedian Zarganar, is writing an ‘interactive’ script for a movie he hopes will be made about the life of independence hero Aung San, father of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Irrawaddy Journal reports that Zarganar, “who has repeatedly fallen foul of the present regime because of his iconoclastic humor and pro-democracy activities,” said he wanted the film to be made by a foreign producer. He is banned by the regime from film and video work.
Zarganar is publishing his script on his web site Really Long Link inviting readers to contribute their input.
The scenario begins with the assassination of Aung San and 17 comrades on July 19, 1947, and then recounts his life in flashback.
Ironically, Aung San is the ‘father’ of the Tatmadaw, the same military machine that imprisoned his daughter.
CHECHNYA TO CLOSE TV STATIONS THAT DON’T BROADCAST ENOUGH ISLAMIC VALUES
Chechnya’s president has threatened to shut down local television companies that fail to allocate enough time to the explanation of basic Islamic values, the presidential website said this week.
An RIA Novosti report via Media Network said that Ramzan Kadyrov, 31, urged administration leaders and top television managers to devote more airtime to spiritual and patriotic programs that would keep youngsters away from the hard-line Islamic Wahhabi and other extremist movements.
“As the head of the republic, I guarantee the necessary financial and technical support in this issue… Today, as never before, we must pay attention to the moral and ethical education of the youth,” said Kadyrov, a former separatist whose private army has been accused by human rights groups of kidnapping and extortion.
Kadyrov also said that television broadcasting did not always reflect the norms and ethics of Chechen society.
He said, “Some channels run unedited music shows or Western films nearly around the clock. And very few companies show programs about their homeland, the history of the republic or Islamic sermons.”
Kadyrov called for the restoration of the culture and traditions of Chechnya. “We must be patriotic about our homeland and the media must directly help us develop the culture of our people,” he said.
US BLACKLISTS SUPPOSEDLY SHUT DOWN IRAQI SATELLITE TV CHANNEL
Media Network reports that the US Treasury Department announced on January 9 that it was to blacklist the Iraqi Al-Zawraa satellite TV channel, which it alleged was “fuelling” insurgent activity in Iraq.
BBC Monitoring said the Treasury also blacklisted the station’s owner Mishan al-Juburi, the former Iraqi MP and leader of the Sunni Front for Reconciliation and Liberation, who has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in his absence for embezzling Iraqi government funds.
In blacklisting the TV channel, which appeared to close down in July 2007, a US Treasury press release alleges that the station received funding from Al-Qai’dah and broadcast “open-coded messages through patriotic songs to the Sunni terrorist group the Islamic Army of Iraq”. The station also broadcast recruitment videos for Al-Qai’dah in Iraq and graphic videos of attacks on US forces, the US Treasury said.
The order prohibits all transactions between Al-Zawraa TV, its owner and any US person, and freezes any assets Al-Zawraa may have under US jurisdiction.
ONLINE VIDEO BOOMS AND PART OF THE REASON IS THE US WRITER’S STRIKE
The US writers strike has proved a boon for online video broadcasters and the expense of traditional television, and according to new figures from Nielsen Online some online video sites have doubled their audience since the strike began.
TechCrunch reports that according to Nielsen’s figures, YouTube’s audience was up 18 percent in the two months after the strike started and Crackle doubled its audience from 1.2 million users to 2.4 million users
A BBC report quoted Nielsen analyst Alex Burmaster saying, “that is greater growth than you would normally see in such a short period and the strike could be a possible factor.”
A new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project also confirmed a trend to online video, finding that 48 percent of internet users said they had visited a video-sharing site such as YouTube. A year ago, in December 2006, 33 percent of internet users said they had visited such sites. That represents growth of more than 45 percent year-to-year.
The report also said that 15 percent of respondents said they had used a video-sharing site “yesterday” – the day before they were contacted for our survey. A year ago, 8 percent had visited such a site “yesterday.” Thus, on an average day, the number of users of video sites nearly
doubled from the end of 2006 to the end of 2007.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that as the internet becomes a larger provider of video, and technology makers ease the flow of that content to television sets, it threatens the US cable and satellite industries. Consumers may be more inclined to keep their less-expensive internet services than their cable-TV subscriptions.
DENNIS PUBLISHING BUYS ONLINE DAILY NEWS MAGAZINE, THE FIRST POST
Dennis Publishing has bought British online daily news magazine The First Post, the company said. Financial terms were not disclosed.
PaidContent UK reports that the new addition is intended to complement Dennis' main news summary print mag The Week, which is published both in the US and the UK.
The three-year-old digital publication claims to draw one million monthly uniques. The First Post's website will be headed by Kerin O'Connor, executive director at Dennis in the UK and Pete Wootton, managing director of Dennis Interactive
Three-year-old The First Post is owned by its own First Post News Group Ltd, funded by digital media private investors and professes to be “a place to find out what the news means, a place to read about the issues of the day in short, sharp, informative articles”.
