MEDIABLAB NEWS NOV 22
November 22nd 2007 11:06
MediaBlab is compiled by Peter Olszewski for Dow Jones' Factiva
MACQUARIE BANK TO GO GET QUICK THRASHING WITH A LIMP LETTUCE FOR BREACHING AUSTRALIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP LAWS
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found the nation's top investment house, Macquarie Bank, and its directors breached media ownership laws as it established itself as the dominant player in regional radio broadcasting, according to a report in today’s The Australian Media section.
Media specialist Mark Day reported that, “After a 21-month investigation the Australian Communications and Media Authority yesterday found Macquarie and seven subsidiary companies guilty of breaching ownership controls relating to the financing of five radio stations owned by Stuart Simson's Elmie Investments.
He said it also named 25 directors of the bank and associated companies for being in breach of ownership provisions, including Macquarie Bank Ltd chairman David Clarke and chief executive Allan Moss, Macquarie Media Group former chairman Tim Hughes and former managing director Alex Harvey, and the operational head of Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Rhys Holleran.
But the authority also decided no penalties were required.
Mark Day commented that all Macquarie Bank will suffer is “a quick thrashing with a wet lettuce.”
AUSTRALIA’S TEN NETWORK TO RELY ON US PROGRAMS TO BOOST ITS RATINGS
Australia’s Ten Network programmer David Mott hopes to boost its audience numbers in 2008 by broadcasting a host of new programs it has picked up from the US.
The Australian Financial Review quoted Mott saying, “We’ve got more toys in our cupboard, thanks to our new deals with US suppliers 20th Century Fox and CBS.”
Ten’s program lineup was presented to a gathering of 600 advertisers and media buyers in Sydney last night and chief executive Grant Blackley predicted that Ten would hold its number one ranking among 16-39 year-olds for the eight consecutive year and would increase its audience share in 18-49 and 25-54 age groups.
But the Financial Review said media buyers were not so sure if Ten would meet its targets.
Meanwhile Seven Network is tipped to break through the magic 40 percent revenue share barrier in the $2.8 billion metropolitan television advertising market for the first time.
Nine’s target is unknown.
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MEDIA IN NEED OF RATIONALISATION SAYS ANALYST
Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew McLeod tipped that Western Australia’s media world, currently enjoying the benefits of strong ad volumes from the state’s resources boom, could be in need of rationalisation.
The Australian Financial Review reported today that he said it would be logical to combine West Australian Newspaper’s six-day-a-week The West Australian with News Ltd’s once-a-week The Sunday Times.
He said there is obvious sense in Perth eventually becoming a one-publisher market and added that this is an opportunity that Seven boss Kerry Stokes recognizes as he has been increasing his stake in WAN to 19.4 percent in recent days.
AUSTRALIAN IDOL HOST’S BIZARRE IDEA FOR A SOLUTION TO US TV WRITERS STRIKE – PUT DVD RESIDUAL ROYALTIES INTO A BENEVOLENT FUND FOR ACTORS
Australian Idol judge mark Holden reckons he’s got the answer to one of the contentious issues that’s behind the television writers’ strike in the US.
The US writers are holding out for residual DVD royalty rights, among other things, and The Australian today gave surprising prominence to Holden’s “novel local solution” saying the residuals owed to actors should be put into a an actor’s benevolent fund.
Holden said there’s a “certain logic and karma in that.”
This will really excite the striking writers, because while actors residuals have also been an issue, the writers actually also want a writers share of a percentage of sales revenue of DVD’s. Setting up a benevolent fund for actors has little bearing on the their demands.
US NEWSPAPER AD REVENUES FALL 7.4 PERCENT, WITH 17 PERCENT FALL IN CLASSIFIED ADS
International Business Times reports that advertising revenue at US print newspapers continued to fall in the third quarter, declining by 7.4 percent, according to the latest industry report.
The Newspaper Association of America said on Tuesday that total advertising dollars spent on print advertising fell 9 percent to US$10.1 billion from the same period last year, led by a 17 percent fall in classified advertising.
Classified advertising, once considered the major source of income for newspapers experienced a big drop. Within classified ads, job ads dropped 20 percent to $882.4 million and automotive ads were down 18 percent to $796.6 million.
