The week in public service media
Our weekly round-up of public service media news stories and headlines from around the world.
15 August – 21 August
Africa
GENERAL: BBC now reaches 111 million people in Africa
By Digital TV Europe: The BBC now reaches 111 million people per week across all media platforms in Africa, according to new stats released by the corporation.
EGYPT: Egyptian authorities ban social media satire pages
By Al Monitor
ETHIOPIA: Ethiopia doesn’t want you to know these things are happening in the country
By The Washington Post: Fears for freedom of expression as government fears the impact of bad news on country’s international standing.
GHANA: NCA warns of fake decoders flooding the market
By Pulse: There has been a sharp increase in demand of decoders and digital television sets as Ghana’s deadline for migration to digital transmission draws closer.
KENYA: Star editor Charles Kerich appointed media council chairman
By The Star: Veteran radio and print journalist Charles Kerich has been appointed chairman of the Media Council of Kenya.
LIBERIA: ‘Closure of Radio Stations Threatens Free Media’
Via All Africa: The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) says it is appalled by the closure of Radio LIB24, which it sees as an unacceptably intimidating tactic meant to muzzle the Liberian media into silence
NAMIBIA: Misa criticises media censorship
By The Namibian: Fear that self-censorship is on the rise due to media houses trying to protect the interests of their sources of funding.
NIGERIA: Obasanjo Tasks Media On Self-Censorship
Via All Africa: Concerning rhetoric from Nigeria’s former President as he suggests self-censorship as a means of unifying the country.
NIGERIA: Nigeria moves towards broadcast digitalisation with the hope of creating new jobs
By PMA: The move from analogue to digital broadcasting in Nigeria would create new career opportunities and help with fighting piracy, said the government.
SOUTH AFRICA: Digital Media Africa Conference and Awards to be held in JHB
By BizCommunity: WAN-IFRA will hold its inaugural Digital Media Africa conference and Awards competition in Johannesburg from 28-30 September 2106.
SOUTH AFRICA: Questions that need to be asked to save the SABC
By Business Day Live: The problems at South Africa’s public broadcaster are legendary, ranging from serious mismanagement to loss of editorial independence and poor financial management.
TANZANIA: Tanzania rolls out social media awareness campaign
By The Herald: New nationwide campaign aims to heighten awareness about the “safe and proper means” of using social media and cyber security.
TANZANIA: Tanzania journalists launch conservation movement
By eTN: Conservation efforts got a boost in Tanzania, thanks to journalists establishing a movement aimed at beefing up media coverage on the drive.
UGANDA: State Attack On Media Led to Censorship
Via All Africa: A media monitoring report on Uganda has pointed out that the deliberate pushback by the State of media houses reporting on politics has had a chilling effect that has resulted in self-censorship.
Asia
CHINA: As Beijing tightens grip on Hong Kong media, mainland journalists suffer
By CPJ: Article exploring the repercussions faced by mainland journalists as state places more pressure on Hong Kong media.
HONG KONG: Residents of Hong Kong outraged by movie poster mistake
By CBS News: Marketing mistake cause social media storm in Hong Kong
INDIA: State-run Chinese press slams India’s media and its manufacturing
By The Times of India: War of words continues between Chinese state media and Indian outlets
INDIA: Indian journalists take to mobile phone and 4G to broadcast live from Rio
By The Times of India: How 4th generation technology helped Indian journalists to report from the 2016 Olympics
INDIA: Indian public broadcaster acts to prevent closure of media offices
By PMA: India’s public broadcaster recently intervened to prevent the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting from closing down regional news units.
INDONESIA: Indonesian broadcast authorities monitoring Batam-based Radio Hang
By Channel News Asia: Monitoring starts after Singapore authorities accuse broadcaster of propagating extremist views
MYANMAR: BBC Burmese shows to run on Myanmar Radio
By ABU: Greatly expanding the BBC Burmese footprint in Myanmar.
