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Week ending October 13, 2007

Imagofilm - Pédra. A Reporter Without Borders - October 11, 2007

from Villi Hermann/Imagofilm

The Adventure of Jean-Pierre Pedrazzini, a giant of Paris Match reporting

A film by Villi Hermann, Imagofilm Lugano Switzerland

We are happy to announce that the filmPédra. A Reporter without Borders, an Imagofilm Lugano production, directed by Villi Hermann has been selected at the 21st edition of the Prix Europa Berlin & Potsdam.

TV Documentary Schedules 2007

Monday 15 October, 09:00

Pédra. A Reporter without Borders (Switzerland) 52’

TV Documentary

52’/ HD/ Digital Beta/ Beta SP/ DVD/ 16:9/ color/ stereo/ vo German/ 2006

with English subtitles

Jean-Pierre Pedrazzini was born in Paris (1927). He is taking up a job offer with Paris Match, and beginning his short career as a photojournalist. While capturing enduring images of the Budapest uprising of 1956, he is fatally injured.

I meet people who shared his reportage: photographers Russ Melcher, Willy Rizzo, Benno Graziani, Erich Lessing (Magnum) and Mario De Biasi, present in 1956 on Republic Square in Budapest when Pedrazzini falls under a hail of bullets. I visit Dominique Lapierre, with whom Pedrazzini published a book about the trip that they did through the USSR in early 1956.

Prix Europa - Tune in and listen to Europe! – October 10, 2007

from Adele Seelmann/Prix Europa

14 October 2007: third edition of Radio Day of European Cultures

On Sunday 14 October 2007, over 40 broadcasters from 30 European countries are celebrating the third edition of Radio Day of European Cultures by focusing their programmes on Europe and on the richness and diversity of its cultures.

The Radio Day of European Cultures is a joint initiative of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and PRIX EUROPA. The initiative was first launched in 2003 and since then has been held every two years. The event provides a unique chance for all European broadcasters to make a major contribution to building a common European identity and demonstrating the great potential of radio to cross borders.

The event is under the personal patronage of Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, as well as the auspices of Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and of Margot Wallström, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy.

To kick off the third Radio Day of European Cultures, EBU and PRIX EUROPA are teaming up for a concert of "R'nBesk Meets Swing." The concert, which both launches the 2007 Radio Day and marks the end of Ramadan, is a "musical dialogue" between German-Turkish pop star Muhabbet and the famous Capital Dance Orchestra big band. The concert will be broadcast live worldwide in surround sound via satellite and the Internet by Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) station Radiomultikulti and the EBU Euroradio network. The program starts on 13 October at 20:00 until 21:00 CEST, and will be transmitted from the Großer Sendesaal in the RBB Haus des Rundfunks in Berlin.

The Radio Day and the concert will be opened by EBU Radio Director Raina Konstantinova. "This day will bring listeners from all over Europe together to share an experience, the incomparable feeling of belonging to the same European humanistic tradition of blending cultures and promoting understanding," says Raina Konstantinova, EBU Radio Director.

Every participating radio station is free to design its own Radio Day programming geared towards its listeners' preferences. Participating stations will focus on Europe in their programs — on air, online, podcasts, etc. — throughout the day, highlighting the diversity of European cultures and how they come together to build a common European identity. In a snapshot: Deutsche Welle 'explores' Europe with its tri-lingual series "Terra Incognita"; Slovak Radio broadcasts its Radio Day programme on all facets of Slovak and Czech music and culture; Austrian Ö1 challenges its listeners to a cultural quiz on the Danube and its region.

In addition, important programme offers such as the finale of "Let the peoples sing" (WDR), "Borders" (BBC) and the EBU Folk Special complete the Radio Day offers. The programmes "Borders" and "Terra Incognita" will also be broadcast on the European Parliament intranet.

A full list of programmes of this year's edition is available at: http://radiodayweb.eu./detail_side.html?side=1

Finally, this year the EBU and PRIX EUROPA have created a special blog on "I am Europe - Collecting Voices from Europe" where audiences can express themselves and start group discussions on European themes and on the future of the Union. The blog will be online until April 2008. Join the discussions at: http://www.radiodayweb.eu/blog.htm

For Mobile TV, Says ABI Research, Technology Is No Longer the Issue – October 9, 2007

from Nicole Fabris/ABI Research

As recently as 2001, some mobile communications experts were saying that mobile television might be a reality within 20 years, but would probably arrive much later because the technical problems were so difficult. Yet only half a dozen years later, according to a new study from ABI Research, successful mobile video technologies are largely in place. As questions about business models, distribution, and content are resolved, the mobile TV industry will take off in earnest.