Real estate advertising fell 24.4 percent to $1 billion as the US experiences a steep decline in home sales fueled by a crisis in the subprime mortgage lending sector.
Online advertising now accounts for 7.1 percent of overall newspaper ad spending, or $773 million, up from 5.4 percent in the third quarter of 2006.
IFRA LAUNCHES NEW ARAB-REGION NEWS IN ITS INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
Ifra, the association for newspaper and publishing has launched a special added section of Arab-region publishing news and other features written in Arabic in its international magazine on the technology and business of news publishing.
This new Arabic-enhanced edition of IFRA Magazine is available in Ifra's ePaper format to newspaper publishers and their staff throughout the Arab states in the Middle East and Northern Africa.
IFRA Magazine features globe-spanning in-depth editorial coverage of the latest trends and developments in media publishing and newspaper printing.
The new Arabic-enhanced edition contains the same detailed reports as the magazine's English, French, German and Spanish editions as researched by Ifra's staff of editor-analysts. In addition, it features a special section of Arabic news briefs and interviews produced by the Fareeda News Service based in Beirut, Lebanon.
Ifra's magazine is read by nearly 24,000 high-level publishing professionals in 77 countries
SRI LANKAN GUNMEN BURN THE SUNDAY LEADER MEDIA GROUP’S PRINTING PRESS
About 15 Sri Lankan gunmen with possible support from within the security forces staged an arson attack on the printing press of the Sunday Leader media group, located in a high security area outside Colombo.
Reporters Without Borders said, "Armed men have once again attacked an independent news media in a high security area of the capital. It unfortunately shows that the press freedom enemies have accomplices within the security forces. By attacking the Leader Publications group, this gang wanted to silence one of the main sources of incisive criticism of the current government. We urge foreign diplomats to publicly express their solidarity with the group."
Leader Publications owns two English-language newspapers, The Sunday Leader and Morning Leader, and the Sinhalese-language weekly Irudina. Its printing press is in Ratmalana, a high-security zone adjoining a military airport outside the capital.
A gang consisting of both Sinhalese and Tamils stormed the premises early in the morning, rounded up all of the 25 employees and, at gunpoint, forced them hand over their mobile phones. Then they doused the presses with petrol and set them on fire. They also set fire to the thousands of copies of today's issue of the Morning Leader, which was about to be distributed. Firemen took an hour to put out the blaze.
A Sunday Leader journalist told Reporters Without Borders that the presses would be out of commission for several months, and the group would have to use the services of a commercial printer to continue publishing.
The damage will also affect the Tamil daily Sudar Oli, which was printed on Leader Publications' presses.
Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramatunga described the attacked as a commando operation carried out on the government's orders. Known for his investigations and critical editorials, Wickramatunga has been accused by ruling party parliamentarians of supporting the Tamil Tiger rebels. The government had planned to arrest him in late 2006 for revealing the construction of a luxurious presidential bunker in Colombo, but backed down for fear of triggering strong international criticism.
An armed group already set fire to newspapers at the Leader Publications printing press in October 2005, but employees put the fire out before the presses were damaged.
ABC’S DUSTY ECHOES INDIGENOUS ANIMATION SERIES TO SCREEN AT SINGAPORE FESTIVAL
ABC Innovation said all twelve animations from the award-winning Dust Echoes series will be featured at Singapore’s Animation Nation festival in November. This is the first time all the animations will be viewed by an international audience at a single screening.
The second series of animations was launched, in collaboration with the Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation and the Wugularr Community, at dustechoes.com.au in mid-2007.
Various Dust Echoes animations have been selected for screening at the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, Germany; the Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival; Zagreb Animafest, Croatia; the South Australia Short Screen Awards; Annecy International Film Festival, France; AniFest International Festival of Animated Film, Czech Republic; AnimaMundi International Animation Festival, Brazil; the Melbourne International Animation Festival; the Luciana Film Festival, Italy; St Kilda Film Festival; the PLATFORM International Animation Festival, US; the Kalamazoo Animation Festival International, US; the Ottawa International Film Festival, USA, and The Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia.
The interactive content brings new voices to ancient aboriginal Dreamtime storytelling, with the ultimate purpose of introducing young audiences to these remarkable tales.
