Times to launch radio station to challenge BBC Radio 4

The Guardian
28 January 2020

The Times has confirmed plans to launch its own speech radio station later this year, with the aim of luring listeners away from BBC Radio 4 and 5 live at a time when the public broadcaster is facing cuts.

The long-rumoured launch will involve the newspaper creating a station with a “daily schedule of news, analysis and commentary with a lineup of high-profile presenters” broadcasting nationally on DAB radio, online and via smart speakers, such as Amazon’s Alexa.

Management told employees that Times Radio would “target those disenfranchised by BBC Radio 4 and 5 Live” and was expected to launch in the spring featuring “great names of broadcasting”, according to those present at a staff meeting.

Stig Abell, the channel’s launch director, told the Guardian he wanted to break free of the standard radio debate format where two individuals with opposing views shout at each other. “We want to have different voices with different opinions but we don’t necessarily want that kind of format.”

Rather than have phone-ins, the station’s programmes would allow listeners to learn “something you didn’t know before”, with a focus on conversations covering all aspects of news and current affairs. “We want people to tune in because they’ll get what’s going on in the world.”

Additional story from The Guardian at https://tinyurl.com/rltoke7

Inside China's audacious global propaganda campaign - including radio

Beijing is buying up media outlets and training scores of foreign journalists to ‘tell China’s story well’ – as part of a worldwide propaganda campaign of astonishing scope and ambition.

By Louisa Lim and Julia Bergin

Fri 7 Dec 2018 01.00 EST Last modified on Tue 11 Dec 2018 05.03 EST
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As they sifted through resumes, the team recruiting for the new London hub of China’s state-run broadcaster had an enviable problem: far, far too many candidates. Almost 6,000 people were applying for just 90 jobs “reporting the news from a Chinese perspective”. Even the simple task of reading through the heap of applications would take almost two months.

For western journalists, demoralised by endless budget cuts, China Global Television Network presents an enticing prospect, offering competitive salaries to work in state-of-the-art purpose-built studios in Chiswick, west London. CGTN – as the international arm of China Central Television (CCTV) was rebranded in 2016 – is the most high-profile component of China’s rapid media expansion across the world, whose goal, in the words of President Xi Jinping, is to “tell China’s story well”. In practice, telling China’s story well looks a lot like serving the ideological aims of the state.

Additional story at The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/dec/07/china-plan-for-global-media-dominance-propaganda-xi-jin

BBC World may reinstate axed shortwave broadcast during major events

The BBC is considering plans to reinstate axed shortwave World Service radio broadcasts on a short-term basis to regions where major events are taking place, following the revolution in Egypt, reports The Guardian.

Shortwave radio broadcasts of the BBC Arabic service, which has around 400,000 listeners in Egypt, will be significantly reduced within weeks as part of plans to save £46m from the World Service budget, a 20% cut from its £253m annual budget. World Service broadcasts on shortwave are being cut back in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia as part of the cost saving drive.

An email sent to Bush House staff today by Peter Horrocks, the BBC’s global news director, revealed plans to respond to major events in particular regions by buying up shortwave radio capacity, against a backdrop of violent political uprising sweeping across the Middle East.

Additional story at The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/feb/17/bbc-world-service-short-wave

Followup on the Africa Cup of Nations

Thanks to Ron Howard for the followup from my previous post on Africa Cup of Nations.
Gayle VH

The following is a brief excerpt from The Guardian (Nigeria). Full story at:
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/media/article01//indexn2_html?pdate=140108&ptitle=Our%20position%20on%20the%20prohibitive%20broadcast%20rights%20fee%20on%20African%20Cup%20of%20Nations

Our position on the prohibitive broadcast rights fee on African Cup of Nations
By Abubakar B. Jijiwa
Monday, January 14, 2008

WE are once again at the threshold of another important continental fiesta, the African Cup of Nations, which holds every two years and is now been acclaimed as Africa's highest and biggest event.

As media practitioners, our commitment to its success goes beyond that of cheering spectators or fans of competing national teams whose interests are limited to their teams winning the tournament.

0For us in the media, we must provide the platform through which the public can read, listen and view the signals of the 32 football matches that will hold in Ghana between January 20 to February 10, 2008.

Consequently, the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), being the umbrella association of all public and commercial radio and television stations in the country, wishes to use this opportunity to state our position on the current impasse that could inhibit the transmission of the forthcoming MTN African Cup of Nations holding in Ghana by radio and television stations in Nigeria.