MEDIABLAB DAILY DIGEST NOV3: THAI TV FALSELY REPORTS THAT VIETNAM IS ATTACKING THAILAND
November 3rd 2008 01:53
THAI TV CHANNEL WARNED TO GET ITS FACTS RIGHT ABOUT VIETNAM ENTERING THAI-CAMBODIAN BORDER DISPUTE
Radio Free Asia reports that the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned state-owned television channel NBT about its unreliable sources which said that Vietnam has sent its troops to Cambodia to fight against the Thai soldiers along the Khmer-Thai borders.
The Ministry of Foreign affairs stated that it is seeking co-operation from NBT by requesting it to be cautious in its usage of unreliable sources before going to air.
The reactions of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs happened after Vietnam last week officially denied that it has sent any troops to Cambodia as claimed by NBT.
LEGENDARY CHICAGO JOURNALIST STUDS TERKEL DIES AT 96
Legendary American author, journalist and Chicago identity Studs Terkel died on Friday at the age of 96.
Beset in recent years by a variety of age-related ailments, which included being virtually deaf, Terkel's health took a turn for the worse when he suffered a fall in his home two weeks ago.
At his bedside was a copy of his latest book, P.S. Further Thoughts From a Lifetime of Listening, scheduled for a November release. He was 96 years old.
A television institution for years, a radio staple for decades, he has been a literary lion since 1967, when he wrote his first best-selling book at the age of 55.
LEAKED DOCUMENT OUTLINES MYANMAR’S NEW CENSORSHIP DETAILS
Mizzima News said it has received a secret document detailing the Information Minister's discussion with other ministries regarding the censorship, control and distribution of information regarding government offices.
It claims the following are excerpts of a circular issued by the Information Minister to all ministries on the coordination of press censorship on governmental and departmental news: .
“In this IT age, tactful 'pre-emptive' action taken by governmental departments in releasing their news is better than the total control and blackout of the news.
“The private media cover the government departments' news by gathering the required news by all possible means and writing commentaries and features when they cannot get official news released by the departments concerned. In these cases, frequent objections, elaborations and clarifications were found to be made by the departments concerned. Sometimes they have to take action against the media is such instances.
(a) In the press censorship policy adopted, positive writing on government departmental news has been allowed. Thus the government departments should understand this situation to some extent and should cooperate with the private media for the benefit of their departments.
(b) Since the people want to know the progress of work being performed by the government departments, they should form an information committee for the occasional release of official news on the work being conducted by them for the benefit of state and people. In this way, the people can get in-depth information on what work is being done for the long term benefit of the state and people, what is their progress and what are their future plans, etc. By doing these works, the people will come and cooperate more with the government departments in their work. The people will trust the transparency of the state by seeing this occasional news released officially by the government departments and it will also deter rumors being circulated among the people. Government departments can release this official news either by inviting media themselves or through our Information Ministry. At present, the Yangon (Rangoon) City Development Committee (YCDC) and People's Police Force (PPF) have established their own press committees for the release of official news through these committees. Thus the media can easily get the official, confirmed news from them and cover this news in their media. This system is found to be successful and functioning smoothly.
(c) If the departments concerned have some news which is to be withheld, concealed, and censored and not to be circulated publicly to the people, they should inform the Information Ministry in advance by written form, then our ministry will control the release of this news in desired form by using appropriate means. Therefore the ministries should coordinate with us in releasing information from time to time in accordance with their needs.
(d) Moreover, the ministries should have 'contact points' concerning the media for the verification, confirmation and clarification of official news released by the ministries and departments.
MEDIA CALLS IT FOR OBAMA IN US PRESIDENCY RACE: BUT WILL THE MEDIA BE RIGHT?
American Journalism Review warns that polls strongly suggest that the Democrats are in for a “very good day” tomorrow, and the result is news media coverage that basically says this contest is all but over.
But, says the Review, “Yet, polls are just polls. They are only snapshots of reality at a specific moment and can change quickly. Shocks do happen. Truman did defeat Dewey. Conventional wisdom was utterly wrong in the early stages of this election.
“To maintain their credibility with the public at a time when their industry desperately needs it, the news media should remember that they have been wrong before.”
We’ll know tomorrow.
BBC FACES STRICTER CONTROLS OVER FAWLTY-ESQUE PRANK PHONE CALL FIASCO
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that its UK counterpart the BBC is facing calls for stricter controls after a prank phone call broadcast on Radio 2 received almost 40,000 complaints.
One of the presenters has resigned, as has the manager of the radio station. The other presenter has been suspended and it has knocked everything else off the front pages in the UK.
For the few days, the comedy-gone-wrong scandal has gripped the BBC and the nation.