The stories in Dust Echoes come from the Beswick community in Australia’s Northern Territory. The series two indigenous consultant is Tom E. Lewis, executive producer is Domenic Friguglietti, series producer is Michael Wagner and the creative director is Luke Jurevicius.
MOBILEACTIVE IN AUSTRALIA HIRES NEW CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Australian mobile phone content and entertainment provider, MobileActive Ltd, has hired Allan Robertson as its chief operating officer.
Robertson has held senior positions in the telecommunications sector with
Optus and Telstra, including director Optus wholesale mobile, director Optus mobile partners and mobile channel development, and sales director Telstra wholesale.
MobileActive said it has grown to be Australia’s leading independent mobile content and entertainment company. It develops, aggregates, markets and distributes an extensive range of mobile content and entertainment including music, games, video, wallpapers, information services, graphics and applications.
MobileActive has built a large and unique content library that continues to expand, offering diverse content in a variety of genres. The mobile content is distributed directly to consumers, via telecommunication carriers and partners using proprietary technology and processes that are scalable and can be quickly deployed in any market.
JOSEPH STALIN HELPS PROMOTE RUSSIA TODAY CABLE TV
Followthemedia points out that the spate of new 24-hour English language cable news networks now available, with France 24, Al Jazeera and Russia Today vying with the older warhorses of CNN and BBC World, makes competition for global viewers all that more, well, competitive.
Russia Today has decided to run a different campaign to woo viewers. It’s been running campaigns in English language newspapers, mainly in Europe, using that good old champion of the free media, Joe Stalin, with the slogan, “Proud To Be Different.”
Followthemedia commented yesterday, “Well, yes, he was different – he sent millions and millions of Russians to their deaths in the Gulag, but Russia Today wants us to know his softer side. ‘Stalin wrote romantic poetry. Did you know that?’”
Germany’s der Spiegel also wasn’t overly taken by the campaign, noting, ““It’s about as subtle a message as a scenario in which German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle were to advertise with Hitler and the question: ‘Did you know that Adolf Hitler also painted?’”
But Spiegel also quotes Margarita Simonjan, Russia Today’s editor-in-chief, saying the ad campaign has been very successful. “We knew that the Stalin theme would be ambivalent in the eyes of many. But it fulfilled its purpose wonderfully. The number of visitors to our web site has doubled.”
THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN PLAYBOY MAGAZINE
Irreverent Australian website Crikey.com, famous for getting it wrong, claimed that notions of climate change and the greenhouse effect were introduced by Playboy magazine in February 1980.
Wrong again according to Crikey reader Tony Barrell, who informed Crikey that in his opinion the notions were first aired in a British TV ‘mockumentary’ made in 1977 called Alternative 3.
Tony Barrell explained that it “was all about how there were three choices to avoid it: blast holes in the atmosphere, go underground, or leave the planet altogether. The investigation was originally intended for broadcast on April 1, but was delayed. It supposedly discovered a secret plan was already in operation to remove people to the dark side of the moon for later transhipment to Mars. An ‘astronaut’ was interviewed who claimed to have seen it.
“The whole thing was a fake of course, but then again, you can find all kinds of websites which say it was actually true and that the people who made it had to dress it as fiction otherwise they would never have been allowed to make it. Conspiracy theory daftness yes, but in 1977 the greenhouse effect must have been a known quantity to be taken seriously by spoofers.”
But another Crikey reader, Ernie Biscan, also weighed into the debate writing, “For historical reference, and to put the greenhouse story in context, can Crikey reveal who got their gear off in the February 1980 edition of Playboy?”
Meanwhile, to introduce some gravitas to the debate, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson, addressing the New Zealand Business Round Table, said, of the global warming debate, that, “We appear to have entered a new age of unreason, which threatens to be as economically harmful as it is profoundly disquieting.”
But getting back to Nigel Lawson, he pointed out that, “The major cause of ill-health, and the deaths it brings, in the developing world is poverty.”
He also pointed out, “As it is, the temperature projections (of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) does come up in its fourth and latest report range from a rise in the average global temperature by the year 2100 of 1.8C for its lowest emissions scenario to one of 4C for its highest emissions scenario, with a mean increase of slightly under 3C.