Like 13-year-old The Week, it publishes roundups of news and opinion from other news media.
PaidContent said, “The Week, which doesn’t publish online, will now get to play in the world of daily online publishing at a stroke.”
The two are “natural stablemates”, editor Mark Law told Press Gazette.
It is “the ideal next step” for growth in online current affairs publishing and will be used to increase The Week subscriptions in the UK and US, Dennis ceo James Tye said.
RUSSIA TRYING TO START UP A SEPARATE CYRILLIC WEB
Russian internet users fear that the Kremlin is trying to establish a separate web for Russia where it will be easier for the authorities to control access and monitor users, according to The First Post.
According to the international domain agency ICANN, the aim is to start up a Cyrillic internet – the alphabet used in Russian and other languages of the former Soviet Union – separate to the rest of the worldwide web.
ICANN reports that Russia is seeking a new domain name – '.rf' in the Russian alphabet – in addition to its current Roman alphabet one, '.ru'. This request echoes recent Chinese trials to establish Chinese-character domains in order to restrict and monitor internet users.
DISAGREEMENT IN FRANCE OVER PLAN FOR FRENCH-LANGUAGE-ONLY PUBLIC TV
AFP reports that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Wednesday that he did “not completely” agree with abandoning the broadcasting in foreign languages advocated by President Nicolas Sarkozy for the future publicly-owned channel, France-Monde.
Sarkozy caused surprise on Tuesday when he said he wanted this new channel – bringing together the resources of TV5, France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI) – to be created “this year” and to broadcast only in “French”.
“It seems pointless to him to compete in English with news channels such as CNN, Al Jazeera or BBC World. To me, not completely. I think there is a ‘French touch’ which will have to be developed,” Kouchner told the press when asked about Sarkozy’s announcement.
The 24-hour news channel France 24 broadcasts in French, English and Arabic, and RFI broadcasts in French and 19 foreign languages.
CITIZEN JOURNALIST BEATEN TO DEATH IN CHINA HINTERLAND
A man who used his mobile phone to film a violent clash between villagers and officials in rural China was beaten to death by public order ‘enforcers.’
The People's Daily reported that 24 residents of Tianmen, a city in central China's Hubei province, have been detained after Wei Wenhua, the general manager of a company owned by the local water resources bureau, was pulled out of his car and savagely beaten. Wei was driving through the area when he stopped to film the protests, which were triggered by a decision to build a rubbish tip close to a residential area.
The Guardian reported that one indignant contributor to a local online discussion group said that the people doing the beating were ‘inhuman’ and ‘out of control’. Another, worried that the news will be suppressed by government censors, urged fellow internet users to spread the message as far as they could.
MALAYSIAN MEDIA TOLD TO BE NICE TO INDONESIA
The media in Indonesia and Malaysia must exercise self restraint when broadcasting or writing reports that might affect bilateral ties, said Malaysian Information Minister, Zainuddin Maidin.
Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union reports that Zainuddin also said he disagreed with the Indonesian media's view that the Malaysian media were free to criticise Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono or any other leader of the republic.
He said it was not the practice of the Malaysian media to criticise or hurt the feelings of Indonesian leaders.
Zainuddin said there were many other aspects that need to be learned about each other's countries and one way of doing so was through having journalist exchange programs. He said his ministry had taken the initiative in this and arranged for many Indonesian journalists to be trained in engineering and journalism aspects at Radio Television Malaysia, as well as arranging for visits by newsmen from Indonesia.
Malaysian news agency Bernama said the Malaysian Press Institute was also involved in the exchange program.
NIGERIAN BROADCASTING GROUP UNABLE TO AFFORD AFRICA CUP SOCCER TV BROADCAST RIGHTS
Nigerian football fans may not be able to watch their team, the Super Eagles on television when the 2008 African Cup of Nations starts in two weeks ' time in Ghana, according to the Nigerian news business directory.
Afrique en ligne reports that the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria says it cannot afford to buy the rights to the tournament since the company that owns the rights is demanding EUR3 million (A$5 million.)
The Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria says it can only offer EUR1.25 million ($2 million) for the rights. And this was not acceptable to the rights owners.
More than 30 percent of Africa's TV audience for football is in Nigeria.
TWO FRENCH JOURNALISTS ARRESTED IN NIGER FACE DEATH SENTENCES
Two French journalists arrested in Niger in west Africa face a possible death sentence when they go on trial next week, according to the Independent.
Thomas Dandois, a reporter, and Pierre Creisson, a cameraman, who were working for the Franco-German television channel, Arte, were arrested on December 17.
They were accused by the Niger authorities of visiting Tuareg rebels in the north of the country without permission, a charge punishable by death.
