AIB Awards 2008

The Association for International Broadcasting has just launched its quest for entries for this year's awards contest. I must declare an interest here. My son, Christopher, was commissioned to help build the on-line website. And I'll be producing the awards from the entries that come in. Fascinating to see what creative minds are up to in this particular sector of broadcasting. CEO Simon Spanswick explains in his blog why such awards are needed, when there seem to be so many award ceremonies already out there.

Breathing Again.....

Been off line for a total of 12 hours this week because of a major fault at KPN, the provider that handles my XS4All business account. Believe me, when you're phone, web and bank transfers depend on one centre, it makes you feel very vulnerable. However, like 2 million other VOIP users in the Netherlands, I don't mind trading occasional outages like this for a significantly lower price point. I must save a couple of thousand Euros a year by consolidating traffic in this way.

But it remands a real hassle when you're offline for technical reasons. There seems to be a loop with the helpdesks when this happens. I can't gain access to the Xs4all website to read news updates on the problem - or to read the message that you shouldn't call the XS4ALL helpdesk because they don't know when KPN will fix the problem either. They need to rethink this bit. Perhaps an SMS warning service when the VOIP system goes down? It is going to fail again sometime, so why not warn us when it happens?

Glorious sunshine in downtown Bergen

Glorious sunshine in downtown Bergen
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

blue skies....yes it can happen three days in a row in Bergen. What's all this about being the rain capital of the world?

No End in Sight

Saw this last night on NRK-2 television while in Bergen. Better argued than other documentaries of this type, though it is a shame those in the administration refused to be filmed. Problem is the programme doesn't have a happy ending.

Wifi Wind in Bergen, Norway

DSC08574
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

Not often you see signs outside shops for wifi radios. May be its the start of a trend. But you couldn't miss this one outside a shop on Bergen's main street.

KLM Check-In Broken Again

KLM Check-In Broken Again
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

When it works, its fine. But too often I find that the KLM check-in cannot help me when I am trying to get back to Amsterdam. The flight is in a few hours, yet the check-in says its not time to check-in yet.

Water, Water - but don't waste it

Water, Water - but don't waste it
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

Bergen is the rain capital of Europe (so people from outside the city tell me). Yet, so far, I have always had great weather on my visits. At first glance, the hotel request to save water seems a bit draft. But, washing towels for the sake of it, is just a terrible waste of energy too. So, I withdraw my laughter.

EU on Youtube with the Russians

Curious to see that Google serves up ads about Russian dating alongside this EU press conference on their media policy. How does AdSense work that one out?

Its all in the database

This ad is designed to scare the living daylights out of those who don't pay their licence fee in the UK. In Holland they solved the problem by making it part of general taxation. This kind of advertising may rebound on the BBC, even though they don't collect the money themselves. Didn't know it was on liveleak - but thanks to Jim for pointing it out.

Broadcast Asia - Radio Asia - Whats going on?

I really don't understand what is going on in Singapore with BroadcastAsia and the RadioAsia conferences. They used to be at the same place, albeit at opposite ends of the Singapore Expo. That meant a 5 minute bus ride, or a 15 minute walk.

Now, RadioAsia is at a different location downtown, so no swapping between the two conferences. Whilst it may be more convenient, I don't understand why the 2nd day of RadioAsia overlaps with Day 1 of the Broadcast Asia which is entitled Radio Renaissance. Are they competing? Looks like it. Can radio afford to do this? I don't think so. I see on the third and last day of RadioAsia, there are buses from the Suntec conference centre (near to City Hall MRT) out to Singapore expo, leaving at 3.45 pm. But BroadcastAsia closes at 6.pm, so it is going to be a mighty short trip round the stands.

