MEDIABLAB DAILY DIGEST APR 29: WILL MURDOCH INVADE INDIA NEXT; AUSTRALIA'S REELTIME REELING
April 30th 2008 06:12
MBLAB APR29
MURDOCH NOW SAID TO BE MULLING OVER A PRINT INVASION OF INDIA
Is there no stopping the blighter? Now India’s Business Standard reports that Murdoch is mulling over the idea of newspaper launches in India.
More precisely, STAR India, a subsidiary of STAR TV Hong Kong is exploring the possibilities of getting into the print media business in India. STAR could import titles from its parent News Corp, which owns nearly 40 newspapers in Australia, the UK, the US and Fiji, including the Wall Street Journal.
Business Standard said that last week, top STAR executives including STAR Hong Kong ceo Paul Aiello, STAR India ceo Uday Shankar and coo Jagdish Kumar were in Bangalore for meetings with possible joint venture partners for the print foray. The company is said to be in talks with Vijay Mallya's UB Group.
Indian media industry sources said STAR has been exploring opportunities in the print media space for a while, especially after Shankar, a former journalist, became the head of its Indian operations.
Vijay Mallya owned Vijay TV, which was sold to UTV and later acquired by STAR India.
He also had a stake in Asian Age which he later sold off.
REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS MOUNTS A FRENCH CAMPAIGN TO CONTINUE PRESSURE ON CHINA OVER TIBET
Reporters Without Borders gave a news conference yesterday in Paris to unveil a series of new campaign initiatives aimed at the public, politicians, Olympic sponsors and journalists who are going to the Olympic Games in Beijing.
"With just over 100 days to go to the games, a key moment for the Olympic movement, we are campaigning to obtain the release of prisoners of conscience and free access to Tibet for the press," Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Menard said.
"The announcement of a possible resumption of dialogue with the Dalai Lama has raised hopes of a possible shift in the Chinese government's position human rights, but we are not there yet."
"Democratic heads of state, including President Nicolas Sarkozy, must threaten to boycott the opening ceremony in order to maintain the pressure."
Reporter Florence Aubenas of the Paris-based Le Nouvel Observateur weekly, a former hostage in Iraq, appealed to her colleagues, "Journalists are not activists but they have a role to play before the Olympic Games.
"We must be able to tell the Chinese authorities that we want to go to Tibet or to interview dissidents. All the press will want to talk about the sports events, but they will also want to talk about the other issues. The press must defend this right by taking a clearer stand."
Aubenas presented an appeal to this effect that has already been signed by a dozen of leading European newspapers.
Filmmaker Jean-Jacques Beineix and Miss France 2007 runner-up Sophie Vouzelaud, who was born deaf, unveiled videos that use sign language to make the public and athletes more aware of human rights abuses in China. "As the Chinese authorities are deaf to the appeals of international public opinion and the International Olympic Committee prefers that athletes say nothing, we are going to use the sign language gesture for Freedom," Beineix explained.
He showed four video clips that will be offered to TV stations in which Vouzelaud, writer Marek Alter and singer Nicolas Sirkis, the leader of the French band Indochine, do the Freedom sign while a voice says, "The Chinese leaders are deaf to our appeals, so this is how you say Freedom in sign language."
Vouzelaud said she was deeply committed to free expression and solidarity and supported the call for the release of prisoners of conscience in China. Sirkis announced that he was bringing out a single in support of the Reporters Without Borders campaign on China. "We are going to do a video and launch this single in order to participate in this campaign, which is entirely legitimate," he said.
Robert Poirier, who is a former coach of the French athletics team and who participated as an athlete in the Tokyo and Mexico City games, said athletes "are also citizens" and urged them not to neglect the human rights situation in China and Tibet.
"The International Olympic Committee has been unable to create conditions in Beijing that will allow athletes to take part in the games in completely serenity," he said. "The athletes must express - peacefully and respecting the Charter - their commitment to the values of freedom. I am sure they will find the words and the moments to show their commitment as citizens."