They are charged with, ‘involvement with armed gangs’, by whom the authorities mean the Tuareg separatist rebels who have been active in the north since last February.
The French newspaper, Liberation, complained on Wednesday that the French government's response to their arrest had been muted. It made a comparison with the personal intervention of President Nicolas Sarkozy to free three journalists arrested in Chad in November while covering a failed attempt by a French charity to smuggle orphans out of the country.
Last Thursday, an appeal for clemency was made by France to Niger's government, calling on it to release the two journalists who were, ‘fulfilling their duty to inform the public’.
On Tuesday, several of the men’s relatives and colleagues appealed directly to Niger's President, Mamadou Tandja, in a letter published in the newspaper Le Monde.
WRITERS GUILD 3-YEAR DEAL WITH CBS FOR ITS US TV AND RADIO STAFF
CBS and the Writers Guild of America have settled a three-year-old contract impasse, according to the Wall Street Journals.
The two outfits have reached a tentative employment agreement for 500 news writers, editors, desk assistants and others who work for CBS's television and radio outlets. The agreement, which will run until April 1, 2010, will now be subject to approval from the union's membership.
The contract is separate from that of the striking Hollywood writers, who work on network entertainment shows, including prime-time and late-night programs. The agreement comes seven weeks after CBS employees voted to authorise a strike in a bid to kick-start stalled negotiations. The employees never actually walked off the job, but the strike authorisation drew attention to their dispute
PETITION TO GET RID OF ADS ON AUSTRALIA’S SBS TV
A petition is circulating in Australia to stop ads being run on SBS television and to properly fund it so it doesn’t need ads to stay on air.
The petition, at www.SaveOurSBS.org calls for the minister to immediately require that:
1. The SBS board cease disrupting all programs for advertisements;
2. Amend the SBS Act to prohibit advertising and sponsorship on SBS;
3. Fund SBS so it is not dependent on commercial revenue nor supplementation from advertising;
4. Introduce a new system of appointments to the SBS board that will result in board members being appointed on the basis of merit with a strong commitment to multiculturalism and SBS independence, and, that the board is independent from the government of the day and commercial influence.
The petition will be handed to the minister “soon.”
In a report in The Australian newspaper on November 27, 2007, and following the Labor election victory, the managing director of SBS, Shaun Brown said he wants the channel to continue to operate as a commercial network. He also said the “ABC should be forced to run advertisements.”
Yesterday MediaBlab reported that French President Nicolas Sarkozy caused headlines and a rush of blood on the stock market by called for an end to advertising on French public television.
QUALITY NEWSPAPERS IN US AND UK INCREASE COVER PRICES
Geneva-based Followthemedia reports that The Financial Times, The Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune are just three major newspapers that within the past couple of weeks have raised their newsstand prices.
FollowTheMedia said, “The biggest surprise came from the UK’s Financial Times that it was raising its price yet again, having just done so just six months earlier, and with the 50 percent increase over both raises it became, by far, the UK’s most expensive newspaper, at GBP1.50 during the week and GBP2 on Saturday.
“The FT is coming off four years of large losses starting in 2001 with relatively small profits the past three years and a 50 percent increase of its cover price, even if it lost a few fringe readers, makes a major impact on the bottom line.
The Financial Times decided to hit that GBP2 mark for Saturday, the day it distributes its How To Spend It glossy magazine aimed at the well-to-do with lots of luxury trade ads.
Is there perhaps a hidden irony that the well to do who wish to buy a paper with a magazine giving advice on how to spend their wealth will have to spend an extra penny, or fifty for the privilege?
The only other newspaper to try GBP2 is Murdoch’s Sunday Times and it cost that newspaper more than 100,000 lost circulation, although it still has about 1.2 million buyers every Sunday and, as sagely stated by FollowThe Media “only the accountants know if the deal was a win or a loss.”
MAYBE THE NEWSPAPER ISN’T ON THE EVE OF EXTINCTION?
Online sites and bloggers have over the past year or so gleefully heralded the demise of the newspaper, referring to printed media as dead tree media.
But now the conventional webdom wisdom seems to be reversing and some online sites are predicting either the rebirth of the printed word or at least the non-death of newspapers and magazine.
Latest online convert to the cause is Australia’s high-profile Crikey.com which yesterday asked, “Has the decline of print been greatly exaggerated?”
The answer, according to Crikey?
“The print media will live on because of its limitations as much as its strengths, argues William Powers in Hamlet’s Blackberry: Why Paper is Eternal, a discussion paper from the Joan Shorenstein Centre on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. For concentrated reading of longer articles, essays and books, free of distractions, there’s nothing like this old-fashioned medium, Powers argues.
Crikey also cites a survey US survey conducted for Deloitte by the Harrison Group which reports, “Nearly three-quarters of respondents prefer a printed version of a magazine even if they could get the same information online.”