I would make Radio Asia into a one-day affair like the Radio Academy does in London with their excellent "Radio At the Edge" conference in November. I am disappointed that the subjects in RadioAsia over the last few years seem to have gone into a repetitive loop, with issues such as podcasting still on the agenda. This year's line up is another row of panel-sessions featuring mainly (company) presentations. What's missing is any form of controversy or debate! It is curious that a lot of the titles indicate that some sort of convergence is going on - but in the end the split between radio, TV and mobile could not be more pronounced.

I know where most of the trade and traffic will be this year - in yet another trade show at the Singapore Expo. It has the grand title of The International Interactive, Digital Media & Entertainment Exhibition & Conference (InteractiveDME) Confused? You will be. Any outsider can see this is eventually going to go wrong.

I am also amazed at how late the Broadcast Asia exhibition itself opens - 1030 AM. At least they have improved the shuttle bus system to bring people to the exhibition centre before the conference starts - that wasn't the case when I was there last. The Singapore exhibition centre is a long way out of the centre of the city (35 minutes in the bus during rush hour).

I am afraid that Singapore is in danger of losing business to China (who have their own broadcast trade shows like BIRT, later this year because of the Olympics) and the excellent SMPTE show in Sydney, the latter being better than many of the shows we see in Europe and North America. Why is that? They don't talk about convergence - they show it has already happened.

Organized anti-West tagging campaign

Looking through applications like Skype, it is interesting to see that some people put anti-western media slogans in their profiles. I wonder if this part of an orchestrated campaign, perhaps with government approval? Certainly the international Chinese channels like CCTV9 are on an offensive during the run-up to the Olympics.

Reboot 10 is on

Crowds at Reboot 2007
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

Delighted to discover via Twitter (thanks Nicole) that Reboot 10 will be happening in Copenhagen June 26-27th 2008. This is one of 5 core "don't miss" events if you're interested in social networks and how technology is related to lifestyles. Great bunch of people at Reboot 9. I only wish the website would continue the conversation throughout the year. But it seems to freeze.

Twitter - The Numbers

After some initial relunctance, I find myself using Twitter (and associated apps) quite often. Its impossible to explain to others not on Twitter why it is interesting - and I confess that the people I follow changes - I'm following people who share ideas, not just their geographical position and what they are ingesting at that moment. This Techcrunch article has more on the number of Twitter users. Had faith in the Jaiku guys but since Google bought them its silent. I see that they are having software issues in scaling the service, which may mean going back to the drawing board with a different software platform.

Blessed My Soul!

Now that's fast. Watched the actor Brian Blessed hosting "Have I Got News for You" on BBC 1 last night. He was brilliant - my God what a voice and quick fire wit. Immediately afterwards I checked the web to find out a bit more on what he's up to these days and came across his Wikipedia entry. To my surprise, his hosting of that episode was already part of the Wikipedia entry. Must have made the same impact on someone else too. Will definitely record the extended repeat at 22:00 - 22:40 (UK time) on BBC-2 tonight.

Facebook - the reality

One of the better sketches about Facebook, produced for the BBC 3 channel in the UK. If you use Facebook, you'll recognise how stupd many of the functions are in the real world. Do you really poke friends?

Russia Today seeking viewers in Kingston

Russia Today seeking viewers in Kingston
Originally uploaded by rsambrook

Richard Sambrook spotted this taxi in London a few weeks back. In Russia itself, BBC Russian service is off the air. Wonder if locals know what it is...and how they can receive it?

Schiphol Slowdown - Grab & Curse?

Schiphol is getting less of a nice airport for the business traveller. The prices of parking at Amsterdam's international airport have gone up again, and although Privium parking has been increased, you pay a premium for being able to park close to the terminal. But what really annoys me is the increased arrogance of the concession stands, especially catering on the second floor of the D-wing. In order to keep staff to a minimum, they have to make the coffee and ring the till. There is no real incentive to speed up when there is a queue and you can be assured that when you want to catch a flight, there will be three people in front of you that want to pay with a credit-card or in Danish Kroner. The queues get longer and longer....it's crazy. These are not diamonds - it's just coffee. Keep off the tea - you queue for 10 minutes for a paper cup full of hot water and your choice of some tea-bag. The Dutch don't do milk in the tea and never resort to "coffee-milk", its like wartime evaporated milk - great for puddings, just plain HORRIBLE in tea.