It started when comedians Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross left lewd comments on Andrew Sachs' home answer phone, which was then put to air throughout Britain on Radio 2.
Andrew Sachs played Manuel in the Fawlty Towers series. The comments focused on his granddaughter Georgina Baillie. The Fawlty-esque fallout has obsessed a nation.
It had now become a national story, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Opposition leader David Cameron weighing into the debate.
Then, Radio 2 controller Leslie Douglas resigned, although she had no direction involvement in the Sachs saga.
The hugely popular Ross has had his radio and TV contracts suspended for three months without pay, a punishment which will cost him around A$4 million.
"I believe Jonathan personally absolutely overstepped the mark. It doesn't mean that Jonathan can't, in the future, continue to broadcast for the BBC," the broadcaster's director general Mark Thompson said.
"But I have to say, I think he and everyone else should regard this as a final warning."
THE WEEK SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES IN AUSTRALIA AFTER WOOING NEWSAGENTS
The Australian edition of The Week was launched on October 30. The magazine condenses all of the news from the week with comment and analysis into a 35-page publication.
The original edition was launched in the UK in 1998, followed by US edition in 2002. According to the publisher, Dennis Publishing, the US edition has increased 165 percent since its launch and now has a circulation at 500,000.
The Australian Newsagency Blog reported, “The Week launched in Australia and like many newsagents we have it a prime promotional position. The publishers have done a good job communicating with newsagents about the title and providing collateral which enables the creation of good in-store displays. I like their decision to run the first three issues at $2.”
AL-JAZEERA’S NEW WATCHDOG UNIT HEADED BY FORMER GUANTANAMO BAY PRISONER
Qatar's Al-Jazeera television launched its own rights ‘watchdog’ to coincide with the network’s twelfth anniversary celebrations.
AFP reports that the watchdog unit will headed by its cameraman Sami al-Haj who spent six years at the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay.
The Public Liberties and Human Rights Desk will "promote respect for human rights and public liberties by monitoring, documenting, broadcasting and raising awareness for these key issues," the Doha-based network said.
It will work closely with the news division of the Qatari-funded satellite channel and establish a specialised database on issues of human rights and public liberties.
The project aims to "build on Al-Jazeera's tradition of reporting events and stories that too often are not told," said Wadah Khanfar, general director of Al-Jazeera Network.
"We're very pleased to have Sami al-Haj to lead this initiative," he added.
Haj was arrested by the Pakistani army on the Afghan border in December 2001 and was held without charge from June 2002 until May 2008 at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
CONDE NAST SCALES BACK FREQUENCY OF PORTFOLIO AND MEN’S VOGUE
FishbowL in New York reports that Conde Nast will scale back it's magazine Portfolio to 10 issues a year from 12. Meanwhile Men's Vogue will be dropping from 10 issues a year to just two. There are rumors that Conde Nast is going to cut the portfolio.com web site down to virtually nilPortfolio.com staffers have been told they have been meeting their revenue goals for 2008 while the magazine has not. Men's Vogue publisher Marc Berger is leaving the company. The fate of the rest of the staff isn't clear. Through September, ad pages for Men's Vogue were down 4.8 percent, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. A source said that the only thing keeping Portfolio going under is the pride of Conde chairman SI Newhouse, who doesn't want to admit that the magazine is faltering. The problem facing Conde is that the amount of patience companies can lavish upon new launches has shrunken significantly – even for a company which for long was reputed to be remarkably indifferent to profit margins.
INDEPENDENT NEWS AND MEDIA TO SELL ITS APN STAKE IN AUSTRALIA
Shares in Independent News & Media gained on Friday after the company said it had received approaches for its stake in Australasian business APN News & Media
Reuters reports that Independent News & Media said earlier on Friday it planned to sell its stake in APN News & Media Ltd in Australia to cut its debt by US$1 billion, sending Independent News shares 40 percent higher.
The publisher of Britain's Independent newspaper said it had received a number of unsolicited expressions of interest for its 39.1 percent stake in the Australasian radio and newspaper group, adding that it intended to sell.
"The INM Board believes that the significant proceeds receivable from monetising its shareholding in APN would substantially enhance INM's balance sheet and would be earnings neutral for 2009," it said in a statement.
The very much Dennis
WASHINGTON POST SUFFERS BIG BLOW IN THIRD QUARTER EARNINGS
The very much ailing Washington Post is reported an 86 percent decline in third-quarter earnings, as losses at the flagship newspaper offset gains in other company divisions.
The magazine division, largely Newsweek, saw revenue drop 4 percent. Education division Kaplan now provides 53 percent of company revenue.