Menard also reported the results of an opinion poll about the Olympic sponsors. "A majority of French people agree that the sponsoring companies must defend human rights in China. Most of the people polled also said they were ready to boycott their products if nothing is done. These results show that the sponsors cannot stay silent."
AUSTRALIA’S REELTIME MEDIA NOW BEING INVESTIGATED OVER FRAUDULENTLY TRADING WHILE INSOLVENT
Australian company ReelTime Media keeps reeling from one disaster to another. The Australian newspaper now reports that the company’s administrator Ferrier Hodgson will investigate claims the internet start-up continued to trade after it became insolvent and that its directors defrauded a major investor.
Ferrier Hodgson administrator Martin Jones said the claims, asserted by one of ReelTime's major creditors, Maylord Equities, warranted further investigation.
Jones said that the investigation would take about two months, but added it was unlikely to affect the outcome of the next meeting of ReelTime creditors, which would decide whether to liquidate the company or dispose of its assets under a deed of company
Maylord threw a financial lifeline to ReelTime last July when it elected to take a $1 million convertible note in the company. It later converted the note into shares.
FIRST THE FINANCIAL TIMES, NOW THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE TO CHASE THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES POT OF GOLD
Last week MediaBlab reported that the Financial Times, the UK-based global business daily owned by Pearson, is launching a Middle East edition today.
And no the flash new Abu Dhabi English language daily, The National reports that the
International Herald Tribune will also soon make a United Arab Emirates devbut.
At a celebration on Wednesday of the 30th anniversary of Khaleej Times, company executives are expected to announce a publishing partnership with the International Herald Tribune.
The National also reported on itself, saying “The papers would arrive just weeks after the launch of The National, an English-language paper published six days a week by the Abu Dhabi Media Company, and only a few months after Dubai-based Arab Media Group relaunched one of the country’s dailies as a business publication, Emirates Business 24/7.”
US RADIO WEBSITES IN EASTERN EUROPE THE VICTIM OF THE DREADED CYBER ATTACK
AFP reports that websites run by US Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, based in eastern Europe, have been hit by an ‘unprecedented’ cyber attack.
‘The attack, which started on April 26, initially targeted the website of RFE/RL's Belarus Service, but quickly spread to other sites,’ a statement on its website said. ‘Within hours, eight RFE/RL websites (Belarus, Kosovo, Azerbaijan, Tatar-Bashkir, Radio Farda, South Slavic, Russian, and Tajik) were knocked out or otherwise affected,’ it added.
Belarus Service Director Alexander Lukashuk said that the problems began on the 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is an independent, international news and broadcast organisation whose programming - radio, internet and television - reaches audiences in 21 countries including Russia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the republics of Central Asia.
MEDIA FORUM IN KAZAKHSTAN CALLS FOR MORE INDEPENDENT BROADCAST REPORTING IN CENTRAL ASIA
Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union reported that journalists working for state broadcasters should write more stories that are relevant to the lives of ordinary citizens, a workshop on regional journalism was told Friday. Gulnara Ibrayeva, head of apparatus for the National TV and Radio Corporation of Kyrgyzstan, was speaking at a roundtable on ‘Challenges Confronting Regional Journalists’ held as part of the Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
She said that important news that citizens ought to be informed about was often neglected by state broadcasters.
She said, “For example, we had an inter-racial conflict near Bishkek, but the local media didn't report it. It was only covered by the Russian media and CNN.”
Other panelists from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan gave examples of how so-called ‘news’ reports on state TV and radio channels were based on government press releases and involved no independent reporting. They also discussed how many private channels were reluctant to present alternative views or analysis for fear of upsetting governments and losing advertising contracts.
Kumar Bekbolotov, the Central Asian programs director of the IWPR in Kyrgyzstan, told the workshop that there was a direct connection between the level of professionalism of journalists and the independence of the media in the Central Asian republics. He said this could only be overcome through the training of journalists to promote more independent reporting.