Laughing in a Foreign Language

Laughing in a Foreign Language
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

Seen at Paddington underground station. Wish I could go sometime. Great title

Bonn in Oxford

Bonn in Oxford
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

Wonder if Deutsche Welle, the German external broadcaster, has anything to do with this? Bonn Sq is apparently coming soon to the centre of Oxford. UPDATE: No, it seems that Bonn and Oxford have been twinned as cities long before DW existed (and of course it has only recently moved from Koeln to Bonn- see comments

America's Duplicate Diplomacy

Apart from quite clear duplication with some of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty services with Voice of America, it would seem there are more parts of the US public diplomacy machine that want to get into the act of communicating America's story to the world. What is this for goodness sake? Podcasts, Video, arts, science....Madness...

Transformers and Shortwave

DSC07493
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

Picked up a Blu Ray version of Transformers - mainly to test the special effects on a plasma screen and a new sound system. I get the impression one of the screen writers must be a shortwave radio enthusiast - at one point they are using Morse code when regular communications fail and what look like 27 MHz walkie-talkies to communicate. Brilliant film - soundtrack too.

DSC07496
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

what indeed?

DSC07497
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

Shortwave is clearly past tense in this film!

NAB Figures Decline

Official NAB2008 attendance figures going into last week’s event were down from 2007. According to the broadcast trade association, 105,250 people registered to attend NAB2008. A total of 111,028 people attended last year’s convention. They recorded 28,310 international attendees at NAB2008, setting an all-time record for the convention. A total of 1296 members of the media also attended this year’s event.

Noticeably absent from the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center were Avid Technology and Apple, as were the massive crowds, which during the past couple of conventions spilled out of the Apple booth causing serious congestion in the main aisle. People I spoke to (gave it a miss myself this year) said the radio hall was rather like a museum, mainly codec and microphone manufacturers. "It was full of the past, and not very confident about the long-term future. HD-Radio in its current form isn't taking off despite publicity".

I wonder whether NAB will eventually go the way of Comdex, or simply split up into smaller regional shows.

What were they thinking? Crashes

Nice series of crashes to liven up a Monday morning. This is one of the videos I use before I start presenting at conferences - I need some video and sound to test the equipment.

Microsoft Table Interface

See more media videos at CollegeHumor

Actually, the interface looks rather cool in a TV studio, but I don't see it in the living room for a while.

ForumOxford Mobile Meeting -April 18th 2008

This meeting is happening and has developed into a fascinating one-day session. Hope to meet some readers there.

NBC Tech Support

This is old, but still funny. Saw it live when it aired, now bumped in to it on YouTube.

BBC News Revamp

Seems the BBC is rolling out a £550,000 rebranding exercise that will result in Saturn-style spheres parading across television screens at home and abroad and colour-coded opening titles for news bulletins in England, Scotland and Wales.

The move is part of the broadcaster’s biggest attempt yet to repackage its core output. As part of the changes, News 24, its rolling news channel, is being renamed BBC News. The corporation will rebrand BBC World, their international news channel, as BBC World News. Viewers will be able to judge the new look for themselves on April 21.

The BBC revamp is aimed at unifying its news output – across television, radio and the internet - with a consistent, recognisable look. It aims to connect regional, national and international news programmes through a common brand.

There will be new opening titles for shows on the main channels, such as the BBC1 10 O’Clock News. Instead of a red globe on a black background, audiences will see a globe surrounded by pulsating rings, reminiscent of the planet Saturn, set against a white backdrop.

Regional news bulletins will follow a similar format but will have splashes of blue in the opening titles in Scotland, green in Wales and white in news programmes across England, such as Look North and Midlands Today.

