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Week ending October 20, 2007

PRIX EUROPA 2007 – Awards Winners and Resumé - October 20, 2007
from Adele Seelmann-Eggebert/Prix Europa

On Saturday 20 October an eventful and interesting PRIX EUROPA festival week reached its end with the festive Awards Gala in the Berlin headquarters of Deutsche Telekom. Europe's biggest television-, radio- and internet competition ended with 13 happy award winners taking home a prize trophy and 6,000 Euros each. Over 1000 media professionals had travelled to Berlin to select the best productions of the year.

The Awards ceremony was moderated by Sabrina Staubitz, Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament and patron of PRIX EUROPA 2007, had come especially to hand over the TV Fiction prize. Further laudators, were among others the Austrian actor and mobile tv producer of mobile television content and solutions Harald Krassnitzer, the Finnish actress Kati Outinen, German media multi-talent Christoph Schlingensief, the German Turkish Pop star Muhabbet, the Head of the German ZDF-Studio Brussels Udo van Kampen, journalist Dieter Kronzucker and the film producer Nico Hofmann..

With 671 entries from 36 countries PRIX EUROPA 2007 had more productions than ever before. 255 of them were nominated in nine television-, radio- and internet categories. media professionals from all over Europe sampled and discussed them for a week - and then selected the best:

Now the winners are clear: there were several winners from the United Kingdom (4 awards) and Germany (3 awards). Nominations from Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Poland and Portugal each won an award. Special Commendations were received by productions from Denmark, Germany, France (2), United Kingdom (2), Russia and Sweden (2).

The Winners 2007

Television

TV Fiction, PRIX EUROPA – Television Programme of the Year 2007
Die Mauer - Berlin ’61 – Germany

TV Fiction, SPECIAL PRIX EUROPA – for the best TV series, mini-series or serial
Prime Suspect VII: The Final Act - United Kingdom
Donated by YLE – Finnish Broadcasting

TV Documentary: PRIX EUROPA Television Programme of the Year 2007
Rain in my Heart – United Kingdom

TV Documentary: SPECIAL PRIX EUROPA
A Lesson of Belarusian / Lecka Bialoruskiego – Poland
Donated by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

TV Current Affairs: PRIX EUROPA Television Programme of the Year 2007
Der Tag als Theo van Gogh ermordet wurde - Germany
Donated by the Directorate of Communication of the Council of Europe

TV PRIX EUROPA IRIS Multicultural Television Programme of the Year 2007
0032 “Gorcha” - Belgium
Donated by the Nederlandse Programma Stichting - NPS

PRIX GENÈVE –EUROPE – Best Fiction-Script
Harkis - France
Donated by the European Alliance for Television and Culture (EATC)

PRIX EUROPA SPOT "I am Europe“ - One-Minute film
Equally different / Igualmente Diferentes - Portugal
Donated by the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany

2. RADIO

Radio Drama: PRIX EUROPA Best European Radio Drama of the Year 2007
Santo Subito - Gedächtnisprotokoll eines Auftritts des Schauspielers Roberto Benigni vor der Seligsprechungskommission im Vatikan vom Oktober 2005 - Germany

Radio Drama: PRIX EUROPA RADIO FRANCE
Mayday – Ireland

Radio Documentary: PRIX EUROPA Best European Radio Documentary of the Year 2007 The Love Police / Kærlighedspolitiet – Denmark

Radio Documentary: PRIX EUROPA RADIO ÖSTERREICH 1
Don’t hang up 2. Nightlines – United Kingdom

3. INTERNET

PRIX EUROPA EXPLORATION
Climate Change Experiment, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/climateexperiment
United Kingdom

That was PRIX EUROPA 2007

Link between traditional und new media
Once a year PRIX EUROPA is a market-place and a forum for ideas and trends in the European media scene. Once again its tri-medial festival concept proved to be effective and inspiring. Fiction and documentary films, in-depth current affairs films, multicultural programmes, scripts, one-minute SPOTS, radio plays, radio documentaries and web projects were all evaluated in separate jury groups. However, the many special events brought the media-makers together, as for example the Workshop "360° Media Production Management" with the cross media pioneer Ad van der Ree from the Netherlands. As Dagmar Reim, Director General of the hosting broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg put it: "Over the years, many co-productions, new projects and professional friendships have started in a Berlin restaurant or a Berlin bar at the end of a long day – or, shall I better say, at the beginning of a long night?"

The festival gives creative sparks into the European media scene: together with the European Broadcasting Union PRIX EUROPA organised the third Radio Day of European Cultures on Sunday 14 October. On that day more than forty broadcasters from 30 countries focused their programmes on European cultures. In the Radio Day weblog - "I am Europe“ bloggers from all over the continent are communicating and exchanging personal experiences and opinions about Europe: http://radiodayweb.eu/blog.html.

ITU defines the future of mobile communications - October 19, 2007

ITU Radiocommunication Assembly approves new developments for its 3G standards

Geneva, 19 October 2007 - The ITU Radiocommunication Assembly took a decision of global importance to include WiMax-derived technology in the framework of the IMT-2000 set of standards. This agreement paves the way for the deployment of a range of voice, data, and multimedia services to both stationary and mobile devices. Significantly, it opens the door to mobile Internet, catering to demand in both urban and rural markets.