NORTH KOREA: Manbang and chill: North Korea gets video on demand
By The Guardian: Broadcaster announces arrival of Netflix-style service, offering documentaries about the Kim dynasty and language tuition
PAKISTAN: PM takes notice of ghost employees’ at Radio Pakistan
By Daily Times: Action to reportedly be taken against ‘ghost employees’ on the payroll of radio stations throughout the country
PAKISTAN: Security of media houses enhanced, panic alert system installed
By Pakistan Today: After an attack on media houses in Karachi on Monday, the Islamabad police have enhanced the security measures of media houses in capital to avoid any untoward incident.
TAIWAN: Hope in Taiwan’s New Media Landscape
By The News Lens: In a recent opinion piece for the Chinese-language edition of The News Lens, a journalism student criticises mainstream media in Taiwan but is optimistic about the new generation of online media.
THAILAND: Thailand’s New Constitution: A Blow to Rights?
By The Diplomat: What impact could the new constitution have on Freedom of Expression?
THAILAND: Thailand pressures two broadcast journalists off the air
By CPJ: Two television reporters in Thailand have been suspended for a 10-day period under pressure from military authorities and state media regulators over their critical news coverage, according to news reports.
Australia, New Zealand & the Pacific
REGIONAL: Make better use of ‘indy’ journalism role, academic tells universities
By Pacific Media Centre
AUSTRALIA: Australian children drive new media
By Thinking Australia: Australian children are well connected with 86% online in the past month, a rise of 12%.
AUSTRALIA: China’s confusing media ties with Australia
By Deutsche Welle: The China Daily has a deal with Australian media to push its message Down Under, even as other Chinese papers call for a military strike on Australia. Is this just business as usual?
AUSTRALIA: Shock horror: the big end of town has finally discovered Australia’s media is a whitewash
By The Conversation: Report claims a severe lack of diversity and representation in Australian media
FIJI: Youth committee speaks out on proposed Information Bill
By Pacific Media Centre: Youth committee reiterates necessity of freedom of expression in submission to parliamentary committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights regarding new Information Bill 2016
NEW ZEALAND: Mediawatch for 21 August 2016
By Radio New Zealand: Is the weakening of our news media fuelling a democratic deficit? If so, what should the media do?: Radio programme about the media landscape in New Zealand.
NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand to extend broadcast content rules to VoD
By Telecompaper: The New Zealand government said it plans to update the Broadcasting Act to better reflect today’s converged market and extend some rules to the video-on-demand sector.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: World’s Top Journalist Organization to Train PNG Journalists
By PNG Today
VANUATU: Vanuatu introduces new digital TV
By PMA: To celebrate 50 years of service, Vanuatu’s broadcasting corporation launched a new platform for the island.
Europe
ALBANIA: New Albanian Anti-Corruption Law Worries Media
By Balkan Media Watch: Draft legislation to protect special prosecutors from outside influence during investigations has created fears of censorship, but officials have promised to address journalists’ concerns.
BALKANS: Western Balkans Public Media on Life Support
By Media Power Monitor: Public service broadcasters in the Western Balkans have become increasingly unaccountable to their audiences and tone deaf to their needs. At stake is the very legitimacy of public service broadcasting in the region.
GERMANY: Journalists in exile: Getting refugee reporters back in the newsroom
By Journalism.co.uk: The programme, based in Germany, was set up to pair the journalists with German reporters and provide mentorship and training
GERMANY: Media Broadcast Adding Nine New DAB+ Transmitter Sites
By Radio World: Germany transmission service provider Media Broadcast has announced that it will be establishing nine new DAB+ transmitter sites in Bavaria, Brandenburg, Bremen, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Rheinland-Pfalz.
KOSOVO: TV Blast ‘Attack on Free Speech’
By Balkan Insight: As police investigated a late-night hand grenade blast at Kosovo’s public broadcaster, RTK, President Hashim Thaci called it an attack on freedom of speech.
MOLDOVA: Foreign broadcasters banned
By Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso – Transeurope: The reform of the Broadcasting Code in Moldova threatens to affect media pluralism in the country
SWITZERLAND: Swiss youth channel Joiz to be closed down
By Boradband TV News: Swiss interactive youth channel Joiz will terminate its broadcasts in Switzerland.