MURDOCH BIOGRAPHER AND VABNITY FAIR CIMNIST MICHAEL WOLFF UNVEILS NEW BLOG
Newser reports that Vanity Fair media columnist and controversial Rupert Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff is unveiling his own media blog on Newser, the online news aggregator site he founded.
Wolff's new Off the Grid blog aims to provide "a look at the inner workings of desperate media ... and the true meaning of the news of the day."
SHOCK RESIGNATION FROM FREE TV AUSTRALIA BOARD
The ceo of Australia's Seven Network, David Leckie, has suddenly resigned from the board of Free TV Australia, the body representing the country's free-to-air networks, The Australian reports.
His shock resignation follows a rift with fellow networks over a planned ad campaign targeting rival pay-TV operators.
The newspaper said Seven was twice rebuffed in voting among Free TV members in its bid to place two newspaper ads highlighting free-to-air's viewer advantage over pay-TV.
Members opposed to the ad campaign are believed to have argued that Free TV did not need to put down pay-TV, and should have instead been playing up its own positives.
Free TV represents all the major free-to-air networks including Seven, Network Ten, Nine Network and the regional networks Prime, WIN, Southern Cross Ten and Imparja.
NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT TO SET UP PACIFIC ISLANDS FREE-TO-AIR TV CHANNEL
New Zealand's ruling Labour Party plans to establish a free-to-air Pacific Islands television channel if it wins re-election on 8 November.
Prime Minister Helen Clark backed the idea yesterday during campaigning in Auckland and said the channel would be "prioritised" if Labour was returned to power, The New Zealand Herald reports.
"We believe that in this day and age, with digital television, it can be done at a relatively cost-effective price," she said. "So that's something we'll start working on post-election."
Major broadcasters in New Zealand have been investigating the idea of a Pacific Islands TV channel for some time.
Labour said it would also continue to back the development and operation of a National Pacific Radio Network, TVNZ reported.
"We are committed to ensuring that Pacific voices and cultures are well represented on the airwaves," Pacific Island Affairs Minister Luamanuvao Winnie Laban said.
MALAYSIA’S MEDIA PRIMA FORMS JOINT VENTURE WITH OMAN TELEVISION
Malaysia's biggest media company, Media Prima, has agreed to work on joint venture projects with Oman Television, The New Straits Times reports.
The two sides have signed an undertaking to work together on projects involving programmes related to economic investment opportunities and tourism.
The agreement came during a five-day visit to Oman by senior officials from Media Prima.
Media Prima chairman Datuk Abdul Mutalib Razak said, “"Oman TV will also stand to benefit from Media Prima's experience in the fields of planning, program marketing, editorial, graphics, design and engineering technology."
Media Prima controls all Malaysia's private TV stations as well as several leading newspapers including The New Straits Times
TAIPEI TYCOON TIPPED TO BE TRYING TO BUY TAIWAN’S CHINA TIMES GROUP
Taipei’s Jimmy Lai, founder of Next Magazine and Apple Daily, is believed to be negotiating a buyout of Taiwan’s struggling China Times Group.
While neither Next Media nor China Times representatives would comment, it is thought that Lai’s bid may run into a legal hurdle. The China Times Group includes terrestrial channel CTV and cable channel CTi, and Taiwan has strict rules on foreign ownership of broadcasting properties.
Media Asia reports, “Another suitor in the fray is Fubon Bank, which has reportedly been in talks with China Times chairman Robert Yu for several months.
“Sources say that Fubon Bank has loaned money to China Times Group in recent years, and already has a stake in the media conglomerate”.
The China Times, along with rival the United Daily News, once dominated Taiwan’s print media. However, the title has fallen on hard times in recent years, and saw its advertising drop last year to third of what it was during its “glory days.”
Despite frequent staff cuts over the years, China Times was recently forced to reduce pages and lay off half of its staff.
Media Asia said, “Taiwan editions of Lai’s Next Magazine and Apple Daily have hastened China Times’ downfall. Apple Daily has an ABC-audited circulation of 526,000 in Taiwan.”
HONG KONG TELEVISION STATION FREEZES ITS AD RATE CARD FOR 2009
Hong Kong’s TVB has frozen its 2009 rate card, with the entry level for its Mega-Upfront package set at 100 percent of 2008 spending. This is the first time TVB has frozen its rate card since 2004, after the Sars crisis.
Media Asia reported that last year, Mega-Upfront advertisers had to increase their 2008 budgets by 8 percent compared with their 2007 actual spending if they wanted to enjoy the rate card discounts given to MU members, but for 2009 advertisers are required to spend only the same amount of advertising dollars as their 2008 actual spending in order to get the same benefits.