The ITU Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-07) formally recognized technology derived from IEEE 802.16 by incorporating it as the sixth terrestrial IMT-2000 radio interface. This is the first addition to IMT-2000 since the original five were adopted years ago as part of the 3G radio standards being used globally and significantly pushes the technological envelope of IMT-2000 capabilities.

IMT-2000 - "International Mobile Telecommunications" - is a global standard defined by ITU in a set of interdependent ITU Recommendations, which include the specifications for the radio interfaces of advanced wireless communications systems such as 3G mobile.

An initial application for the IMT-2000 Advanced standard was made at the ITU-R WP8F meeting in Kobe, Japan, in January this year. The adoption of the latest radio interface was the culmination of tireless effort among administrations, industry and ITU experts.

"It gives me great satisfaction to observe that the ITU Radiocommunication Sector continues to be responsive to the most pressing needs of the wireless industry in the deployment of innovative technological solutions," said Valery Timofeev, Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau. "The successful approval of the two new Resolutions and four draft Recommendations dealing with IMT technologies represents a pinnacle in the recent technical achievements of the Sector."

WiMax extends access to global population

"WiMAX technology currently has the potential to reach 2.7 billion people," said Ron Resnick, president of the WiMAX Forum. "Today's announcement expands the reach to a significantly larger global population."

The new technology will facilitate delivery of broadband wireless services at lower cost and include multiple wireless broadband Internet services, including VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). The specific terminology of the IEEE 802.16 standard in ITU-R M.1457 Recommendation is 'IMT-2000 OFDMA TDD WMAN'.

Roger Marks, Chairman of the IEEE 802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless Access, said, "I am immensely gratified that the international community, through ITU, has recognized the significance of the IEEE 802.16 WirelessMAN standard."

Proposals to the forthcoming World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) starting next week in Geneva that will be requesting additional spectrum for the deployment of the IMT 3G-type systems worldwide will take into account the new IMT-2000 OFDMA TDD WMAN standards derived froom the IEEE 802.16 mobile component.

Future direction of radiocommunication

The Radiocommunication Assembly closed today in Geneva after deliberating for a week on new directions in radiocommunications. Held every three to four years, RA-07 deliberated the future direction of radiocommunications, including a new Study Group structure and the establishment of a work plan for the study groups of ITU's Radiocommunication Sector.

RA-07 was chaired by Mr Bruce Gracie (Canada) and assisted by six vice-presidents: Mr R. Beaird (United States), Mr E. Sestacov (Moldova), Mr M. Matsumoto (Japan), Mr N. Kisrawi (Syrian Arab Republic), Mr R. Liebler (Germany) and Mr I. Jazaïry (Algeria). Over 600 participants attended the Assembly.

Discussions covered several areas:

1 the working methods and procedural issues of the Study Groups with review of the ITU-R Resolutions that describe the structure, working methods and work programme of the ITU-R Study Groups

1 Technical issues which included International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) for which two new draft ITU-R Resolutions were approved relating to future studies on IMT

1 Emergency communications and disaster relief: Since the tsunami of December 2004, attention focused on increasing the effectiveness of telecommunications in emergency situations and in responding to disaster relief. Two new Resolutions were approved placing on a sound footing the activities of the Study Groups on this topic

New or revised ITU-R Resolutions were approved, covering areas such as spectrum management, radio-frequency sharing systems, regulatory and procedural matters and new radio standards.

Among the important decisions taken at this year's Assembly include refining many of the basic Resolutions describing the working methods of the Study Groups. In particular, Resolution ITU-R 1 been brought up-to-date to reflect current practices within the Sector and Bureau:
Study Group 1: Spectrum Management
Study Group 2: Radiowave Propagation
Study Group 5: Terrestrial Services
Study Group 6: Broadcasting Service
Study Group 7: Science Services
Coordination Committee for Vocabulary - CCV

WAN - Salvadorian Newspaper Wins World Young Reader Prize - October 18, 2007

from Larry Kilman/WAN

La Prensa Grafica of El Salvador was today awarded the 2007 World Young Reader Newspaper of the Year prize from the World Association of Newspapers.

The newspaper was honoured during the World Editor & Marketeer Conference and Expo in Amsterdam for a special young readers edition that involved young columnists and reporters, along with the newspaper staff, in a complete re-design of the newspaper to appeal to younger readers. In addition to taking the top prize, the project also won the Editorial Strategy category of the annual awards.

The World Young Reader Prize in the Newspapers in Education (NIE) category went to the Patriot News (Pennsylvania) for a project that engaged families in NIE programmes.

The prize in the Public Service category was awarded to Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland, for a youth-oriented campaign that helped stop highway construction in the Rospuda Valley, a rich bio-diverse river valley of Poland. The paper also won a jury commendation for a multi-platform project promoting the Polish language that included a reader-generated dictionary.