UK: Thinkbox: Commercial TV viewing up after BBC3 online move
Via Digital TV Europe: Commercial TV viewing on television sets was up in the in the UK in the first half of 2016 thanks in part to BBC Three’s move from linear to online, according to new research by Thinbox.
UK: Scottish viewers still concerned about BBC news impartiality, research finds
By The Guardian: Concerns were voiced about bias during independence referendum – and Scots’ view of corporation has barely improved since
Latin America & the Caribbean
REGIONAL: Does Latin America have “public media” or government media labeled “public”?
By Knight Center: Journalism in the Americas: First in a new series of articles about the state of PSM across the continent
REGIONAL: Consulting with lawmakers on the media environment in Latin America
By CIMA: Effective media development work requires the engagement of sectors beyond the media themselves–that is, governments, academia, and civil society.
ARGENTINA: TV in Patagonia turns local to enhance its services
By PMA: A new agreement led to the foundation of a new joint TV network in Patagonia, which will transmit relevant events and news across the region.
BARBADOS: Disaster plans in place for media houses
By Nation News: Media contingency plans announced in the event of a natural disaster
BRAZIL: Violence against the media in Brazil: 5 emblematic cases
By RSF: As part of its “Some wins don’t deserve a medal” campaign, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is looking back at the cases of Brazilian journalists who were killed in recent years just for doing their job
BRAZIL: World media hail Rio Olympic games despite flaws
By BBC News: Media across the world have hailed the carnival-themed closing ceremony in the Maracana Stadium in Rio as a dazzling end to what most think was an Olympic games that turned out far better than expected.
COLUMBIA: Public television in Colombia needs to do more to reinvent itself
By PMA: The head of Colombia’s public broadcaster said there is far more that the country’s public media can do to improve, but things are changing for the better.
Middle East
ISRAEL: Netanyahu admits he opposes establishment of new public broadcast corporation
By Haaretz: At meeting with journalists, Israeli prime minister expressed fear of not being able to control staff appointments and asked ‘what if everyone in the corporation were people from Breaking the Silence?’
LEBANON: Save Lebanon’s press? Why not free it first
By Middle East Eye: They may be broke, but Lebanon’s newspapers and media outlets – and their reporting – have also been hijacked by the country’s politics
PALESTINE: Freedom of the press: Palestine’s journalists call for action
By Al Monitor: In public, Palestinian officials seem to agree that freedom of the press is essential. Yet journalists continue to be harassed, imprisoned and subjected to violence by Palestinian security services.
TURKEY: 200 Turkish journalists blacklisted from parliament
By Index on Censorship
North America
CANADA: Document compares CBC, BBC as Liberals review public broadcaster
By CBC News: Liberal review of CBC’s future includes comparison with BBC
By CBC/Radio Canada
USA: NPR to end website comments
By Current: Users of NPR’s website will no longer be able to comment on story pages starting next week, the network announced Wednesday.
USA: Pubmedia executives, stations recognized at PMDMC
By Current: Public media leaders were recognized for excellence in fundraising and development with annual awards at this year’s Public Media Development and Marketing Conference
USA: TV networks expand on-demand offerings to fight ‘cord-cutting’
By Reuters: TV companies attempt to capture audiences moving to streaming services.
USA: US Television Companies Are Stealing The Internet’s Ad Countdown Clocks
By Gizmodo: According to a report from Variety, Turner Broadcasting has started testing out an ad countdown clock during the show Animal Kingdom.
Other
EBU: Europeans, Television & Radio
By EBU: Two new reports show key findings on audience trends across Europe
IOC: Olympics broadcasting outlook as clear as Rio’s diving pool
By Japan Today: Does the business model for broadcasting the Olympics need a shake up?
If you have any suggestions for our weekly round-ups, please email PMA at editor@publicmediaalliance.org.
These stories are provided for interest and their relevance to public service media issues, they do not necessarily reflect the views of the Public Media Alliance.
All headlines are sourced from their original story.
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