NEW WEB SITE WILL MONITOR EUROPEAN MEDIA
The International Journalists Network reports that a new web site has been launched to monitor television policy, regulation and independence in Europe.
Currently, the web site, MediaPolicy.org, monitors Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania and Albania. Plans are in the works to grow the site into a full journal covering television policy and standards from various angles, in Europe and beyond, according to a statement on the site. The site was launched by the EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program of the Open Society Institute and the Network Media Program of the Open Society Foundation. To learn more, go to http://www.mediapolicy.org/
ACP MAGAZINES IN AUSTRALIA REVEALS DATA FROM JARGON-CRAMMED RESEARCH STUDY INTO RELATIONSHIPS WITH HOMES
ACP Magazines in Australia has revealed key insights from its most research study on Australians and their relationships with their homes.
‘How We Live’ explored where Australians draw inspiration from in homes and gardens, evolving family dynamics and their effect on home life, the impact of broader societal trends (including environmentalism and new technologies) and how consumers express themselves through home life.
ACP Magazines’ homes lifestyle titles including Belle, Real Living, Australian House and Garden and Burke’s Backyard represent over one million passionate homemakers in a typical month (Roy Morgan 2007).
Travis Godfredson, group research director, ACP Magazines said, “The findings offer genuine insights for better connecting with Australian homemakers – not just in magazines, but across a range of platforms.
“Some old themes still hold true, some are new – and some interesting contradictions are emerging.”
Australians love expressing themselves through their home; their travels, family, careers, passions and hobbies. They have a confident eclecticism – and marketers who embrace this are seen as authentic and credible
Space is at a premium, and Australians are embracing clever ideas to maximise space. Brilliant storage solutions and multi functional living zones are much sought after.
The inside is out – and the outside is in. Australians are looking to blend the two with lighting, heating and storage solutions as well as clever design and green features
Full convergence (wired homes) is a great idea but an unrealistic experience for most Australians. Consumers need assurance and education when it comes to new technologies. The smartest ideas are generally the most useful
But predict life stages at your peril – we can no longer define consumers demographically. For example maturing homemakers are some of the most progressive consumers, trading suburban homes for up-market apartments close to modern amenities
The research project was conducted independently by The Seed over five months from November 2007 to March 2008. Over 1,000 respondents participated in an online survey, in addition to a broad qualitative research branch which included extended focus groups and home immersions.
THOMSON REUTERS NEW ETHICS CODES HAS SOME STRANGE COMPONENTS
PaidContent reports that Thomson Reuters established an ethics code that forbids its staff from using blogs for internal communications and from communicating with competitors.
Mentioning the company in a personal blog is allowed, but blogging about "confidential info and company clients" is a no-no. Also, a personal blog should not be used as a platform to express differences with co-workers, the company, or those that Thomas Reuters does business with. Furthermore, the staff cannot take gifts.
Thomson Reuters also has a section devoted to fair competition. It states that employees who attend a conference, trade show, association event, or meeting should "limit informal contact to the extent possible and keep a written summary of any discussions that may have taken place."
INDIA FORBIDS CABLE TV OPERATORS IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR TO CARRY PAKISTANI TV CHANNELS
FROM Cable TV operators in the north-western state of Jammu and Kashmir have been forbidden to carry several Pakistani TV channels.
Cable TV operators in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, suspended broadcasting of the privately-owned Pakistani channels Geo TV, ARY and Aaj and the state-owned Pakistani channel PTV at the behest of the authorities in New Delhi on April 24.
The Indian ministry of information and broadcasting said the Pakistani stations had failed to comply with an Indian broadcasting law which, since November 11, 2005 has required any foreign TV station to register with the Indian authorities and obtain permission in order to broadcast in India.
The Pakistani TV stations are very popular with the Kashmiri population, which is mainly Muslim.
Some observers wonder what has pushed the Indian authorities to suspend this stations now, after tolerating them for several years.
Criticising the measure, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists said, "This obstacle to the free flow of information is anti-democratic. It must be lifted."