The 10 O’Clock and One O’Clock News programmes will share a new “crisp and modern” studio with the BBC’s rolling news channel – placing presenters such as Huw Edwards and Fiona Bruce behind a more formal oval-shaped desk.

The £550,000 cost of the BBC’s latest revamp of its news output is a bargain compared with previous rebranding exercises. In 2006, the broadcaster spent £1.2m on eight short clips based around a circle theme to link shows on BBC1. A clip featuring a surfer was shot on location in Mexico, while another so-called “ident” of fishermen piecing together a giant moon was filmed in Croatia.

The clips replaced a series of BBC1 idents from 2002 featuring Bollywood dancers and tangoing couples which cost £700,000.

Last year, BBC2 splashed out another £700,000 on 14 promotional clips lasting less than four minutes in total.

The idents featured the number 2 in a variety of settings to show the channel as a “window on the world”. Three were shot in South Africa because film-makers said they needed sunny weather.

Extracts above were taken from this Sunday Times article.

There is a great site with an overview of all the previous BBC idents. I really hope they don't go back to the old rings (above) which reminded me of Nazi SS insignia (see below). And I wonder how this latest move to "BBC World News" will affect the feature programmes currently on BBC World. Will they have to be more of a "news" magazine feel? BBC World has been taken off the cable system here in this part of the Netherlands. They couldn't agree on payments apparently.

More C5 clips

Seems there are more unmistakeably German spin offs popping up on You-tube. There's an interview with Klaus


Wilhelm



and who could forget Ursula. Could have been written by the Top Gear script writers.

Symantec Downsizes

I see that Symantec Corp, has recently laid off an undisclosed number of workers around the globe, a company spokeswoman said today.

"As part of our ongoing focus on managing operational expenses, Symantec has recently implemented some restructuring measures, including a reduction in force," said company spokeswoman Yunsun Wee to Reuters. "We're not releasing information on the size or the scope."

Symantec, which has about 17,000 employees, had laid off some 570 workers in its fiscal third quarter, which ended Dec 31, according to its most-recent quarterly filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The company has yet to provide financial data for its fiscal fourth quarter.

I got the impression that Norton Internet Security packages were getting slower and slower - and I got fed up with the forced upgrade every two years. A lot of bloatware which I finally dumped when the subscription ran out. Now using Kaspersky which seems to buzz along fine - in the background. What a relief!

Flytunes Flies

Been playing with Flytunes free software, which puts a selection of about 200 radio stations onto an iPod Touch or Iphone. FlyTunes Inc. was originally founded in 2006 as BroadClip Inc and changed its name in January 2008. The company has offices in Livermore, California and Lancaster Pennslyvania. Curiously, stations have to sign up NOT to be included in the system. You need your device to connect to the web via wifi, at least on the iPod Touch.

In addition to the FlyTunes mobile content network, FlyTunes provides its patent-pending Hurricane streamcasting infrastructure to online broadcasters worldwide.

Brilliant Citroen

Great ad campaign. This must win some prizes in 2008!

Easter in Holland

Easter in Holland
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

If you see what I mean....

Easter in Holland

Easter in Holland
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks

Just looking through a sequence of photos I made at Easter this year. The weather in the garden changed from spring...back into winter within the space of 20 minutes

No Cannes Do

I decided to give MIP-MILIA a miss this year. It's a sea of content buyers, most of whom have little feel for quality - it's simply a question of buying in tons of stuff for your struggling TV network at the lowest possible price. If you're on the content creation side, stay away from MIP, you'll leave totally disallusioned. Compared to other venues in Europe, Cannes is defintely pricing itself out of the market and the TV industry has nothing to celebrate at the moment - what with the US writers strike and falling audiences. I think we seeing the slow death of many giant media exhibitions and conferences, especially as it is so difficult to measure effectiveness. The standard of keynote speeches in Cannes, at least, has really gone down, so it is less and less relevant.