ABI Research director Michael Wolf says, “Just a year ago, there was a lot of discussion in the industry about whether unicast or broadcast distribution models would prevail, and it seemed possible that unicasting would soon disappear. The new research suggests that while the major top-ranked channels will follow a broadcast model, unicasting is here to stay as a conduit for the ‘long tail’ of other content that consumers will desire.”

Unicasting also has the advantage of an unequalled intimacy between service providers, advertisers, and their “captive” audiences.

It is a time of experimentation. Most of the formats and distribution models under consideration have both pros and cons, and the effort is to find the right mix for each type of content and each target audience. Pricing is a good example. There are at least half a dozen proposed models for pricing access to mobile video content, reflecting the medium’s origin in the collision between the entertainment and wireless communications industries. Some will find the “sweet spot” that will attract and hold consumers; others will not.

Even recent assumptions about consumers’ likely viewing preferences are under challenge, in light of the medium’s improving quality. “Last year,” notes Wolf, “everybody was saying ‘We’re only going to have 2-minute, bite-sized morsels and mobisodes.' Yet our latest research shows that people are actually watching mobile TV in their bedrooms, for 40 minutes at a time. So many content providers are now thinking about hour-long episodes of prime-time shows.”

RAJAR APPOINTS NEW CHAIRMAN - October 9, 2007

from Penelope James for RAJAR

RAJAR Limited (Radio Joint Audience Research) has appointed David Mansfield as chairman. He succeeds Lord Gordon of Strathblane, CBE, who retired earlier this year after four years in the post.

David Mansfield (53) is currently an executive director of Ingenious Media PLC, which he joined in May 2006. His career spans nearly 30 years in television and radio, with the early part in Scottish Television and Grampian Sales followed by Thames Television, where he rose to deputy director sales and marketing. In 1993 he moved to Capital Radio as group commercial director and was appointed chief executive of the company in 1997. When Capital Radio merged with GWR PLC to form GGAP Media PLC in May 2005 he remained as chief executive and oversaw the integration of the business until resigning his post in September 2005.

Mansfield has been an active board member of the Commercial Radio Companies Association and the Radio Advertising Bureau (which merged together in July 2006 to form the RadioCentre) as well as the Digital Radio Development Bureau. He is a fellow of the Radio Academy, a non-executive director of Carphone Warehouse PLC and an advisor to Edelman PR.

Commenting on his appointment David Mansfield said:
“Measuring audience behaviour is a significant challenge for all media and particularly radio which is at the forefront of the digital revolution. RAJAR is the world’s leading radio audience research body and has been highly successful in enabling both the public and commercial sectors to work constructively together for the good of the industry. I am looking forward greatly to taking the organisation forward and maintaining its excellent service to the industry.”

Jenny Abramsky, RAJAR board member and director, BBC Audio and Music, commented:
“Radio is an exciting and dynamic industry in which to be involved, now more so than ever, and I am therefore delighted that David, with his impressive track record, has agreed to assist RAJAR in facing the challenges of audience research in the 21st century. I would also like to express our thanks to Jimmy Gordon for his measured and careful guidance during his four year term, which was a period of great change for RAJAR, not least the preparation of the new contract which we introduced in January 2007.”

Andrew Harrison, RAJAR board member and chief executive, RadioCentre added:
“David Mansfield, with his wealth of experience in representing the radio industry, both at home and abroad, has a fantastic record in leading on industry matters. We are very pleased he has agreed to take over the mantle of chairman and lead RAJAR through the exciting and testing issues of radio audience research in the digital age, as well as ensure that the gold standard of radio audience measurement continues to be upheld.”

The Largest Multi-Media Initiative in History – October 8, 2007

from Anna Vasova/Eurovision TV

Today marks the official launch of the world’s largest ever multi-media factual event, which uses film to start a global exchange about democracy. More than 40 broadcasters worldwide will screen 10 documentary films in 200 countries to a potential audience of over 300 million people during this "democracy week".

”We very pleased to support this project. This is an unprecedented event, which has brought together a wide range of global players to collaborate on an important topic”, says Anna Vasova, Head of Collection and Exchange at Eurovision TV.

