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The digital leap good for journalists, not DJs
“Need fresh blood”
Most European public broadcasters have taken the mighty leap into digital radio. The process started in the richest countries, generally, with the richest public broadcasters and well before the Great Recession of 2008. Digital radio uptake in Central and Eastern Europe has been slower.
Poland’s public radio broadcaster Polskie Radio this week added DAB+ to its platform compliment. Its two main national channels – general interest Jedynka and eclectic music Trójka – have better than 90% national digital coverage, classical music and arts channel Dwójka 60% and youth-oriented educational channel Czwórka just under 20%, mostly in metropolitan areas. All-news channel Radio 24, previously available only on the web, is on the Warsaw local DAB+ multiplex. The 17 regional public stations will progress to DAB+ over the next year. (See more on digital radio here)
“We have a chance to become the forerunners in this field in Central and Eastern Europe,” said Polski Radio president Andrzej Siezieniewski, quoted by wirtualnemedia.pl (October 2). Media regulator KRRiT has offered additional financial support. Mr. Andrzej Siezieniewski said the total cost is between PLN 30 and 40 million (€7-9.5 million). Once analogue simulcasting ends, no deadline suggested, transmission costs will drop about 40%. (See more on media in Poland here)
Moving to the DAB+ platform opens the possibility of new radio channels as the FM band “has been exhausted,” explained Mr. Siezieniewski. And that could mean hiring. “We need a supply of fresh blood,” he said. He’ll be looking for journalists; “graduates who have gained experience at student radio stations, young people who are eager to use their skills.”
He’s not looking for show hosts. “Once it was a very large group who led the programs,” he explained, “but since we started to make programs run by journalists the demand for announcers has fallen. Today we have only a few teachers and, indeed, the whole (structure) is led by journalists. Changes in production, and also radio, means this type of personnel change must occur.” (JMH)
Summer listening: less news, more oldies
Remember the sun
Ah, summer! For some it’s already a distant memory. But the dutiful researchers at French audience measurement institute Médiamétrie reminded us that people in that holiday mood – or not – were listening to the radio in July and August, the traditional French holiday months. Indeed, overall listening levels were up year on year to 77.0% of the population and they were listening a bit longer – two hours and 56 minutes per day.
But the summer months don’t seem to change listening habits in France that much. Comparisons with the regular quarterly surveys are not recommended as the summer sample size is much smaller. As such, RTL is still the most listened to national channel, gathering 11.7% market share, considerably higher than the 10.8% market share in the summer of 2012. News-heavy national public channel France Inter and all-news France Info were lower year on year. Regional public network France Bleu was up on aggregate to 7.0% market share from 6.4%. Europe 1 was also up, biggest increase of any national channel, to 7.7% market share form 6.7%. News and sports channel RMC was also up, to 6.4% market share. (See France national radio audience summer market share trend chart here)
Most of the national music channels changed very little: NRJ with 6.8% and Nostalgie 4.8%. If we were to compare – but of course we won’t – the Nostalgie market share appears higher during the summer months that the rest of the year. Oldies. Beach music. Pop oldies channel RFM scored 3.4% market share, up from 2.7% year on year. Rap channel Skyrock and dance channel Fun Radio were both lower, reflective of trends from the regular surveys.
The Médiamétrie team also takes a peek at the listening level differences between the folks who stayed home during the summer and those on holiday. Vacationers listened far less. (JMH)
Balkans media group expands, maybe
understand the “sensitivity”
The colorful owner of Western Balkans media house Pink Media Group, Zeljko Mitrovic, appears to be finally entering the Croatian market, according to local reports. Pink Group Croatia (PGH) was registered last week as a business in Zadar, Croatia by radio station Antena Zadar managing director Franko Pavic. Mr. Mitrovic attempted to buy Croatian television channels in 2008 but the deal fell through “for political reasons,” he said, quoted by Croatian daily Slobodna Dalmacija (September 28).