“2009 is expected to be a very challenging year for all Hong Kong marketers. TVB, being one of the dominant advertising media, is prepared to embrace the coming financial challenge together with the advertisers,” said KW Leung, controller of the Marketing & Sales Division at TVB.
US MEDIA MOGUL SAYS DIGITAL MEDIA WILL PROFIT FROM ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND WOOING CHINA IS THE KEY
US media mogul Barry Diller expects digital media to profit from the current economic slowdown, and is actively seeking deals in China to support this view.
Digital Media Asia reported that Diller, chairman of Interactive Corp, told delegates at the Casbaa convention that "contraction is good for online", pointing out that the medium's measurability gave it significant advantages over traditional media. "I think there is going to be an awful lot of chaos as scarcity is replaced by plentiful options."
He also sounded a note of caution for many of the organisations that dominate the Casbaa agenda. "When there is no barrier between publishing to the world and the consumer, then all of the people who have been in publishing are going to be challenged."
Diller’s career includes stints at ABC, Paramount and Fox.
IAC owns online titles such as Match.com and Ask.com. It was founded in 1995.
Hollywood Reporter said Diller predicted that China will take the place of the US as the world's biggest media market. He said, “The priority is China, Japan, Korea and probably India."
Diller added that he will vote for Barack Obama as US president, because change will be "for the better."
BSKYB IN UK REPORTS BETTER THAN EXPECTED FIRST QUARTER PROFITS
BSkyB reported a better than expected 25 percent increase in first quarter profits and the addition of 87,000 new customers, which takes the satellite broadcaster past the 9 million milestone for the first time.
The chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, said the business, which now has 9.067 million subscribers, had its best first quarter performance in terms of customer numbers for five years.
But Darroch said this has been offset by Sky's success in persuading customers to take more than one of its three services - TV, broadband and home telephony. At present just 12 percent of Sky's customer base is signed up to the so-called "triple play" of all three.
"We are not complacent. I don't think that any consumer business is going to be entirely immune to a sustained downturn. That said, we are relatively well positioned as a business," he said.
Darroch, who took over from James Murdoch just under a year ago, added "you can pretty much get everything we offer for what it takes to take the family out for a pizza once a month or to the cinema".
BUDDHIST MONKS PRAY FOR SUCCESS OF BHUTAN’S FIRST DAILY NEWSPAPER
Reuters reported that Buddhist monks prayed for the success of Bhutan's first daily newspaper, which was launched on Thursday but could take a week to reach remote areas of the tiny Himalayan nation..
Bhutan Today, an eight-page morning paper, is part of Bhutan's attempt to build a free press after its former monarch and fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, forced his largely unwilling subjects to accept democracy earlier this year.
Delivering copies of Bhutan Today will be a chore in a country with few passable roads, meaning newsagents will have to carry it to far-flung districts on foot and on horseback. Bhutan's only newspaper until 2006 was a bi-weekly, state-run venture. Two privately owned papers entered the market later - the bi-weekly Bhutan Times and the weekly Bhutan Observer.
There is fierce competition for the small advertising revenue generated in the country of about 700,000 people. There are virtually no private advertisers and only government agencies offer advertisements.
Bhutan's literacy rate is about 60 percent but newspapers estimate a total readership of only about 12,000 people. Bhutan Today has an optimistic print run of 18,000 copies. It is written in English but Bhutanese law means it must soon be printed in the local language.
INDONESIA’S PARLIAMENT PASSES CONTROVERSIAL PORNOGRAPHY BILL
Indonesia's Parliament yesterday (October 30) passed a controversial anti-pornography Bill, despite opponents' claims that it will damage artistic expression and that stipulations on 'decent dress' will victimise women and minority cultures.
The bill, a watered-down version of the original draft which sparked outrage among non-Muslim minorities when it was tabled two years ago, was yesterday pushed through by both Muslim-based and secular political parties.
Its main focus is a ban on pornography, with fines of up to US$547,945 and jail terms of up to 12 years for anyone disseminating material containing pornographic images, gestures or language.
Backers say the Bill will save the country from moral decay, but critics argue that in addition to victimising women and children, it will destroy Indonesia's pluralistic tradition.
More than 100 legislators, mainly from the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle and the Christian-based Prosperous and Peace Party, walked out of the House before the Bill was passed.
BEATLES TO RESURFACE IN MTV-APPLE VIDEO GAME
The Financial Times reports that Beatles music will be used in the popular Rock Band video game, marking the first big digital foray by the Fab Four.
Viacom's MTV Networks, which owns the game, and Apple, the company established by the Beatles to oversee their interests, are due to reveal a "global music project."
CBS REPORTS A MONSTROUS THIRD QUARTER LOSS
Bloomberg said CBS in the US is reporting a US$12.5 billion third-quarter loss, as advertising sales fall at the company's local television and radio stations.