This unique collaboration among public broadcasters includes the BBC (UK), DRTV (Denmark), YLE (Finland), SABC (South Africa), SBS (Australia), Arte (France and Germany) and NHK (Japan), as well as further broadcasters from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Mexico, the Middle East, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the USA.

“Why Democracy?” was organized by Steps International, a not-for-profit organization and supported by the European Broadcasting Union's Eurovision TV, The Danish Film Institute, The Danish Ministry of Education, Danida, Ford Foundation, Goethe Institute, Independent Television Service (ITVS), The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Jan Vrijman Fund, the VIKES Foundation, the Sundance Institute, and the Department of Education and Children’s Services (South Australia). In addition, MySpace.com is screening the films online, as well as providing the platform for an ongoing dialogue.

Completed by independent award-winning filmmakers from around the world, including China, India, Japan, Liberia, USA, Bolivia, Denmark, Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan and Russia, the films span the multi-faceted perspectives on democracy. They include the controversies about US torture, a funny, but telling, story about the election of a class monitor in a Chinese primary school, an interview with President Musharraf, shedding light on his perspectives about how to rule a country and, finally, the Danish cartoons scandal.

Who would you vote for as President of the world?, What would make you start a revolution? Can terrorism destroy democracy?, Are women more democratic than men?, Are dictators ever good?, Who rules the world?, Is God democratic?, Why bother to vote?, Is democracy good for everyone?, Can politicians solve climate change?; these are the 10 questions that emanate from the films to stimulate this global debate.

A global dialogue has already started on www.whydemocracy.net, a web platform organized for this project by a group of young people from across the world and based in South Africa. Forums, chat rooms, and blogs will be open to all, and users have an opportunity to upload their own films. In addition, 15 short films from young filmmakers across the world will be shown.

VPRT - Private Radios sind unter fairen Bedingungen bereit zur Digitaloffensive – October 8, 2007

from Gese Klebe/VPRT

Nach einem Gespräch mit Vertretern des ARD- und DLF-Hörfunks, der Technischen Kommission der Landesmedienanstalten (TKLM), der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Privater Rundfunk (APR) und des Verbandes Privater Rundfunk und Telemedien (VPRT), zu dem die Rundfunkkommission der Länder am 26. September 2007 geladen hatte, ist der Vizepräsident Radio und Audiodienste des VPRT, Hans-Dieter Hillmoth, zuversichtlich, dass die Länder schon bald den Bedarf an Frequenzen für DigitalRadio in Band III anmelden. "Die privaten Radioanbieter stehen Gewehr bei Fuß für eine Digitaloffensive. Der VPRT unterstützt das zentrale Ergebnis des Gespräches, wonach in 2009 zeitgleich im gesamten Bundesgebiet DigitalRadio mit drei Multiplexen, also rund 45 Programmen im modernsten verfügbaren Standard starten soll."

Mit Blick auf die laufenden Beratungen der Länder zum 10. Rundfunkänderungsstaatsvertrag warnte Hillmoth jedoch davor, die Bereitschaft der Radiosender zu Investitionen und Engagement nicht durch eine völlig ungerechte und für die Privaten nachteilige Regulierung zu gefährden. Sollte sich an dem jetzigen Entwurf nichts Wesentliches ändern, seien die privaten Hörfunkunternehmen sowohl gegenüber den gebührenfinanzierten ARD- und DLF-Programmen als auch den Plattformbetreibern in einer deutlich benachteiligten Ausgangsposition. Rechts- und Planungsunsicherheit seien keine akzeptablen Voraussetzungen für Investitionsfreude.

In den technischen Fragen sei demgegenüber weitestgehend Einigkeit erzielt worden. Die drei Start-Sendernetze sollen einmal bundesweit, einmal nach Landesgrenzen und einmal nach Landesgrenzen mit der Option der Regionalisierung ausgebaut werden. Weitere Festlegungen für die später hinzukommenden Frequenzen lehnte der VPRT jedoch ab. Dies solle marktorientiert nach Bedarf erfolgen. Alle Marktpartner seien sich einig, dass das neue DigitalRadio im modernsten verfügbaren Standard (MPEG 4) starten soll. Kritik übte der VPRT jedoch an zu langwierigen Übergangsszenarien des heutigen "Alt-DAB" hin zu DMB-Radio. Dies sei insbesondere mit Blick auf die Verunsicherung der Verbraucher sehr kritisch zu bewerten.