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Global study questions press freedom --- Michael Hedges December 10, 2007 Press freedom is a fundamental human right, so the Convention says. Ask people, though, and that Western view of a free press is sometimes muted. A global poll commissioned by the BBC World Service points to the striking relationship between the exercise of free press and its popular support. |
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Engaging the Future: The BBC – Global Voice to the World --- Michael Hedges April 4, 2007 The world finds its bearings each day from broadcast news. Through radio and television sounds and images, facts and reality are sorted and chosen by billions. Though times are changing broadcast news will continue to inform and educate like no other medium for generations to come. News brands have expanded to meet increasing demand; CNN has global television reach, Al Jazeera is a new force and the BBC lofts above them all. |
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RFE/RL and VOA in Russian Sights --- Michael Hedges July 10, 2006 International broadcasters are increasingly backed against a wall when it comes to finding easy broadcast licenses for the taking. Governments can prevent access to distribution or, at the very least, make life very uncomfortable for local media affiliates. The enduring rule of media and politics is that no government takes criticism easily, particularly from foreigners. |
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Pattiz Era Ends at BBG --- Michael Hedges - January 12, 2006 Norman J. Pattiz has resigned from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the oversight board which controls American government international broadcasting. His five-year tenure at BBG was fraught with controversy over new radio and television services targeting the Middle East. Pattiz met with BBG staff on Tuesday then issued the following statement, which was emailed to BBG, IBB and VOA staff by Bert Kleinman, Executive Vice President of Middle East Broadcasting Network. |
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US Broadcasting Agencies Under Investigation --- Michael Hedges November 7, 2005 After meeting for three days at an undisclosed location the US Corporation for Public Broadcasting board accepted the resignation of former chairman and current board member Kenneth Y. Tomlinson Thursday night. This week Tomlinson will appear before a Congressional subcommittee investigating Arabic television channel Al-Hurra. Tomlinson currently chairs the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees all US government overseas media programs, including Voice of America and Al-Hurra television. |
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Truth Is, There’s A Big Problem With Social Media --- Michael Hedges October 11, 2021 Follow on Twitter Brands have good weeks and bad weeks. Winning with a dazzling performance gives a sports brand a very good week. Losing through mistakes or slovenly play is very bad. Consumer brands have outstanding weeks by introducing a product or service at just the right moment. Being beaten to the punch, so to speak, is bad. The discovery of bugs - animal, vegetable or mineral - in the soup, figuratively, is very bad. The public relations industry has become quite effective at highlighting the good things and spinning the bad backwards, for both they are generously compensated. |
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Telecom Streaming Out Of Service --- Michael Hedges May 19, 2021 Follow on Twitter Phone company jokes have never gone out of vogue. Long represented as that anonymous voice on the line at dinner time demanding payment for a bill already paid or the customer service line that’s always out of service, the phone company is a model irritation. Now called telecoms, the old habits never fade. Nobody, however, laughs about the money they make. |
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When You See The Money Coming, Don’t Put Your Foot Down --- Michael Hedges March 1, 2023 Follow on Twitter Media is just another product. Brands seek to satisfy customers and reap the due reward. Market research exists to inform brand executives of customer preferences and aversions. The result, say business scholars, is more efficient allocation of resources leading to higher profits and investor returns. This is the crux of the modern free market. Media brands are very familiar with these concepts and their executions. |
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Defamation Suits Have Consequences, Some Unintended --- Michael Hedges August 23, 2022 - Follow on Twitter Defamation and libel lawsuits in relation to media houses arise on occasion, seemingly with greater recent frequency. Publishers or broadcasters can be stung for issuing false, defamatory or libelous claims against persons or entities with intent to do malicious harm. But media houses, too, use these lawsuits, often to punish critics with egregious legal fees. Around the world, different jurisdictions have varying approaches to defamation and libel laws. Punishment is the thread through them all. |
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New Radio Channel "Couldn't Be Better" --- Michael Hedges November 10, 2011 - Follow on Twitter Private sector media operators have long called for reducing public broadcasting’s output. The overwhelming might of legacy, publicly funded radio and television stifles competition, they say. Politicians, sympathetic for various reasons, have been reluctant to make changes, fearing voter backlash. One of the first newly privatized radio channels has signed on to both criticism and praise. |
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Attention Span And Return On Investment --- Michael Hedges March 28, 2022 - Follow on Twitter Editors weigh carefully the allocation of resources. There is a pattern to sports and election coverage, even the Eurovision Song Contest. Well-established formulas, monitored by clever accountants, dictate personnel requirements to the minute. Every other cost is detailed. Executives weigh all of this against return; advertising, subscriptions, even reputation. Wars change the calculation only somewhat. |
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Reporting The Chaos, The End And Moving On --- Michael Hedges January 3, 2022 - Follow on Twitter A shortened attention span is the overriding fact of life for the news media. Place blame on social media, if you want. The average user "scrolls through" TikTok 45 minutes each day. Every item is "breaking news" of one sort or another. Google Trends enumerated 57 subjects attracting top attention throughout 2021, only 10 for more than a fortnight. Coronavirus, obviously, held attention all year. |
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