Sales climbed partly due to the addition of new online acquisition Cnet Networks.
But CBS's core problem, analysts say, is "sagging ad revenue trends."
Radio Free Asia reports that the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned state-owned television channel NBT about its unreliable sources which said that Vietnam has sent its troops to Cambodia to fight against the Thai soldiers along the Khmer-Thai borders.
The Ministry of Foreign affairs stated that it is seeking co-operation from NBT by requesting it to be cautious in its usage of unreliable sources before going to air.
The reactions of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs happened after Vietnam last week officially denied that it has sent any troops to Cambodia as claimed by NBT.
LEGENDARY CHICAGO JOURNALIST STUDS TERKEL DIES AT 96
Legendary American author, journalist and Chicago identity Studs Terkel died on Friday at the age of 96.
Beset in recent years by a variety of age-related ailments, which included being virtually deaf, Terkel's health took a turn for the worse when he suffered a fall in his home two weeks ago.
At his bedside was a copy of his latest book, P.S. Further Thoughts From a Lifetime of Listening, scheduled for a November release. He was 96 years old.
A television institution for years, a radio staple for decades, he has been a literary lion since 1967, when he wrote his first best-selling book at the age of 55.
LEAKED DOCUMENT OUTLINES MYANMAR’S NEW CENSORSHIP DETAILS
Mizzima News said it has received a secret document detailing the Information Minister's discussion with other ministries regarding the censorship, control and distribution of information regarding government offices.
It claims the following are excerpts of a circular issued by the Information Minister to all ministries on the coordination of press censorship on governmental and departmental news: .
“The private media cover the government departments' news by gathering the required news by all possible means and writing commentaries and features when they cannot get official news released by the departments concerned. In these cases, frequent objections, elaborations and clarifications were found to be made by the departments concerned. Sometimes they have to take action against the media is such instances.
(a) In the press censorship policy adopted, positive writing on government departmental news has been allowed. Thus the government departments should understand this situation to some extent and should cooperate with the private media for the benefit of their departments.
(b) Since the people want to know the progress of work being performed by the government departments, they should form an information committee for the occasional release of official news on the work being conducted by them for the benefit of state and people. In this way, the people can get in-depth information on what work is being done for the long term benefit of the state and people, what is their progress and what are their future plans, etc. By doing these works, the people will come and cooperate more with the government departments in their work. The people will trust the transparency of the state by seeing this occasional news released officially by the government departments and it will also deter rumors being circulated among the people. Government departments can release this official news either by inviting media themselves or through our Information Ministry. At present, the Yangon (Rangoon) City Development Committee (YCDC) and People's Police Force (PPF) have established their own press committees for the release of official news through these committees. Thus the media can easily get the official, confirmed news from them and cover this news in their media. This system is found to be successful and functioning smoothly.
(c) If the departments concerned have some news which is to be withheld, concealed, and censored and not to be circulated publicly to the people, they should inform the Information Ministry in advance by written form, then our ministry will control the release of this news in desired form by using appropriate means. Therefore the ministries should coordinate with us in releasing information from time to time in accordance with their needs.
(d) Moreover, the ministries should have 'contact points' concerning the media for the verification, confirmation and clarification of official news released by the ministries and departments.
MEDIA CALLS IT FOR OBAMA IN US PRESIDENCY RACE: BUT WILL THE MEDIA BE RIGHT?
American Journalism Review warns that polls strongly suggest that the Democrats are in for a “very good day” tomorrow, and the result is news media coverage that basically says this contest is all but over.
But, says the Review, “Yet, polls are just polls. They are only snapshots of reality at a specific moment and can change quickly. Shocks do happen. Truman did defeat Dewey. Conventional wisdom was utterly wrong in the early stages of this election.
“To maintain their credibility with the public at a time when their industry desperately needs it, the news media should remember that they have been wrong before.”
We’ll know tomorrow.
BBC FACES STRICTER CONTROLS OVER FAWLTY-ESQUE PRANK PHONE CALL FIASCO
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports that its UK counterpart the BBC is facing calls for stricter controls after a prank phone call broadcast on Radio 2 received almost 40,000 complaints.
One of the presenters has resigned, as has the manager of the radio station. The other presenter has been suspended and it has knocked everything else off the front pages in the UK.
For the few days, the comedy-gone-wrong scandal has gripped the BBC and the nation.
It started when comedians Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross left lewd comments on Andrew Sachs' home answer phone, which was then put to air throughout Britain on Radio 2.
Andrew Sachs played Manuel in the Fawlty Towers series. The comments focused on his granddaughter Georgina Baillie. The Fawlty-esque fallout has obsessed a nation.
