Indian FM stations only allowed to carry news from AIR

Private FM radio channels in India will soon be allowed to broadcast news but will have to source it from the All India Radio (AIR), a senior government official said today, The Economic Times reported.

"In a short time, private FM (radio) channels will be able to carry news as these channels will be allowed to broadcast news bulletins of the All India Radio, unaltered," Additional Secretary in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry Rajiv Takru said.

Mr Takru said the government is working on different modules, including designing two-minute news capsules for the private FM channels, in case they are unable to carry the 15-minute AIR bulletin broadcast.

"AIR will monetise this initiative," he said, adding, the government is also considering to allow live sports commentary on the private stations but did not provide details.

Presently, private radio stations are not allowed to broadcast news. The government's new move comes at a time when it is in the process of finalising the process for the third phase of FM radio expansion in India.

"We intend to start the (FM) Phase Three as soon as possible. Within the next two to three months, we should be able to have a final view taken by the government and be up and running," Mr Takru said.

The private players want the government to kick off the FM radio Phase-III expansion as possible.

(Source : Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union)

Japanese broadcasters win praise

Japan's broadcasters won praise from their Asian colleagues today for their work in providing news and emergency information about the earthquake and tsunami that struck on 11 March.

Members of the ABU's daily news exchange, Asiavision, expressed their admiration for the efforts of Japan's broadcasters in covering the worst disaster to hit Japan in decades.

At a meeting in Langkawi, Malaysia, Asiavision members noted the key role of Japanese broadcasters as providers of emergency information and expressed their full support.

They also expressed their condolences to those who lost loved ones in the disaster.

Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, is a member of Asiavision and has been proving the news exchange with daily coverage of the disaster and its aftermath. It is also the official provider of emergency warning of disasters.

Japan's commercial broadcasters, too, have been providing continuous news coverage. For the first three days after the earthquake and tsunami, TBS aired news without any commercial breaks.

(Source : Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union)

World’s first shower powered radio is launched

The team behind the award winning Wind-Up Radio, using new micro turbine technology, has officially launched the world’s first water-powered radio. The H2O™ brand and its earlier product range has also previously showcased on the hit BBC TV programme Dragon’s Den.

The H2O™ Shower Powered Radio provides users with a convenient, and energy-efficient, means of listening to their favourite radio stations whilst in the shower. Using a patented micro turbine concept, the FM radio is powered solely through the motion of water flowing through a small H2O™ micro turbine; driving a generator that creates energy to power the radio. The radio dispels the need for disposable batteries, as the integral battery recharges as the shower runs.

Turning on automatically when the shower is used, the H2O™ Shower Powered Radio memorises the last chosen radio station and speaker volume. The radio even allows users to carry on listening after the shower is turned off; using any excess energy stored in an integral Ni-Mh rechargeable cell.

More information here

(Source : Media Network Weblog)

New rules to give Hungarian music a boost on radio

Representatives of Hungary’s music industry have welcomed plans by the media authority to boost the ratio of domestic music on the country’s airwaves. Tamas Kollarik, a member of the Media Council, told a news conference after meeting music industry reps on Tuesday that the authority would monitor programming to ensure that the mandatory quotas to be introduced gradually - 35 percent for commercial broadcasters and 50 percent for public-service broadcasters - would be abided by.

(Source: MTI via Media Network Weblog)

Voice of Vietnam ready for eighth Asia Media Summit (AMS 8)

(VOV) - Radio Voice of Vietnam has made thorough preparations for the eighth Asia Media Summit (AMS 8), said VOV Director General Vu Van Hien.

Prof. Hien announced this at a reception for Yang Binyuan, Director of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) on March 30 in Hanoi.

He said VOV has held a meeting of the steering committee for the summit with the participation of relevant agencies.

Prof. Hien also asked the AIBD to select the delegates and reports in compliance with the summit’s theme as well as the host country’s law.

Mr. Binyuan praised VOV efforts in the organization of the summit and expressed hopes that AMS 8 will be a great success.

All necessary information related to the summit such as the invitation letter, theme, agenda, and registration forms is now available at the AIBD website (http://www.aibd.org.my/)

(Source : Voice of Vietnam)

CRI Launches Global Shopping Channel

China Radio International, China's only state international radio broadcaster, formally launched its televised shopping channel "Global Go" Tuesday in Beijing.