WAN awarded other jury commendations and special mention awards to newspapers in Bulgaria (Borba), Brazil (Zero Hora), Namibia (Republikein), Russia (Delovoy Peterburg), Spain (Diario de Navarra), Venezuela (Urbe) and the United States (Denver News Agency and the New York Daily News).

The World Young Reader Prizes, sponsored by the international paper manufacturer Norske Skog, are given annually by WAN to the newspapers that devise the most innovative projects to develop young readership.

Details about entry requirements for the 2008 World Young Reader Prizes can be found at www.wan-press.org/worldyoungreaderprize

CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES APPOINTS ADRIAN SARBU AS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER - October 17, 2007

from Romana Tomasova/CME

Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (“CME”) (Nasdaq/Prague Stock Exchange: CETV) announced today the appointment of Adrian Sarbu, 52, as Chief Operating Officer of the company. Mr. Sarbu’s appointment is effective immediately.

Adrian Sarbu, CME’s partner in Romania since 1995, has been the leader of CME’s Romanian operations for the past 12 years. Since 2006 he has served as the company’s Regional Director overseeing operations in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Romania. Throughout his tenure Mr. Sarbu has been instrumental in the growth and development of CME’s Romanian assets, which remain a model for the company’s other markets.

“Adrian is the most talented executive that I have worked with and I am proud to announce his appointment today,” said Michael Garin, CME’s Chief Executive Officer. “He has been an incredible asset to CME and has helped guide the company’s development in some of its fastest growing and largest markets. Adrian’s insight and experience will be a valuable resource to our management teams as we continue to empower them to make the best decisions for their individual markets.

During my nearly four-year tenure, CME has consistently increased the proportion of executives from Central and Eastern Europe at the corporate level. Their knowledge of the region combined with their strong professional capabilities has enhanced CME’s performance significantly. The fact that virtually all our station executives come from the countries in which we broadcast differentiates CME from most other international broadcasters and has become a sustainable competitive advantage for the company. I take particular pride in this record.”

Adrian Sarbu commented: “Having spent the last decade at CME I know first hand how talented the station management teams are. I am proud to have the opportunity to work with them all. The most important lesson I have learned in these 10 years is that delivery of strong results year after year will be recognized by the market. CME and local management will continue to focus on improving margins and the development of new opportunities within CME’s current territories and beyond.”

Europe listened to Europe Success for Radio Day of European Cultures - October 15, 2007

from Adele Seelmann-Eggebert/Prix Europa

On Sunday 14 October over 40 radio stations from 30 European countries joined the initiative of the European Broadcasting Union and PRIX EUROPA to make Europe audible.

"We would like to connect the different Europeans to a community...in Europe there is a total audience of 500 million people. These broadcasts are like a bridge", says co-initiator Raina Konstantinova, Radio Director of the European Broadcasting Union. She officially opened the Radio Day on Saturday evening in Berlin, also introducing the sold-out opening concert "Muhabbet and the Capital Dance Orchestra. - R’nBesk Meets Swing”, which was broadcast across the continent.

The Radio Day motto "My Europe" was taken up, for example, by the Swiss Radio Rumantsch with a programme "My Europe is a pile of books". On Slovak Radio Devin the sought-after Slovak musician Oskar Rozsa presented Slovak music seen through his personal European spectacles Ukrainian Radio presented a programme “My family is my fortress” – interview with an ambassador of a European state about his life and understanding of other countries’ traditions. The German Deutsche Welle produced a tri-lingual feature series "Europe - Terra Incognita" exploring unknown facets of life in Europe and "Borders" got together six broadcasters for a radio drama project on borders.

The weblog "I am Europe - Collecting Voices from Europe" on the Radio Day website www.radiodayweb.eu, inspired by the Radio Day theme, also provides a forum for individual experiences of Europe. The blog contributions have been used by broadcasters for Radio Day programming and interaction with their audiences.

Music played a key role in Radio Day programming and provided a powerful variation on the motto. They ranged from the opening concert, a musical journey through the continent with the EBU Folk Music Special or the finale of the international choir competition "Let the Peoples sing" with choirs from seven countries singing in Wuppertal, broadcast by the German WDR.

The patrons of the Radio Day of European Cultures dwelt on their visions of Europe in specially recorded messages. "We all need to talk to each other", said Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament. "Europe is people... I hope you'll join in the cross-border debate. Have your say!" was Vice-President of the European Commission Margot Wallström's plea. "I would say that I believe in a Europe which makes a positive difference in people’s lives", said Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

This celebration of European cultures was shared yesterday by listeners in 30 European countries - a great success for the third Radio Day and for Europe.

Prof-Media denies rumours of delisting Rambler Media - October 15, 2007

from Marina Dralova /Prof-Media

In December 2006 and January 2007, Prof-Media, a leading Russian diversified media company, acquired in a series of transactions approximately 55% of Rambler Media's issued and ordinary share capital.

Currently, Prof-Media does not envisage any further significant purchases of shares in the Company. Rambler Media's shares are listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and Prof-Media is interested in their healthy trading market and further appreciation.