It had now become a national story, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Opposition leader David Cameron weighing into the debate.
Then, Radio 2 controller Leslie Douglas resigned, although she had no direction involvement in the Sachs saga.
The hugely popular Ross has had his radio and TV contracts suspended for three months without pay, a punishment which will cost him around A$4 million.
"I believe Jonathan personally absolutely overstepped the mark. It doesn't mean that Jonathan can't, in the future, continue to broadcast for the BBC," the broadcaster's director general Mark Thompson said.
"But I have to say, I think he and everyone else should regard this as a final warning."
THE WEEK SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES IN AUSTRALIA AFTER WOOING NEWSAGENTS
The Australian edition of The Week was launched on October 30. The magazine condenses all of the news from the week with comment and analysis into a 35-page publication.
The original edition was launched in the UK in 1998, followed by US edition in 2002. According to the publisher, Dennis Publishing, the US edition has increased 165 percent since its launch and now has a circulation at 500,000.
The Australian Newsagency Blog reported, “The Week launched in Australia and like many newsagents we have it a prime promotional position. The publishers have done a good job communicating with newsagents about the title and providing collateral which enables the creation of good in-store displays. I like their decision to run the first three issues at $2.”
AL-JAZEERA’S NEW WATCHDOG UNIT HEADED BY FORMER GUANTANAMO BAY PRISONER
Qatar's Al-Jazeera television launched its own rights ‘watchdog’ to coincide with the network’s twelfth anniversary celebrations.
AFP reports that the watchdog unit will headed by its cameraman Sami al-Haj who spent six years at the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay.
The Public Liberties and Human Rights Desk will "promote respect for human rights and public liberties by monitoring, documenting, broadcasting and raising awareness for these key issues," the Doha-based network said.
It will work closely with the news division of the Qatari-funded satellite channel and establish a specialised database on issues of human rights and public liberties.
The project aims to "build on Al-Jazeera's tradition of reporting events and stories that too often are not told," said Wadah Khanfar, general director of Al-Jazeera Network.
"We're very pleased to have Sami al-Haj to lead this initiative," he added.
Haj was arrested by the Pakistani army on the Afghan border in December 2001 and was held without charge from June 2002 until May 2008 at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
CONDE NAST SCALES BACK FREQUENCY OF PORTFOLIO AND MEN’S VOGUE
FishbowL in New York reports that Conde Nast will scale back it's magazine Portfolio to 10 issues a year from 12. Meanwhile Men's Vogue will be dropping from 10 issues a year to just two. There are rumors that Conde Nast is going to cut the portfolio.com web site down to virtually nilPortfolio.com staffers have been told they have been meeting their revenue goals for 2008 while the magazine has not. Men's Vogue publisher Marc Berger is leaving the company. The fate of the rest of the staff isn't clear. Through September, ad pages for Men's Vogue were down 4.8 percent, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. A source said that the only thing keeping Portfolio going under is the pride of Conde chairman SI Newhouse, who doesn't want to admit that the magazine is faltering. The problem facing Conde is that the amount of patience companies can lavish upon new launches has shrunken significantly – even for a company which for long was reputed to be remarkably indifferent to profit margins.
INDEPENDENT NEWS AND MEDIA TO SELL ITS APN STAKE IN AUSTRALIA
Shares in Independent News & Media gained on Friday after the company said it had received approaches for its stake in Australasian business APN News & Media
Reuters reports that Independent News & Media said earlier on Friday it planned to sell its stake in APN News & Media Ltd in Australia to cut its debt by US$1 billion, sending Independent News shares 40 percent higher.
The publisher of Britain's Independent newspaper said it had received a number of unsolicited expressions of interest for its 39.1 percent stake in the Australasian radio and newspaper group, adding that it intended to sell.
"The INM Board believes that the significant proceeds receivable from monetising its shareholding in APN would substantially enhance INM's balance sheet and would be earnings neutral for 2009," it said in a statement.
The very much Dennis
WASHINGTON POST SUFFERS BIG BLOW IN THIRD QUARTER EARNINGS
The very much ailing Washington Post is reported an 86 percent decline in third-quarter earnings, as losses at the flagship newspaper offset gains in other company divisions.
The magazine division, largely Newsweek, saw revenue drop 4 percent. Education division Kaplan now provides 53 percent of company revenue.
MURDOCH BIOGRAPHER AND VABNITY FAIR CIMNIST MICHAEL WOLFF UNVEILS NEW BLOG
Newser reports that Vanity Fair media columnist and controversial Rupert Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff is unveiling his own media blog on Newser, the online news aggregator site he founded.