Many political groups in Srinagar have variously condemned the measure as "irrational" and "illogical in an era of communication and globalization." They have also said it could jeopardise rapprochement between India and Pakistan and "reinforce the most radical groups."
MURDOCH NOW SAID TO BE MULLING OVER A PRINT INVASION OF INDIA
Is there no stopping the blighter? Now India’s Business Standard reports that Murdoch is mulling over the idea of newspaper launches in India.
More precisely, STAR India, a subsidiary of STAR TV Hong Kong is exploring the possibilities of getting into the print media business in India. STAR could import titles from its parent News Corp, which owns nearly 40 newspapers in Australia, the UK, the US and Fiji, including the Wall Street Journal.
Business Standard said that last week, top STAR executives including STAR Hong Kong ceo Paul Aiello, STAR India ceo Uday Shankar and coo Jagdish Kumar were in Bangalore for meetings with possible joint venture partners for the print foray. The company is said to be in talks with Vijay Mallya's UB Group.
Vijay Mallya owned Vijay TV, which was sold to UTV and later acquired by STAR India.
He also had a stake in Asian Age which he later sold off.
REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS MOUNTS A FRENCH CAMPAIGN TO CONTINUE PRESSURE ON CHINA OVER TIBET
Reporters Without Borders gave a news conference yesterday in Paris to unveil a series of new campaign initiatives aimed at the public, politicians, Olympic sponsors and journalists who are going to the Olympic Games in Beijing.
"With just over 100 days to go to the games, a key moment for the Olympic movement, we are campaigning to obtain the release of prisoners of conscience and free access to Tibet for the press," Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Menard said.
"Democratic heads of state, including President Nicolas Sarkozy, must threaten to boycott the opening ceremony in order to maintain the pressure."
Reporter Florence Aubenas of the Paris-based Le Nouvel Observateur weekly, a former hostage in Iraq, appealed to her colleagues, "Journalists are not activists but they have a role to play before the Olympic Games.
"We must be able to tell the Chinese authorities that we want to go to Tibet or to interview dissidents. All the press will want to talk about the sports events, but they will also want to talk about the other issues. The press must defend this right by taking a clearer stand."
Aubenas presented an appeal to this effect that has already been signed by a dozen of leading European newspapers.
Filmmaker Jean-Jacques Beineix and Miss France 2007 runner-up Sophie Vouzelaud, who was born deaf, unveiled videos that use sign language to make the public and athletes more aware of human rights abuses in China. "As the Chinese authorities are deaf to the appeals of international public opinion and the International Olympic Committee prefers that athletes say nothing, we are going to use the sign language gesture for Freedom," Beineix explained.
He showed four video clips that will be offered to TV stations in which Vouzelaud, writer Marek Alter and singer Nicolas Sirkis, the leader of the French band Indochine, do the Freedom sign while a voice says, "The Chinese leaders are deaf to our appeals, so this is how you say Freedom in sign language."
Vouzelaud said she was deeply committed to free expression and solidarity and supported the call for the release of prisoners of conscience in China. Sirkis announced that he was bringing out a single in support of the Reporters Without Borders campaign on China. "We are going to do a video and launch this single in order to participate in this campaign, which is entirely legitimate," he said.
Robert Poirier, who is a former coach of the French athletics team and who participated as an athlete in the Tokyo and Mexico City games, said athletes "are also citizens" and urged them not to neglect the human rights situation in China and Tibet.
"The International Olympic Committee has been unable to create conditions in Beijing that will allow athletes to take part in the games in completely serenity," he said. "The athletes must express - peacefully and respecting the Charter - their commitment to the values of freedom. I am sure they will find the words and the moments to show their commitment as citizens."
Menard also reported the results of an opinion poll about the Olympic sponsors. "A majority of French people agree that the sponsoring companies must defend human rights in China. Most of the people polled also said they were ready to boycott their products if nothing is done. These results show that the sponsors cannot stay silent."