Three quarters of respondents “find Internet ads more intrusive than print ads, and 64 percent pay more attention to print ads than those online”, the survey found.
“Interestingly, the Gen-X sector (ages 25–41) found online ads more intrusive (79 percent) than baby boomers (72 percent).
Crikey also claimed the decline in overall newspaper sales seems to be tapering off, (whereas MediaBlab has been claiming newspapers in Australia have been holding their own) or even reversing slightly.
Crikey cites the 2004 book, How Australia Compares by Rodney Tiffen and Ross Gittins which showed that the big decline in total newspaper sales in Australia occurred in the 1990s and was mainly driven by the fall in the number of titles as a result of the closure of papers like the Melbourne Herald and the Sydney Mirror.
Crikey said the just-arrived 2007 edition of the World Association of Newspapers’ World Press Trends, provides the latest circulation figures from around 100 countries, and “some of the figures seem surprisingly positive.”
Meanwhile on Wednesday Goldman Sachs warned of a of a potential double-whammy downturn in the US newspaper industry, forecasting a 7.9 percent decline in revenue, a much more substantial drop than their earlier prediction of just 2.6 percent. .
The collapse in classifieds leads the way in the downturn it said, particularly with a meltdown in real-estate classifieds.
Goldman Sachs has cut earnings forecasts for the New York Times Company, McClatchy, Gannett, Belo, Journal Communications, and E.W. Scripps.
IRON-YA-SHIRTS RADIO JOCKS GET FLATTENED BY A STEAMED UP HILLARY CLINTON
Two US radio jocks who tried to put Hillary Clinton down for being a woman will probably think twice before pulling a similar stunt.
According to Consortium.com, “The two yahoos, who interrupted one of Clinton’s last speeches on the Monday before the New Hampshire primary, were later identified as Nick Gemelli and Adolfo Gonzalez Jr, who are associated with Toucher & Rich, a white-guy-oriented talk show on Boston’s WBCN radio.
Consortium said, “Hillary Clinton helped turn her political fortunes around in New Hampshire by flipping a tasteless shock jock stunt – two guys shouting “iron my shirts!” – into a case study of male oppressors blocking her route to the presidency.”
On hearing the chants of ‘iron my shirts,’ Clinton called for the lights in the auditorium to be turned up. Then, seeing the two young men near the front of the audience, she said, “Oh, the remnants of sexism alive and well.”
As security guards escorted Gemelli and Gonzalez from the auditorium in Salem, Clinton added, “As I think has just been abundantly demonstrated, I am also running to break through the highest and hardest glass ceiling.”
She later joked, “If there’s anybody in the audience who wants to learn to iron his own shirt, we can talk about that.”
Clinton’s comments drew a standing ovation from the crowd as well as widespread media attention on New Hampshire’s news shows in the hours before the first-in-the-nation primary.
One source inside the Clinton camp said the ‘iron my shirts’ comment appeared to anger and energise women in particular, boosting Hillary Clinton’s share of the women’s vote and pushing her to a narrow upset victory over Barack Obama.
NO SIGNS OF BUSINESS SLOWDOWN AT NEWS CORP SAYS CHERNIN
Reuters reports that News Corp has not seen signs of a business slowdown due to US economic weakness and the company can withstand the Hollywood writers strike, according to chief operating officer Peter Chernin.
His comments on Wednesday at an investor conference came hours after Goldman Sachs analysts warned investors to beware of various parts of the media sector in 2008, especially if the US goes into recession.
"We are seeing no signs of any slowdown in our business," Chernin said at a Citi conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
He added that the company was aware of wider economic troubles and said, “Obviously we live in the world, and Rupert lives in the world, and God knows I'm sure everybody here is buzzing about the economy and where we're headed."
Goldman expects News Corp's television revenue growth to beat its peers, but it lowered its estimate of News Corp's calendar year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to 10 per cent annual growth from 13 per cent.
Goldman expects News Corp revenue growth to slow in TV and cable networks, newspapers, film and interactive media.
FOXTEL TIPPED TO AGAIN GO AFTER AUSTAR ACQUISITION
Speculation abounds again that Australian pay TV provider Foxtel might again consider buying regional rival Austar.
Such negotiations went nowhere last year, but now that Austar has sold its wireless spectrum to the Opel telco alliance it now has less risk attached to it (see MediaBlab archive.)
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the major stockholder in Austar, US-based Liberty Global, had demanded $A2 per share, with Foxtel not prepared to offer above $A1.80.
On Wednesday the stock closed at $A1.595.
Greg Fraser, an analyst at Shaw Stockbroking, told the Sydney Morning Herald that the deal is now “less complex, it's now just basically pay TV. It's a real no-brainer for Foxtel to buy it and put the two together."
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