Wolff's new Off the Grid blog aims to provide "a look at the inner workings of desperate media ... and the true meaning of the news of the day."
SHOCK RESIGNATION FROM FREE TV AUSTRALIA BOARD
The ceo of Australia's Seven Network, David Leckie, has suddenly resigned from the board of Free TV Australia, the body representing the country's free-to-air networks, The Australian reports.
His shock resignation follows a rift with fellow networks over a planned ad campaign targeting rival pay-TV operators.
The newspaper said Seven was twice rebuffed in voting among Free TV members in its bid to place two newspaper ads highlighting free-to-air's viewer advantage over pay-TV.
Members opposed to the ad campaign are believed to have argued that Free TV did not need to put down pay-TV, and should have instead been playing up its own positives.
Free TV represents all the major free-to-air networks including Seven, Network Ten, Nine Network and the regional networks Prime, WIN, Southern Cross Ten and Imparja.
NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT TO SET UP PACIFIC ISLANDS FREE-TO-AIR TV CHANNEL
New Zealand's ruling Labour Party plans to establish a free-to-air Pacific Islands television channel if it wins re-election on 8 November.
Prime Minister Helen Clark backed the idea yesterday during campaigning in Auckland and said the channel would be "prioritised" if Labour was returned to power, The New Zealand Herald reports.
"We believe that in this day and age, with digital television, it can be done at a relatively cost-effective price," she said. "So that's something we'll start working on post-election."
Major broadcasters in New Zealand have been investigating the idea of a Pacific Islands TV channel for some time.
Labour said it would also continue to back the development and operation of a National Pacific Radio Network, TVNZ reported.
"We are committed to ensuring that Pacific voices and cultures are well represented on the airwaves," Pacific Island Affairs Minister Luamanuvao Winnie Laban said.
MALAYSIA’S MEDIA PRIMA FORMS JOINT VENTURE WITH OMAN TELEVISION
Malaysia's biggest media company, Media Prima, has agreed to work on joint venture projects with Oman Television, The New Straits Times reports.
The two sides have signed an undertaking to work together on projects involving programmes related to economic investment opportunities and tourism.
The agreement came during a five-day visit to Oman by senior officials from Media Prima.
Media Prima chairman Datuk Abdul Mutalib Razak said, “"Oman TV will also stand to benefit from Media Prima's experience in the fields of planning, program marketing, editorial, graphics, design and engineering technology."
Media Prima controls all Malaysia's private TV stations as well as several leading newspapers including The New Straits Times
TAIPEI TYCOON TIPPED TO BE TRYING TO BUY TAIWAN’S CHINA TIMES GROUP
Taipei’s Jimmy Lai, founder of Next Magazine and Apple Daily, is believed to be negotiating a buyout of Taiwan’s struggling China Times Group.
While neither Next Media nor China Times representatives would comment, it is thought that Lai’s bid may run into a legal hurdle. The China Times Group includes terrestrial channel CTV and cable channel CTi, and Taiwan has strict rules on foreign ownership of broadcasting properties.
Media Asia reports, “Another suitor in the fray is Fubon Bank, which has reportedly been in talks with China Times chairman Robert Yu for several months.
“Sources say that Fubon Bank has loaned money to China Times Group in recent years, and already has a stake in the media conglomerate”.
The China Times, along with rival the United Daily News, once dominated Taiwan’s print media. However, the title has fallen on hard times in recent years, and saw its advertising drop last year to third of what it was during its “glory days.”
Despite frequent staff cuts over the years, China Times was recently forced to reduce pages and lay off half of its staff.
Media Asia said, “Taiwan editions of Lai’s Next Magazine and Apple Daily have hastened China Times’ downfall. Apple Daily has an ABC-audited circulation of 526,000 in Taiwan.”
HONG KONG TELEVISION STATION FREEZES ITS AD RATE CARD FOR 2009
Hong Kong’s TVB has frozen its 2009 rate card, with the entry level for its Mega-Upfront package set at 100 percent of 2008 spending. This is the first time TVB has frozen its rate card since 2004, after the Sars crisis.
Media Asia reported that last year, Mega-Upfront advertisers had to increase their 2008 budgets by 8 percent compared with their 2007 actual spending if they wanted to enjoy the rate card discounts given to MU members, but for 2009 advertisers are required to spend only the same amount of advertising dollars as their 2008 actual spending in order to get the same benefits.
“2009 is expected to be a very challenging year for all Hong Kong marketers. TVB, being one of the dominant advertising media, is prepared to embrace the coming financial challenge together with the advertisers,” said KW Leung, controller of the Marketing & Sales Division at TVB.