“The average annual temperature in Helsinki is less than 5C. That in Singapore is in excess of 27C, a difference of more than 22C. If man can cope with that, it is not immediately apparent why he should not be able to adapt to a change of 3C when he is given 100 years in which to do so.”
FEAR OF FLYING ON THE AUSTRALIAN CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Numerous amusing reports have emerged about the chartered Croation-staffed Fokker F100 that was scraped up to fly the media pack around Australia as they cover the federal elections.
The plane was brought into action after the Australian Defence Department was unable to charter an Australian aircraft, apparently due to the mining boom.
There has been ribald laughter on board the craft when the foreign cabin crew has experienced difficulty with the pronunciation of Fokker.
But that’s about the only laugh the media pack has had.
The Australian Financial Review described the Fokker as an “aircraft of dubious age” that is used to doing short European hops and not well suited to the vast expanses of the Australian landscape.
It made nine refueling stops on its way to Australia and cannot cross the continent without making at least one refueling stop.
In Launceston the plane could not leave its lights on without the engine running due to a generator malfunction.
There were also concerns when the Prime Minister planned to finish one of his grueling days in Devonport Tasmania.
Concerns set in when it was discovered that the media plane passengers would have difficulties disembarking because Devonport did not have a set of steps that could reach the door.
THE ECONOMIST LAUNCHES ITS PUSH INTO THE INDIAN MARKET WITH A 50,000 CIRCULATION IN TWO YEARS TIME AS THE GOAL
The Economist has commenced the first stage of a significant expansion plan by Suprio Guha Thakurta as associate publisher, based in Mumbai.
Thakurta was head-hunted from Lintas Personal where he was president,
His job will be to increase advertising sales and to increase circulation from the current 17,000 to 50,000 in the next two years.
According to agencyfaqs!, “‘The Economist has identified and aims to grow an influential, intellectually curious audience which is looking for the unique perspective and analysis that the magazine brings to global business, politics, science and technology. This audience – comprising senior decision-makers, influencers and affluent consumers – is very attractive to an increasing number of Indian companies who are looking to build their brands domestically and on the world stage.”
The Economist has two correspondents in India, James Astill, who covers politics, and the newly appointed Simon Cox, who will cover business and finance.
TELSTRA RELEASES EARLY FINDINGS FROM WIRELESS BROADBAND PRODUCTIVITY STUDY IF AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES
Telstra said that a sample of Australian businesses that are using its Next G wireless broadband and mobile services and seeing productivity gains averaging 9.3 percent according to new preliminary research.
The study, commissioned by Telstra and Ericsson is finding the highest productivity gains are being achieved by businesses operating in rural and remote areas and with staff working out of the office.
The study is being conducted by independent research company Econtech who has conducted detailed interviews with 26 businesses across Australia that have been using Next G for an average of seven and a half months, representing 15 industries across the country. It found productivity gains generated by factors such as employees remotely accessing information through Next G mobile broadband, so they could work out of the office and no longer require administrative staff to supply information. This frees up additional time for administrative staff to focus on other office needs.
Also using Next G mobile broadband to access the internet while travelling converts dead travel time' into productive time. Some of the customers interviewed also save time and money by not connecting to slower networks at hotels and /or hotspots.
CLICK-FOR-PAY INTRODUCED FOR SOME AUSTRALIAN ONLINE JOURNALISTS
Australian journalist Dave Jansen, who wrote TV reviews for IDG’s Good Gear Guide and PC World said he was retrenched this month following IDG's decision to close the print edition of PC World and move exclusively to an online model.
But, according to smh.com.au, he added that he was retrenched because his stories were not generating enough website hits.
Smh.com.au said, “It is one of the first cases where the firing of an Australian journalist writing text articles has been linked directly to the number of hits - or reader clicks - they generate.”
IDG Australia managing director Don Kennedy did not deny the claim but declined to comment on individual employees' circumstances.
Nicholas Carr, former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review, believes pay-per-view journalism is inevitable,
Wendy Bacon, director of the University of Technology Sydney's journalism program, said the internet allowed publishers to obtain a "brutal" measure of an article's popularity. She told smh.com that basing hiring and firing decisions on hits was "very bad for journalism" as it meant that "certain types of stories are not going to get covered in whole areas of the media".