"Global Go" is a professional shopping channel that focuses on the latest product and sales information about famous high-end items worldwide.

"Global Go" is a cable TV program with internet, mobile phone and radio broadcasting platforms, offering audiences all over the world information on both China-made and world-famous brands.

(Source : CRI Website/Media Network Weblog)

Radio Station Belarus doubles output in French

Radio Station Belarus says on its website that its programmes in French are now broadcast every Saturday and Sunday at 1940 UTC, while the weekly programme in Spanish continues to be broadcast at 2000 UTC on Sundays.

(Source: Radio Station Belarus via Media Network Weblog)

Radio Kiribati changes mediumwave frequency

Kiribati’s state radio, a division of the Broadcasting and Publications Authority, began broadcasting today on a new frequency of 1440 kHz, thanks to a grant of almost AU$137,000 from the government of Taiwan. The new frequency replaces 846KkHz which has been used since independence.

General manager of BPA, Betarim Rimon, told the national paper, Te Uekera, that the new frequency is a big achievement for the organisation. Radio Kiribati is the only station that broadcasts across the country to the population of about 100,000, mainly in Kiribati languages.

In 2008, the radio station went off air for several months after its transmitter broken down for serious technical problems. This put pressure on the state broadcaster to cut its expenses and consider a bank overdraft to solve its financial problems.

(Source: Pacific Media Watch via Media Newtork Weblog)

Russia moves to permanent ‘daylight saving time’

Russians set their clocks one hour forward in the early hours of this morning, and in so doing put an end to the 30-year old tradition of moving clock hands one hour forward in spring, and one hour backward in autumn, says the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. He argued that this would deliver Russians of the necessity of getting adapted to a new life rhythm twice a year.

The transition to daylight saving time was established in 1981 in an attempt to reduce energy consumption. One year ago, President Medvedev asked experts to analyze whether this “playing with time” is rational. In February 2011, he ordered not to revert to winter time anymore. This means that from today, Russians will live according to summer time all the year long.

The Russian parliament is now working on a draft law on time calculation across the country, which spans nine time zones. Opinions may differ, and Russian laws on time calculation may well receive further corrections in the future. But now Russia is joining the family of the countries that don’t change time twice a year. In most Asian countries, including Japan, China and South Korea, time is not changed all the year long. The same is true for nearly all African and Latin American countries. In the United States, Arizona and Hawaii do not transfer to summer time. Former Soviet republics Ukraine and Belarus are also considering whether to reject “playing with time”.

(Source: Voice of Russia via Media Network Weblog)

VOA Tibetan Service Celebrates 20th Anniversary of First Broadcast

The Voice of America’s Tibetan Service, which began with a 15 minute shortwave radio broadcast on March 25, 1991, is being hailed today as one of the most influential Tibetan language multi-media platforms in the world.

Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, once noted that, “Tibetans call VOA broadcasts their medicine for depression and exhaustion, and on days that they don’t get to hear it, they say they’ve missed their vital medicine.”

Earlier this month the service hosted a televised debate with the three candidates vying to become Prime Minister (Kalon Tripa) of the exiled Central Tibetan Administration based in Dharamsala, India.

VOA Director Danforth W. Austin called the satellite and web-streamed broadcast a “a prime example of how VOA’s Tibetan Service is able to share important events with an audience that is cut off from the free flow of objective and comprehensive news.

VOA’s Tibetan Service produces two hours of original television programming each week, and 42 hours of radio. The programs are broadcast on shortwave, transmitted via satellite and streamed on the service’s website, http://www.voanews.com/tibetan/news.

The Voice of America has also undertaken a number of initiatives to make the broadcasts accessible to Tibetans through a variety of social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, and with ongoing strategies to combat jamming and Internet restrictions imposed by the Chinese government.

The VOA Tibetan Service was created by an Act of Congress signed into law on February 16, 1990 to established “a service to provide Voice of America Tibetan language programming to the people of Tibet.”

VOA’s parent organization, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, marked the anniversary with a resolution calling the Tibetan Service broadcasts, “as vital to the people of Tibet today as when the Service’s first daily 15-minute shortwave broadcast debuted to the Tibetan plateau 20 years ago.’’

For more information about the Voice of America or any of its 44 language services, visit our website at http://www.voanews.com.

(Source : BBG press release)