US MEDIA MOGUL SAYS DIGITAL MEDIA WILL PROFIT FROM ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND WOOING CHINA IS THE KEY
US media mogul Barry Diller expects digital media to profit from the current economic slowdown, and is actively seeking deals in China to support this view.
Digital Media Asia reported that Diller, chairman of Interactive Corp, told delegates at the Casbaa convention that "contraction is good for online", pointing out that the medium's measurability gave it significant advantages over traditional media. "I think there is going to be an awful lot of chaos as scarcity is replaced by plentiful options."
He also sounded a note of caution for many of the organisations that dominate the Casbaa agenda. "When there is no barrier between publishing to the world and the consumer, then all of the people who have been in publishing are going to be challenged."
Diller’s career includes stints at ABC, Paramount and Fox.
IAC owns online titles such as Match.com and Ask.com. It was founded in 1995.
Hollywood Reporter said Diller predicted that China will take the place of the US as the world's biggest media market. He said, “The priority is China, Japan, Korea and probably India."
Diller added that he will vote for Barack Obama as US president, because change will be "for the better."
BSKYB IN UK REPORTS BETTER THAN EXPECTED FIRST QUARTER PROFITS
BSkyB reported a better than expected 25 percent increase in first quarter profits and the addition of 87,000 new customers, which takes the satellite broadcaster past the 9 million milestone for the first time.
The chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, said the business, which now has 9.067 million subscribers, had its best first quarter performance in terms of customer numbers for five years.
But Darroch said this has been offset by Sky's success in persuading customers to take more than one of its three services - TV, broadband and home telephony. At present just 12 percent of Sky's customer base is signed up to the so-called "triple play" of all three.
"We are not complacent. I don't think that any consumer business is going to be entirely immune to a sustained downturn. That said, we are relatively well positioned as a business," he said.
Darroch, who took over from James Murdoch just under a year ago, added "you can pretty much get everything we offer for what it takes to take the family out for a pizza once a month or to the cinema".
BUDDHIST MONKS PRAY FOR SUCCESS OF BHUTAN’S FIRST DAILY NEWSPAPER
Reuters reported that Buddhist monks prayed for the success of Bhutan's first daily newspaper, which was launched on Thursday but could take a week to reach remote areas of the tiny Himalayan nation..
Bhutan Today, an eight-page morning paper, is part of Bhutan's attempt to build a free press after its former monarch and fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, forced his largely unwilling subjects to accept democracy earlier this year.
Delivering copies of Bhutan Today will be a chore in a country with few passable roads, meaning newsagents will have to carry it to far-flung districts on foot and on horseback. Bhutan's only newspaper until 2006 was a bi-weekly, state-run venture. Two privately owned papers entered the market later - the bi-weekly Bhutan Times and the weekly Bhutan Observer.
There is fierce competition for the small advertising revenue generated in the country of about 700,000 people. There are virtually no private advertisers and only government agencies offer advertisements.
Bhutan's literacy rate is about 60 percent but newspapers estimate a total readership of only about 12,000 people. Bhutan Today has an optimistic print run of 18,000 copies. It is written in English but Bhutanese law means it must soon be printed in the local language.
INDONESIA’S PARLIAMENT PASSES CONTROVERSIAL PORNOGRAPHY BILL
Indonesia's Parliament yesterday (October 30) passed a controversial anti-pornography Bill, despite opponents' claims that it will damage artistic expression and that stipulations on 'decent dress' will victimise women and minority cultures.
The bill, a watered-down version of the original draft which sparked outrage among non-Muslim minorities when it was tabled two years ago, was yesterday pushed through by both Muslim-based and secular political parties.
Its main focus is a ban on pornography, with fines of up to US$547,945 and jail terms of up to 12 years for anyone disseminating material containing pornographic images, gestures or language.
Backers say the Bill will save the country from moral decay, but critics argue that in addition to victimising women and children, it will destroy Indonesia's pluralistic tradition.
More than 100 legislators, mainly from the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle and the Christian-based Prosperous and Peace Party, walked out of the House before the Bill was passed.
BEATLES TO RESURFACE IN MTV-APPLE VIDEO GAME
The Financial Times reports that Beatles music will be used in the popular Rock Band video game, marking the first big digital foray by the Fab Four.
Viacom's MTV Networks, which owns the game, and Apple, the company established by the Beatles to oversee their interests, are due to reveal a "global music project."
CBS REPORTS A MONSTROUS THIRD QUARTER LOSS
Bloomberg said CBS in the US is reporting a US$12.5 billion third-quarter loss, as advertising sales fall at the company's local television and radio stations.
Sales climbed partly due to the addition of new online acquisition Cnet Networks.
But CBS's core problem, analysts say, is "sagging ad revenue trends."
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