Smh.com.au said Stan Beer, head of the technology news website iTWire, has taken the hits-oriented approach to the extreme, linking his writers' pay directly to website traffic, in a manner similar to the approach adopted by numerous blog networks.
Beer rejected claims his writers had an incentive to focus on quantity rather than quality. He said the stories that received the most hits were often the in-depth, analytical ones.
MACQUARIE BANK TO GO GET QUICK THRASHING WITH A LIMP LETTUCE FOR BREACHING AUSTRALIAN MEDIA OWNERSHIP LAWS
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found the nation's top investment house, Macquarie Bank, and its directors breached media ownership laws as it established itself as the dominant player in regional radio broadcasting, according to a report in today’s The Australian Media section.
Media specialist Mark Day reported that, “After a 21-month investigation the Australian Communications and Media Authority yesterday found Macquarie and seven subsidiary companies guilty of breaching ownership controls relating to the financing of five radio stations owned by Stuart Simson's Elmie Investments.
But the authority also decided no penalties were required.
Mark Day commented that all Macquarie Bank will suffer is “a quick thrashing with a wet lettuce.”
AUSTRALIA’S TEN NETWORK TO RELY ON US PROGRAMS TO BOOST ITS RATINGS
Australia’s Ten Network programmer David Mott hopes to boost its audience numbers in 2008 by broadcasting a host of new programs it has picked up from the US.
The Australian Financial Review quoted Mott saying, “We’ve got more toys in our cupboard, thanks to our new deals with US suppliers 20th Century Fox and CBS.”
But the Financial Review said media buyers were not so sure if Ten would meet its targets.
Meanwhile Seven Network is tipped to break through the magic 40 percent revenue share barrier in the $2.8 billion metropolitan television advertising market for the first time.
Nine’s target is unknown.
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MEDIA IN NEED OF RATIONALISATION SAYS ANALYST
Morgan Stanley analyst Andrew McLeod tipped that Western Australia’s media world, currently enjoying the benefits of strong ad volumes from the state’s resources boom, could be in need of rationalisation.
The Australian Financial Review reported today that he said it would be logical to combine West Australian Newspaper’s six-day-a-week The West Australian with News Ltd’s once-a-week The Sunday Times.
He said there is obvious sense in Perth eventually becoming a one-publisher market and added that this is an opportunity that Seven boss Kerry Stokes recognizes as he has been increasing his stake in WAN to 19.4 percent in recent days.
AUSTRALIAN IDOL HOST’S BIZARRE IDEA FOR A SOLUTION TO US TV WRITERS STRIKE – PUT DVD RESIDUAL ROYALTIES INTO A BENEVOLENT FUND FOR ACTORS
Australian Idol judge mark Holden reckons he’s got the answer to one of the contentious issues that’s behind the television writers’ strike in the US.
The US writers are holding out for residual DVD royalty rights, among other things, and The Australian today gave surprising prominence to Holden’s “novel local solution” saying the residuals owed to actors should be put into a an actor’s benevolent fund.
Holden said there’s a “certain logic and karma in that.”
This will really excite the striking writers, because while actors residuals have also been an issue, the writers actually also want a writers share of a percentage of sales revenue of DVD’s. Setting up a benevolent fund for actors has little bearing on the their demands.
US NEWSPAPER AD REVENUES FALL 7.4 PERCENT, WITH 17 PERCENT FALL IN CLASSIFIED ADS
International Business Times reports that advertising revenue at US print newspapers continued to fall in the third quarter, declining by 7.4 percent, according to the latest industry report.
The Newspaper Association of America said on Tuesday that total advertising dollars spent on print advertising fell 9 percent to US$10.1 billion from the same period last year, led by a 17 percent fall in classified advertising.
Classified advertising, once considered the major source of income for newspapers experienced a big drop. Within classified ads, job ads dropped 20 percent to $882.4 million and automotive ads were down 18 percent to $796.6 million.
Real estate advertising fell 24.4 percent to $1 billion as the US experiences a steep decline in home sales fueled by a crisis in the subprime mortgage lending sector.
Online advertising now accounts for 7.1 percent of overall newspaper ad spending, or $773 million, up from 5.4 percent in the third quarter of 2006.
