In less than two years since its launch, the RT America YouTube channel has reached a milestone which puts it ahead of many older, established, mainstream TV channels, including Fox and CNN. 
The closedown of Radio Netherlands Dutch language radio service on May 11th was a fitting tribute to a job well done. Having studied the station's history several times for various anniversaries and specials, I came to the conclusion that despite being only a shadow of much larger operations like BBC World Service, VOA or Deutsche Welle, the station managed to punch well above it weight. 
Ingrid Deltenre, Director General of the European Broadcast Union (EBU), spoke about its efforts to impress on governments that free independent media are the cornerstone of democracy. “No confident democracy fears an independent media.” The EBU also works collaboratively with its member broadcasters to lessen their economic burdens. What does the future of international broadcasting look like in the age of mobile? Should journalists focus on providing objective information even though information is no longer scarce in the age of the Internet? Should public diplomats focus on explaining a foreign policy or rather sparking discussion and promoting free speech even if it’s critical of that policy? Mobiles Republic, a publisher of applications for smartphones, tablets and connected devices, has announced a content partnership with Euronews.
Italian public broadcaster RAI has launched Rai.tv World, a new international Internet portal which offers video content that can be enjoyed by TV viewers from around the world.
RCI will be transformed by focusing on the more relevant platforms. It will now provide national and international audiences with content on the web in five languages (French, English, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin). The Brazilian and Russian sections will close. Iranian-funded Press TV, which has already been banned by the UK’s regulator Ofcom, says it will institute legal proceedings against the Bavarian media regulator. The specific allegation argues that Munich’s media regulator has made an “illegal” decision to force SES to take down the controversial broadcaster. 
France Télévisions a signé mardi un protocole d'accord avec la télévision publique chinoise, la CCTV, portant notamment sur le documentaire, avec pour objectif de fournir des programmes à la nouvelle chaîne documentaire de la CCTV, a annoncé le groupe audiovisuel français à Cannes. 
Former network television host Tom Brokaw will be appearing on the Chinese Communist channel later tonight, according to a press release from China Central Television. Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France, the commission consisting of Monte Carlo Doualiya, France 24 and RFI, has signed a three-year agreement with public broadcasting group Qatar Media Corporation. La société a signé un accord de trois ans pour fournir programmes, conseils et formation à la télévision publique du Qatar, qui veut étendre sa diffusion en français. C'est le premier accord plurimédia signé par le nouvel AEF. Tony Maddox, the executive vice president of news organisation CNN International, thinks that despite changes in the world media environment, there will always be a role for traditional broadcasting. |
New research has revealed that in the face of stiff competition, BBC World News was Asia’s fastest growing channel of its type in 2011 claimed to be the leading media site among key demographics, such as top earners. 
DW’s Director General Erik Bettermann has used World Press Freedom Day on May 3 to highlight the current situation in the Arab world: “No one could expect that one year after the Arab Spring began, ideological indoctrination and press censorship could be overcome in favor of an open exchange of ideas and media freedom.” He went on to say that former state-controlled broadcasters are undergoing reforms and the media landscape in Arab countries has already started to change, “However, media organizations there are still far from being independently organized and geared to pluralistic reporting.” 
Media Network, which covered international broadcasting developments, recently ended a 30-year run on RNW. In a series of four articles, Andy Sennitt mentions some of the highlights, and then looks ahead to how international broadcasting might develop in the next ten years. 
In the developing world, where people are most vulnerable to humanitarian crises, the BBC World Service plays an important role in reaching people with critical information. In recent years, programming has provided a lifeline for listeners in Haiti following the earthquake, in Pakistan during the floods, and in Somalia where people continue to face challenges around food insecurity. 
France 24 says it now reaches 245 million TV households, gaining 10 million households since the end of 2011. 
Chinese have streamed on to the internet in forbidden debate over the country’s biggest political upheaval since the 1980s, after a top official, Bo Xilai, was flung from the inner circle of power and his wife detained over the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. Le président de l'Audiovisuel extérieur de la France, qui vient de finaliser la fusion France 24-RFI, se refuse de signer avec l'Etat son contrat d'objectifs et de moyens. Au nom des intérêts de son entreprise. 
The 2012 edition of IREX’s Media Sustainability Index (MSI) for Europe and Eurasia measures the struggles and triumphs of the media sector in 21 transitioning countries from Croatia to Kazakhstan. Evidence from local media experts shows overall stability in the media sector. Increasing use of digital and social media gives hope for expanding freedom of expression. However, reported backsliding in several countries, partly due to the increased political control of media, concerns the experts. The Voice of America has redesigned its websites, offering new features and a new look to visitors. The new look is designed to make navigating the site easier, with increased multimedia and greater content visibility at the top of each page. The group’s Indonesian-, Spanish- and Creole-language websites transitioned to the new content management system this week, with a total of approximately 50 sites switching over. 
Tehran has blocked a UK Foreign Office website in Iran as part of its "ever-tightening stranglehold of censorship", the foreign secretary says.
A new channel, African Television (AF-TV), is to be broadcast free to air across Europe, following a capacity and uplink deal between its Netherlands-based parent Scope Media TV and global satellite operator SES. The BBC’s Persian TV channel continues to be hard hit by signal jamming and censorship, as well as physical intimidation from Iranian thugs. But the endless switching of transponder transmission locations has not hurt its viewing numbers, which have rocketed in this past year. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|
Next |