“Pink Group Croatia includes a web portal, Antena Zadar, a PR company by the same name and TV Antena Zadar,” explained Mr. Pavic, who added that relations with Mr. Mitrovic are “good and friendly” but “not formalized. Nothing has been signed. I am the owner of PGH, not Mitrovic.” The web portal carries the distinctive TV Pink logo. (See more on media in Croatia here)
“I am aware of the sensitivity of this cooperation considering TV Pink is originally from Serbia,” he continued. “I am confident that with time people will not be interested in who the owner is.” Pink Media Group owns and operates television and radio channels along with various web portals in Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Montenegro. The company also owns a film studio, record label and an executive jet service. (JMH)
TV news misses “complex reality”
personalities and protests lead
Television news in Spain failed to explain the “complex reality” of the country’s economic crisis, said an academic study from the Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR). The four main networks – RTV, Antena 3, Cuatro and Telecinco – focused much of their news coverage on conflict rather than substance. Slightly more than half (54%) of viewers interviewed for the study said the media contributed nothing to their understanding.
"The issues of most concern to viewers are not appearing in the media,” said lead researcher Erika Fernández, who noted recent downsizing in Spain’s media sector. “The Spanish care most about unemployment, education and health.” The report criticized television news networks for concentrating on protests and personalities while affected groups were “relegated to allusions.” (See more on TV news here)
Researchers from UNIR’s Observatorio Audiovisual de Identidades analyzed the four channel’s newscasts broadcast between April and June last year then interviewed a sample of TV news viewers. (JMH)
Journalist stuck in Russian airport
Another transit lounge story
Only in novels and movies is the life of a foreign correspondent truly glamorous. Traveling spot to spot means tackling the indelicacies of airports, taxies and fast food. Sometimes that, in itself, becomes a story.
Fehim Tastekin, foreign editor for Turkey’s Radikal newspaper, set out from Istanbul last week to attend a conference about Abkazia. When he flew into the Sochi, Russia airport authorities told him he could not proceed into the Russian Federation. A five-year ban on his entry had been issued.
“I’m stuck,” he tweeted, reported by gazeteciler.com (September 28). “Russia has banned me entering the country. I can’t leave the Sochi airport.” Russian authorities would only allow him to return to Istanbul via the next direct flight from Sochi. That would be this morning (September 30).
Mr. Tastekin had, however, written a rather unflattering article earlier this month about security measures in Sochi ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, calling the city a “concentration camp.”
“This is the only thing I can think of that might irk Russia,” he said, quoted by Hurriyet (September 29). “The Russian media often interviews me. If there was uneasiness, I wouldn’t have guessed it. But the work of Russian intelligence is hard to understand.” (JMH)
Ad spending still falling but could be worse
Less is less
Ad spending figures were lower by 4.6% for the first half 2013 from France Pub and IREP compared with the same period last year. Ad business watchers were pleased. They’d expected worse.
Still spiraling downward is ad spending in the French print sector, off 8.5% to €1.448 billion. This compares to an 8.1% decline posted for the first half 2012 compared with 2011. Specialized print, national dailies and free sheets were hardest hit, regional newspapers not so bad. IREP forecasts a full year drop of print advertising of 7.1% over 2012. (See more on media in France here)
Television advertising declined 6.6% over the first half 2012. Spending on outdoor and radio were slightly down, 1.4% and 1.3% respectively.
Digital advertising in France was, of course, up. Internet search ads, the biggest part of the digital ad pie, were estimated as €826 million, up 5%. Fastest growing, albeit from a very small base, was mobile display ads, up 40% to €29 million.
Also last week French audience measurement institute Médiamétrie reported first half television viewing – traditional TV only, no mobiles or smartphones – down 4 minutes per day on average to 3 hours 55 minutes. French people are spending but 15 minutes per day watching TV on those non-traditional devices.
New national program launched ahead of government meeting
Music and sports
The newly redesigned and significantly downsized Greek public broadcasting system hurriedly opened a radio channel called First Program last Thursday (September 26) using FM frequencies of the former ERT. Coverage includes major metropolitan areas. Officially the program output is to consist of talk shows, music and hourly news bulletins, reported news.gr (September 27), but Greek media watchers heard mostly music and sports news. (See more on media in Greece here)
Apparently, the Greek government needed to demonstrate progress on the new public broadcasting system ahead of a Friday (September 27) meeting of the Council of State with POSPERT, the ERT employees union that is appealing the government decision to close ERT. Results from that meeting have not been forthcoming, many media watchers complaining of government secrecy. Ex-ERT employees continue to produce radio programs streamed on the web. (JMH)
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