IFRA LAUNCHES NEW ARAB-REGION NEWS IN ITS INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE
Ifra, the association for newspaper and publishing has launched a special added section of Arab-region publishing news and other features written in Arabic in its international magazine on the technology and business of news publishing.
This new Arabic-enhanced edition of IFRA Magazine is available in Ifra's ePaper format to newspaper publishers and their staff throughout the Arab states in the Middle East and Northern Africa.
IFRA Magazine features globe-spanning in-depth editorial coverage of the latest trends and developments in media publishing and newspaper printing.
The new Arabic-enhanced edition contains the same detailed reports as the magazine's English, French, German and Spanish editions as researched by Ifra's staff of editor-analysts. In addition, it features a special section of Arabic news briefs and interviews produced by the Fareeda News Service based in Beirut, Lebanon.
Ifra's magazine is read by nearly 24,000 high-level publishing professionals in 77 countries
SRI LANKAN GUNMEN BURN THE SUNDAY LEADER MEDIA GROUP’S PRINTING PRESS
About 15 Sri Lankan gunmen with possible support from within the security forces staged an arson attack on the printing press of the Sunday Leader media group, located in a high security area outside Colombo.
Reporters Without Borders said, "Armed men have once again attacked an independent news media in a high security area of the capital. It unfortunately shows that the press freedom enemies have accomplices within the security forces. By attacking the Leader Publications group, this gang wanted to silence one of the main sources of incisive criticism of the current government. We urge foreign diplomats to publicly express their solidarity with the group."
Leader Publications owns two English-language newspapers, The Sunday Leader and Morning Leader, and the Sinhalese-language weekly Irudina. Its printing press is in Ratmalana, a high-security zone adjoining a military airport outside the capital.
A gang consisting of both Sinhalese and Tamils stormed the premises early in the morning, rounded up all of the 25 employees and, at gunpoint, forced them hand over their mobile phones. Then they doused the presses with petrol and set them on fire. They also set fire to the thousands of copies of today's issue of the Morning Leader, which was about to be distributed. Firemen took an hour to put out the blaze.
A Sunday Leader journalist told Reporters Without Borders that the presses would be out of commission for several months, and the group would have to use the services of a commercial printer to continue publishing.
The damage will also affect the Tamil daily Sudar Oli, which was printed on Leader Publications' presses.
Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickramatunga described the attacked as a commando operation carried out on the government's orders. Known for his investigations and critical editorials, Wickramatunga has been accused by ruling party parliamentarians of supporting the Tamil Tiger rebels. The government had planned to arrest him in late 2006 for revealing the construction of a luxurious presidential bunker in Colombo, but backed down for fear of triggering strong international criticism.
An armed group already set fire to newspapers at the Leader Publications printing press in October 2005, but employees put the fire out before the presses were damaged.
ABC’S DUSTY ECHOES INDIGENOUS ANIMATION SERIES TO SCREEN AT SINGAPORE FESTIVAL
ABC Innovation said all twelve animations from the award-winning Dust Echoes series will be featured at Singapore’s Animation Nation festival in November. This is the first time all the animations will be viewed by an international audience at a single screening.
The second series of animations was launched, in collaboration with the Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation and the Wugularr Community, at dustechoes.com.au in mid-2007.
Various Dust Echoes animations have been selected for screening at the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, Germany; the Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival; Zagreb Animafest, Croatia; the South Australia Short Screen Awards; Annecy International Film Festival, France; AniFest International Festival of Animated Film, Czech Republic; AnimaMundi International Animation Festival, Brazil; the Melbourne International Animation Festival; the Luciana Film Festival, Italy; St Kilda Film Festival; the PLATFORM International Animation Festival, US; the Kalamazoo Animation Festival International, US; the Ottawa International Film Festival, USA, and The Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia.
The interactive content brings new voices to ancient aboriginal Dreamtime storytelling, with the ultimate purpose of introducing young audiences to these remarkable tales.
The stories in Dust Echoes come from the Beswick community in Australia’s Northern Territory. The series two indigenous consultant is Tom E. Lewis, executive producer is Domenic Friguglietti, series producer is Michael Wagner and the creative director is Luke Jurevicius.
MOBILEACTIVE IN AUSTRALIA HIRES NEW CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Australian mobile phone content and entertainment provider, MobileActive Ltd, has hired Allan Robertson as its chief operating officer.