AUSTRALIA’S REELTIME MEDIA NOW BEING INVESTIGATED OVER FRAUDULENTLY TRADING WHILE INSOLVENT
Australian company ReelTime Media keeps reeling from one disaster to another. The Australian newspaper now reports that the company’s administrator Ferrier Hodgson will investigate claims the internet start-up continued to trade after it became insolvent and that its directors defrauded a major investor.
Ferrier Hodgson administrator Martin Jones said the claims, asserted by one of ReelTime's major creditors, Maylord Equities, warranted further investigation.
Jones said that the investigation would take about two months, but added it was unlikely to affect the outcome of the next meeting of ReelTime creditors, which would decide whether to liquidate the company or dispose of its assets under a deed of company
Maylord threw a financial lifeline to ReelTime last July when it elected to take a $1 million convertible note in the company. It later converted the note into shares.
FIRST THE FINANCIAL TIMES, NOW THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE TO CHASE THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES POT OF GOLD
Last week MediaBlab reported that the Financial Times, the UK-based global business daily owned by Pearson, is launching a Middle East edition today.
And no the flash new Abu Dhabi English language daily, The National reports that the
International Herald Tribune will also soon make a United Arab Emirates devbut.
At a celebration on Wednesday of the 30th anniversary of Khaleej Times, company executives are expected to announce a publishing partnership with the International Herald Tribune.
The National also reported on itself, saying “The papers would arrive just weeks after the launch of The National, an English-language paper published six days a week by the Abu Dhabi Media Company, and only a few months after Dubai-based Arab Media Group relaunched one of the country’s dailies as a business publication, Emirates Business 24/7.”
US RADIO WEBSITES IN EASTERN EUROPE THE VICTIM OF THE DREADED CYBER ATTACK
AFP reports that websites run by US Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, based in eastern Europe, have been hit by an ‘unprecedented’ cyber attack.
‘The attack, which started on April 26, initially targeted the website of RFE/RL's Belarus Service, but quickly spread to other sites,’ a statement on its website said. ‘Within hours, eight RFE/RL websites (Belarus, Kosovo, Azerbaijan, Tatar-Bashkir, Radio Farda, South Slavic, Russian, and Tajik) were knocked out or otherwise affected,’ it added.
Belarus Service Director Alexander Lukashuk said that the problems began on the 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is an independent, international news and broadcast organisation whose programming - radio, internet and television - reaches audiences in 21 countries including Russia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the republics of Central Asia.
MEDIA FORUM IN KAZAKHSTAN CALLS FOR MORE INDEPENDENT BROADCAST REPORTING IN CENTRAL ASIA
Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union reported that journalists working for state broadcasters should write more stories that are relevant to the lives of ordinary citizens, a workshop on regional journalism was told Friday. Gulnara Ibrayeva, head of apparatus for the National TV and Radio Corporation of Kyrgyzstan, was speaking at a roundtable on ‘Challenges Confronting Regional Journalists’ held as part of the Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
She said that important news that citizens ought to be informed about was often neglected by state broadcasters.
She said, “For example, we had an inter-racial conflict near Bishkek, but the local media didn't report it. It was only covered by the Russian media and CNN.”
Other panelists from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan gave examples of how so-called ‘news’ reports on state TV and radio channels were based on government press releases and involved no independent reporting. They also discussed how many private channels were reluctant to present alternative views or analysis for fear of upsetting governments and losing advertising contracts.
Kumar Bekbolotov, the Central Asian programs director of the IWPR in Kyrgyzstan, told the workshop that there was a direct connection between the level of professionalism of journalists and the independence of the media in the Central Asian republics. He said this could only be overcome through the training of journalists to promote more independent reporting.
NEW WEB SITE WILL MONITOR EUROPEAN MEDIA
The International Journalists Network reports that a new web site has been launched to monitor television policy, regulation and independence in Europe.