Burn TV stations to the ground

Not quite, but he's right about what you could do with the vastly inflated salaries they pay newscasters in the US. Michael Rosenblum at the RTNDA conference in April last year. He teaches VJ and CamJo courses.

US Radio Wanes

This analysis is one of the best I've seen on the challenges facing radio in the US - much of it applies on this side of the pond too.

News remains an important part of what was once simply called radio. In many ways, indeed, the tradition of listening to the news — aural transmission is the original way people got news — is among the most enduring.

But the radio business is undergoing no less of a revolution than any other part of media. The audience is fragmenting across new listening platforms. The revenue models are unclear, and which technology will emerge is uncertain.

What we once knew as radio is now something more complex and in many ways more interesting. In addition to the AM and FM dials, now there is satellite, HD, Internet, MP3s, podcasting, and increasingly, cell phones.

In 2007, the audience for traditional radio continued to slip some. But AM/FM listening still reached 93% of the population over 12 years old, down less than two percentage points overall since 2000.

At the same time, the audiences for new audio continue to grow. The numbers are still small. And it may be that a technology that has not yet become a major factor — cell phones — could in the end be a dominant one. Much more change, in other words, is to come.

Tons more (with charts) here

Ireland's Medium Wave Goodbye

Enjoyed listened to a Monday lunchtime programme on RTE, a programme which was the last show to be broadcast on mediumwave in Ireland....RTE has closed down the network. Since the FM network has been there since the mid-sixties, I think that's long enough for a switch-over. Now its switch-off.

RTE's broadcasts began life on the MW service as 2RN, later known as
Radio Athlone and Raidió Éireann, and in more recent times as RTÉ
Radio 1. RTÉ introduced the superior sound of the FM service in 1966
to counteract interference and poor reception on the mediumwave band. Now, RTE has pulled the plug on mediumwave (though longwave 252 kHz is still there, partly because of the spillover into Northern Ireland and the UK Mainland.

For Medium Wave Goodbye, presenter and producer Brendan Balfe assembled a superb programme highlighting some of his favourite moments on Irish radio. Brendan promises an entertaining and fascinating 90 minutes of memories of a service which has brought the world into homes all over Ireland since 1926, capturing moments of
history and life through decades of news, sport, features and entertainment. The programme includes archive audio of request programmes, pop and trad music, features, documentaries and commentaries - as well as references to shortlived Shortwave Service from Athlone.

More here at the special RTE page. The audio show is available on line until March 31st 2008.

Global Switch Off- For an Hour - March 29th

Sunday 8pm (local time), the Earth Hour experiment will go global, backed by WWF. Copenhagen is the only city in Europe to take the plunge. Why not London, Paris or Amsterdam? http://www.earthhour.org

Newspaper Sites Beat the Broadcasters - But Why?

Having just done a study for a client, I must admit most newspaper websites are significantly better than broadcast sites, usually because of the quality of the story-telling. There are some exceptions. I think the NOS, BBC and DR are examples of public broadcasters who do provide depth to their on-line presence, doing more than just repurposing a TV story. But the vast majority of radio and TV sites are just trying to persuade you to switch off the monitor and go and look at their station's output. Golden Raspberry Prizes for the most disappointing websites? Radio France Internationale - a 130 million Euro operation with a truly terrible website. Al Jazeera English gets my vote for the most disappointing TV website. There is great, unique material on their TV service - you try and find it on the web!

This excellent post (as usual) from Cory Bergman of Lost Remote confirms my findings - she just says it better.

Better reporting and writing. Simple as that,” writes Harry Jessell in TVNewsday, who points out the obvious that nearly all local TV sites lack the depth and breadth of newspaper sites. But what about video? “That’s fine. But unless the news clips contain some really compelling video, I just as soon read about it on the newspaper website. A still photo of a fire or accident is sometimes just as good as video—sometimes better,” he writes.