Robertson has held senior positions in the telecommunications sector with
Optus and Telstra, including director Optus wholesale mobile, director Optus mobile partners and mobile channel development, and sales director Telstra wholesale.
MobileActive said it has grown to be Australia’s leading independent mobile content and entertainment company. It develops, aggregates, markets and distributes an extensive range of mobile content and entertainment including music, games, video, wallpapers, information services, graphics and applications.
MobileActive has built a large and unique content library that continues to expand, offering diverse content in a variety of genres. The mobile content is distributed directly to consumers, via telecommunication carriers and partners using proprietary technology and processes that are scalable and can be quickly deployed in any market.
JOSEPH STALIN HELPS PROMOTE RUSSIA TODAY CABLE TV
Followthemedia points out that the spate of new 24-hour English language cable news networks now available, with France 24, Al Jazeera and Russia Today vying with the older warhorses of CNN and BBC World, makes competition for global viewers all that more, well, competitive.
Russia Today has decided to run a different campaign to woo viewers. It’s been running campaigns in English language newspapers, mainly in Europe, using that good old champion of the free media, Joe Stalin, with the slogan, “Proud To Be Different.”
Followthemedia commented yesterday, “Well, yes, he was different – he sent millions and millions of Russians to their deaths in the Gulag, but Russia Today wants us to know his softer side. ‘Stalin wrote romantic poetry. Did you know that?’”
Germany’s der Spiegel also wasn’t overly taken by the campaign, noting, ““It’s about as subtle a message as a scenario in which German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle were to advertise with Hitler and the question: ‘Did you know that Adolf Hitler also painted?’”
But Spiegel also quotes Margarita Simonjan, Russia Today’s editor-in-chief, saying the ad campaign has been very successful. “We knew that the Stalin theme would be ambivalent in the eyes of many. But it fulfilled its purpose wonderfully. The number of visitors to our web site has doubled.”
THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN PLAYBOY MAGAZINE
Irreverent Australian website Crikey.com, famous for getting it wrong, claimed that notions of climate change and the greenhouse effect were introduced by Playboy magazine in February 1980.
Wrong again according to Crikey reader Tony Barrell, who informed Crikey that in his opinion the notions were first aired in a British TV ‘mockumentary’ made in 1977 called Alternative 3.
Tony Barrell explained that it “was all about how there were three choices to avoid it: blast holes in the atmosphere, go underground, or leave the planet altogether. The investigation was originally intended for broadcast on April 1, but was delayed. It supposedly discovered a secret plan was already in operation to remove people to the dark side of the moon for later transhipment to Mars. An ‘astronaut’ was interviewed who claimed to have seen it.
“The whole thing was a fake of course, but then again, you can find all kinds of websites which say it was actually true and that the people who made it had to dress it as fiction otherwise they would never have been allowed to make it. Conspiracy theory daftness yes, but in 1977 the greenhouse effect must have been a known quantity to be taken seriously by spoofers.”
But another Crikey reader, Ernie Biscan, also weighed into the debate writing, “For historical reference, and to put the greenhouse story in context, can Crikey reveal who got their gear off in the February 1980 edition of Playboy?”
Meanwhile, to introduce some gravitas to the debate, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson, addressing the New Zealand Business Round Table, said, of the global warming debate, that, “We appear to have entered a new age of unreason, which threatens to be as economically harmful as it is profoundly disquieting.”
But getting back to Nigel Lawson, he pointed out that, “The major cause of ill-health, and the deaths it brings, in the developing world is poverty.”
He also pointed out, “As it is, the temperature projections (of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) does come up in its fourth and latest report range from a rise in the average global temperature by the year 2100 of 1.8C for its lowest emissions scenario to one of 4C for its highest emissions scenario, with a mean increase of slightly under 3C.
“The average annual temperature in Helsinki is less than 5C. That in Singapore is in excess of 27C, a difference of more than 22C. If man can cope with that, it is not immediately apparent why he should not be able to adapt to a change of 3C when he is given 100 years in which to do so.”
FEAR OF FLYING ON THE AUSTRALIAN CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Numerous amusing reports have emerged about the chartered Croation-staffed Fokker F100 that was scraped up to fly the media pack around Australia as they cover the federal elections.