Currently, the web site, MediaPolicy.org, monitors Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania and Albania. Plans are in the works to grow the site into a full journal covering television policy and standards from various angles, in Europe and beyond, according to a statement on the site. The site was launched by the EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program of the Open Society Institute and the Network Media Program of the Open Society Foundation. To learn more, go to http://www.mediapolicy.org/
ACP MAGAZINES IN AUSTRALIA REVEALS DATA FROM JARGON-CRAMMED RESEARCH STUDY INTO RELATIONSHIPS WITH HOMES
ACP Magazines in Australia has revealed key insights from its most research study on Australians and their relationships with their homes.
‘How We Live’ explored where Australians draw inspiration from in homes and gardens, evolving family dynamics and their effect on home life, the impact of broader societal trends (including environmentalism and new technologies) and how consumers express themselves through home life.
ACP Magazines’ homes lifestyle titles including Belle, Real Living, Australian House and Garden and Burke’s Backyard represent over one million passionate homemakers in a typical month (Roy Morgan 2007).
Travis Godfredson, group research director, ACP Magazines said, “The findings offer genuine insights for better connecting with Australian homemakers – not just in magazines, but across a range of platforms.
“Some old themes still hold true, some are new – and some interesting contradictions are emerging.”
Australians love expressing themselves through their home; their travels, family, careers, passions and hobbies. They have a confident eclecticism – and marketers who embrace this are seen as authentic and credible
Space is at a premium, and Australians are embracing clever ideas to maximise space. Brilliant storage solutions and multi functional living zones are much sought after.
The inside is out – and the outside is in. Australians are looking to blend the two with lighting, heating and storage solutions as well as clever design and green features
Full convergence (wired homes) is a great idea but an unrealistic experience for most Australians. Consumers need assurance and education when it comes to new technologies. The smartest ideas are generally the most useful
But predict life stages at your peril – we can no longer define consumers demographically. For example maturing homemakers are some of the most progressive consumers, trading suburban homes for up-market apartments close to modern amenities
The research project was conducted independently by The Seed over five months from November 2007 to March 2008. Over 1,000 respondents participated in an online survey, in addition to a broad qualitative research branch which included extended focus groups and home immersions.
THOMSON REUTERS NEW ETHICS CODES HAS SOME STRANGE COMPONENTS
PaidContent reports that Thomson Reuters established an ethics code that forbids its staff from using blogs for internal communications and from communicating with competitors.
Mentioning the company in a personal blog is allowed, but blogging about "confidential info and company clients" is a no-no. Also, a personal blog should not be used as a platform to express differences with co-workers, the company, or those that Thomas Reuters does business with. Furthermore, the staff cannot take gifts.
Thomson Reuters also has a section devoted to fair competition. It states that employees who attend a conference, trade show, association event, or meeting should "limit informal contact to the extent possible and keep a written summary of any discussions that may have taken place."
INDIA FORBIDS CABLE TV OPERATORS IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR TO CARRY PAKISTANI TV CHANNELS
FROM Cable TV operators in the north-western state of Jammu and Kashmir have been forbidden to carry several Pakistani TV channels.
Cable TV operators in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, suspended broadcasting of the privately-owned Pakistani channels Geo TV, ARY and Aaj and the state-owned Pakistani channel PTV at the behest of the authorities in New Delhi on April 24.
The Indian ministry of information and broadcasting said the Pakistani stations had failed to comply with an Indian broadcasting law which, since November 11, 2005 has required any foreign TV station to register with the Indian authorities and obtain permission in order to broadcast in India.
The Pakistani TV stations are very popular with the Kashmiri population, which is mainly Muslim.
Some observers wonder what has pushed the Indian authorities to suspend this stations now, after tolerating them for several years.
Criticising the measure, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists said, "This obstacle to the free flow of information is anti-democratic. It must be lifted."
Many political groups in Srinagar have variously condemned the measure as "irrational" and "illogical in an era of communication and globalization." They have also said it could jeopardise rapprochement between India and Pakistan and "reinforce the most radical groups."
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