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CIRCOM - Prix Circom Regional 2006 - March 29, 2006

from Tonja Bozicevic CIRCOM

This is to remind you that there is just a couple of days to go before the deadline for entering the programmes for Prix Circom Regional 2006.

Please fax or email the entry form for programmes to RTV Maribor by Friday 31 March.

The DVD or entry on other format, together with a hard copy of the entry form and your additional supporting material, should reach RTV Maribor by Friday 7 April.

Please fax or email the entry form for web sites programmes to RTV Maribor by Friday 24 March.

Prix Circom Entry Pack 2006 with the Entry Form you will find on http://www.circom-regional.org/about/1-prix.asp

Digital Media Roundtable: Exploiting the Potential for Newspapers - March 29, 2006

from Larry Kilman WAN

The New York Times is so much more than just a newspaper. From its highly popular and revenue-generating web sites to television and video, the company is a leader in delivering content and advertising on multiple platforms.

A case study on how the New York Times aggregates its content into new products and revenues streams will be the centerpiece of the 2006 Digital Media Roundtable at the World Newspaper Congress, World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo in Moscow, Russia, in June.

Vivian Schiller, Senior Vice President of NYT Television and Video, will present the case at the roundtable, which takes the theme, "The Digital Explosion -- Exploiting the Potential of Our Media."

It is just one of many events at the Congress, Forum and Expo, the global meetings of the world's press organized by the World Association of Newspapers. At least 1,500 newspaper publishers, CEOs, managing directors, chief editors, other senior executives and their guests, from all over the world, are expected to attend the events, from 4 to 7 June in Moscow.

Full details, including programme and registration information and an evolving list of participants, can be found at http://www.moscow2006.com.

The digital media roundtable is one of three seminars that kick off the conferences on 4 June. WAN also organizes a Press Freedom Roundtable, which this year takes the theme, "Uneasy Bedfellows: the Kremlin, the Press, and the Public."

And, for the first time, WAN is organizing a Young Readers Roundtable, which will take the theme, "Winning Strategies for the New Generation." The seminar will include presentations by Anne Kirah, a Senior Design Anthropologist who studies the young to help Microsoft produce its products, and Marcelo Rech, Editor of Zero Hora, a Brazilian newspaper that has 42 percent of its readership in the 10 to 29 years age group.

ANTENNE BAYERN baut Spielplätze „Wir werden das Kind schon schaukeln!“ - March 29, 2006

from Daniel Lorenzer Antenne Bayern

Nach dem langen, harten Winter und der Schneeschmelze kommt manch Unschönes wieder zum Vorschein: Viele Spielplätze in Bayern sind in keinem guten Zustand und werden ihrem Namen „Spielplatz“ nicht mehr gerecht.

Bayerns größter Radiosender und der Getränkehersteller FRANKEN BRUNNEN ergreifen jetzt die Initiative. Aus einer lokalen Aktion, dem Bau eines Spielplatzes im unterfränkischen Arnstein durch ANTENNE BAYERN, wird jetzt ein gemeinsames Vorhaben. „Wir krempeln die Ärmel hoch und nehmen die Schaufel in die Hand und dann werden wir das Kind schon schaukeln“, so ANTENNE BAYERN-Moderator Wolfgang Leikermoser entschlossen. Gerade viele kleine Gemeinden kennen zwar das Problem ihrer maroden Spielplätze, stehen aber finanziell alleine auf weiter Flur. „Die Kommunen werden in den nächsten Jahren nicht mehr alles leisten können, was sie gerne leisten würden, da braucht es in Zukunft bürgerschaftliches Engagement“, erklärt Hans Schaidinger, Präsident des Bayerischen Städtetages. Oft reicht es den Kommunen nur noch für das Nötigste, um zumindest die Sicherheit der alten Geräte zu gewährleisten.

Jetzt wendet sich das Blatt und aus dem ursprünglich spontanen Engagement eines Moderators, einen Spielplatz zu bauen, wird mit FRANKEN BRUNNEN eine bayernweite Initiative. „Wir wollen, dass unsere Kinder wieder Spaß am Spielen haben und dazu brauchen sie einfach geeignete Spielflächen“, so Wolfgang Leikermoser.

Jetzt werden weitere Spielplätze gebaut! „Jeder Verbraucher kann die Initiative unterstützen: Von jedem verkauften Kasten Mineralwasser fließen 10 Cent ab sofort bis Ende Mai und bis zu einer Gesamtsumme von 100.000 Euro in die ANTENNE BAYERN-Spielplatz-Kasse“, so der Getränkehersteller FRANKEN BRUNNEN.

„Und nun ist der Freistaat gefragt: Wenn es bei Ihnen keine Spielmöglichkeiten für die Kleinen gibt oder Sie einen Spielplatz kennen, der dringend saniert werden muss, dann melden Sie es uns! Im Internet - unter www.antenne.de“, kündigte der Moderator von Deutschlands erfolgreichstem Radiosender heute in der Morning-Show an. Direkt von der Internet-Startseite gelangt man auf eine Eingabemaske, über die man sich für die Sanierung seines Spielplatzes bewerben kann. Auf dieser Seite ist es auch möglich, eine genaue Beschreibung des derzeitigen Zustandes des Platzes abzugeben und ein aussagekräftiges Foto hoch zu laden.

Renewed Isolation for RFE/RL Correspondents in Turkmenistan - March 28, 2006

from Don Jensen RFE/RL

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Turkmen Service has again lost contact with two journalists working in Turkmenistan who were recently released after 10 days in prison.  The current status of the two journalists, one of whom is suffering from a kidney-related illness, is unknown.

Jumadurdy Ovezov and Meret Khommadov, from the Mary region in southeastern Turkmenistan, were released from prison on March 16 (see chronology below). Telephone contact with Khommadov was restored on March 23, at which point he made a public statement about his detention that received wide publicity (Khommadov's description of their ordeal can be read on RFE/RL's website, at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/03/840c1c7d-92ff-4780-843a-9598b8549963.html). The telephone link with Khommadov was interrupted again this past weekend.    

RFE/RL's last contact with Khommadov was on March 24. At that time, Khommadov said that Ovezov, who has remained gravely ill at home since being released from prison, was still ill with a serious kidney disorder and badly in need of medical attention. Ovezov has no phone line at home and RFE/RL relied on Khommadov for updates about his condition.

RFE/RL Acting President Jeff Trimble in Washington called the Turkmen authorities' on-again, off-again interruption of telephone communications "a cynical cat and mouse game of intimidation that blatantly disregards basic human rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press." Trimble noted that all media are censored and strictly controlled by the state in Turkmenistan. "RFE/RL is the only alternative source of information for Turkmens in their own language.  We applaud the courage and commitment of the correspondents who continue to cooperate with RFE/RL," Trimble said.

RFE/RL's Turkmen Service broadcasts six hours of programming a day to Turkmenistan, produced in Prague and transmitted to listeners via shortwave, medium wave and satellite broadcasts. Turkmen Service programming is also available via the Internet, at http://www.rferl.org; English-language news about events in Turkmenistan can also be found on the RFE/RL website, at http://www.rferl.org/featuresarchive/country/turkmenistan.html.