The plane was brought into action after the Australian Defence Department was unable to charter an Australian aircraft, apparently due to the mining boom.
There has been ribald laughter on board the craft when the foreign cabin crew has experienced difficulty with the pronunciation of Fokker.
But that’s about the only laugh the media pack has had.
The Australian Financial Review described the Fokker as an “aircraft of dubious age” that is used to doing short European hops and not well suited to the vast expanses of the Australian landscape.
It made nine refueling stops on its way to Australia and cannot cross the continent without making at least one refueling stop.
In Launceston the plane could not leave its lights on without the engine running due to a generator malfunction.
There were also concerns when the Prime Minister planned to finish one of his grueling days in Devonport Tasmania.
Concerns set in when it was discovered that the media plane passengers would have difficulties disembarking because Devonport did not have a set of steps that could reach the door.
THE ECONOMIST LAUNCHES ITS PUSH INTO THE INDIAN MARKET WITH A 50,000 CIRCULATION IN TWO YEARS TIME AS THE GOAL
The Economist has commenced the first stage of a significant expansion plan by Suprio Guha Thakurta as associate publisher, based in Mumbai.
Thakurta was head-hunted from Lintas Personal where he was president,
His job will be to increase advertising sales and to increase circulation from the current 17,000 to 50,000 in the next two years.
According to agencyfaqs!, “‘The Economist has identified and aims to grow an influential, intellectually curious audience which is looking for the unique perspective and analysis that the magazine brings to global business, politics, science and technology. This audience – comprising senior decision-makers, influencers and affluent consumers – is very attractive to an increasing number of Indian companies who are looking to build their brands domestically and on the world stage.”
The Economist has two correspondents in India, James Astill, who covers politics, and the newly appointed Simon Cox, who will cover business and finance.
TELSTRA RELEASES EARLY FINDINGS FROM WIRELESS BROADBAND PRODUCTIVITY STUDY IF AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES
Telstra said that a sample of Australian businesses that are using its Next G wireless broadband and mobile services and seeing productivity gains averaging 9.3 percent according to new preliminary research.
The study, commissioned by Telstra and Ericsson is finding the highest productivity gains are being achieved by businesses operating in rural and remote areas and with staff working out of the office.
The study is being conducted by independent research company Econtech who has conducted detailed interviews with 26 businesses across Australia that have been using Next G for an average of seven and a half months, representing 15 industries across the country. It found productivity gains generated by factors such as employees remotely accessing information through Next G mobile broadband, so they could work out of the office and no longer require administrative staff to supply information. This frees up additional time for administrative staff to focus on other office needs.
Also using Next G mobile broadband to access the internet while travelling converts dead travel time' into productive time. Some of the customers interviewed also save time and money by not connecting to slower networks at hotels and /or hotspots.
CLICK-FOR-PAY INTRODUCED FOR SOME AUSTRALIAN ONLINE JOURNALISTS
Australian journalist Dave Jansen, who wrote TV reviews for IDG’s Good Gear Guide and PC World said he was retrenched this month following IDG's decision to close the print edition of PC World and move exclusively to an online model.
But, according to smh.com.au, he added that he was retrenched because his stories were not generating enough website hits.
Smh.com.au said, “It is one of the first cases where the firing of an Australian journalist writing text articles has been linked directly to the number of hits - or reader clicks - they generate.”
IDG Australia managing director Don Kennedy did not deny the claim but declined to comment on individual employees' circumstances.
Nicholas Carr, former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review, believes pay-per-view journalism is inevitable,
Wendy Bacon, director of the University of Technology Sydney's journalism program, said the internet allowed publishers to obtain a "brutal" measure of an article's popularity. She told smh.com that basing hiring and firing decisions on hits was "very bad for journalism" as it meant that "certain types of stories are not going to get covered in whole areas of the media".
Smh.com.au said Stan Beer, head of the technology news website iTWire, has taken the hits-oriented approach to the extreme, linking his writers' pay directly to website traffic, in a manner similar to the approach adopted by numerous blog networks.
Beer rejected claims his writers had an incentive to focus on quantity rather than quality. He said the stories that received the most hits were often the in-depth, analytical ones.
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