He’s right. A vast majority of a local TV site’s visitors are still reading text and looking at slide shows, not watching video — 80% or more, in my own experience. Strategically, video is still critically important, but TV sites will never compete with newspapers (on average) unless the quality and quantity of text coverage and photos improve.

There are two root problems, as we’ve written about many times before. The first is the fact that broadcast scripts are not appropriate to read online. They must be rewritten, usually by a web producer because the reporter A) “doesn’t have time” or B) can’t write. From a financial perspective, the time rewriting this script is a wasted cost. Reporters should write their own web stories — multiple updates throughout the day if needed — following AP style. (The only exception is breaking news against deadline, but they should be communicating new developments.)

The second is the misguided notion that a TV station’s web staff is there just to repurpose TV stories with a few extras here and there. As a result, TV sites are oppressively heavy on crime/fires/accidents and feature thin TV versions of newspaper and AP stories. Weekly franchise segments are just clutter — they’re not produced frequently enough to sustain their respective content sections online. And many TV-designed sweeps stories look silly when rewritten for the web. Oh, but there’s video!

Web staffs should be producing their own original content — not long features or investigative pieces (for now), but topical, wire-style stories (and slide shows, snappy blog posts and data-driven content) that fill the gaps left by TV coverage. What gaps, you say? On a daily basis, TV ignores stories that 1) have boring video 2) are too far away 3) don’t fit the story mix of a newscast 4) can’t be covered because of a lack of resources… etc. But an enterprising web producer can pick up the phone and turn a one-page story in an hour or two.

To get there, stations must shift more human resources to the web. “If stations intend to stay in that game and challenge the newspapers for local dominance, they had better start beefing up their stable of local editors, reporters and columnists—and showcasing them,” writes Jessell. “Perhaps it’s time to raid the newspaper for talent rather than another station.”

Good advice. Because TV sites can’t depend on breaking news, video and weather coverage to stay competitive in the months and years to come. Newspapers are getting faster at breaking news, and they’re starting to shoot video. Weather is gradually slipping away to portals and other pure plays. And online advertisers are hungry for categories like health, travel and sports. If local TV sites want to excel in the years to come, they have to take it to the next level. And expanded coverage is one place to start.

Team Tibet

This website is already banned in China (I think because of remarks I made about Chinese jamming of foreign broadcasts), so this entry isn't going to change much. But I must admit I laughed out loud when I heard that yesterday three Reporters Without Borders' representatives had unfurled a banner showing the Olympic rings transformed into handcuffs at the official Olympic torch-lighting ceremony in Olympia Greece. There were all kinds of protests when Bush visited London a while back. But in Greece, the RSF guys were arrested and then freed on bail pending their trial, which has been scheduled for 29 May at 9:00 a.m. in Pyrgos (50 miles from Olympia).

But here's the incredible part of the story. They are charged with having "shown contempt for national symbols." By virtue of Article 361 of the Greek Penal Code, they could be sentenced to a year in prison as well as having to pay a fine.

RSF has responded. "This is an absurd and senseless charge. By making that gesture, we were in no way attacking the Olympic spirit, or Greece. We were simply protesting against the policy being carried out in China during this period of intensifying repression. We also wanted to use the threat of boycotting the Games' opening ceremony, an initiative we support, and encourage the International Olympic Committee to urge the Chinese government to respect human rights, as called for under the Olympic Charter," the organization asserted.

The Reporters Without Borders' three representatives are due to arrive back in Paris in a few hours time. I'm curious to hear what they will say at the press conference. It just goes to show you how three people can grab headlines in most countries of the world. Except China, of course. Has anyone noticed how CCTV9, the international service of Chinese TV, has been dumbed down in the run up the Olympics? A few years ago it was at least talking about problems in China and things been done to tackle them. Now it slipped back into being a slow, sugar-coated hand-clap for Beijing - which makes it intensely boring TV.

Playing with Picasa Webpages