Media News - Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Australia may get much needed broadband network

Australia could be a step closer to building a high-speed broadband network after the government canceled a deal for a rural system that would have overlapped with the one planned nationwide. The scrapping of the rural network plan, which was to cost AUD 958m (EUR 564m), came as the government planned to invite bids for a national network as early as next week. It is offering AUD 4.7bn (EUR 2.7bn)in financing, which it wants the winning business to match. Australia has slower and more expensive Internet access than many other developed countries, and though usage rates are on a par, officials and experts have warned that Australia may fall behind in competitiveness without faster, nationwide coverage. The government wants 98 percent of Australian homes to have high-speed Internet access in the next five years; around 64 percent have broadband now. The vast distances in Australia and the often inhospitable terrain make full accessibility difficult. (Reuters via International Herald Tribune)

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Buddhist monks interrupt press tour

Buddhist monks have again disrupted a carefully controlled Chinese government media tour of their monasteries. The official Xinhua News agency says a group of monks at the Labrang monastery in western Gansu province interrupted the event, but it soon resumed. The incident follows a similar interruption two weeks ago, when monks screamed that there was no religious freedom in Tibet during a government media tour of Lhasa. No details of Wednesday's disruption were given. The Associated Press was not invited to participate in the trip. (AP via ABC News)

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Tighter media rules for Tonga election

Tonga's government-controlled broadcaster has introduced new restrictions on political content ahead of this month's general election. The Tonga Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) said that due to a variety of complaints, none of their staff would be allowed to host any election programs. Any pre-recorded election material already created cannot be broadcast as is, and must be reprocessed by the board and management of the TBC, according to the Matangi Tonga website. The board is chaired by the Tonga's current prime minister, Dr Feleti Sevele. The South Pacific nation, in which King George Tupou V directly hand-picks many MPs including all government ministers, has come under fire in the past for its treatment of media. (Sydney Morning Herald)

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Russian White House limits reporters to press room, toilets

Under new rules introduced Monday, journalists are no longer free to walk around the Russian White House meeting government officials. Reporters are now limited to the White House press center and the neighboring bathrooms, and to reach the press center from the building's entrance they must be accompanied by security personnel, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported. From now on, they will only be allowed to meet officials in scheduled briefings or to ask questions by fax or e-mail, RBC Daily reported, citing Anton Vaino, deputy head of the White House administration. Previously, reporters accredited to cover the White House could roam the corridors and hold unscheduled meetings with officials. The new rules resemble the ones that have long applied to the Kremlin press pool. Media reports suggested that the new rules were linked to the imminent arrival of Vladimir Putin, who is expected to become prime minister and move to the White House in May. (Moscow Times)

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Indonesia blocks access to YouTube over anti-Koran film

At least four Indonesian firms providing Internet services have blocked access to the YouTube Web site for carrying a Dutch lawmaker's film that accuses the Koran of inciting violence, an information ministry official said on Tuesday. The move follows a government ban on broadcasts of the film by Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch anti-immigration Freedom Party, which alternates images of the September 11, 2001 attacks and other Islamist bombings with quotations from the Koran. An information ministry spokesman, said telecommunication firms PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom), PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel) and PT Exelcomindo Pratama Tbk, and Internet provider Indonet had blocked access to YouTube. Telekom also blocked social networking site MySpace and is still looking for other sites and blogs that have posted the film to block them, according to a statement by the vice-president for public and marketing communication. (Reuters)

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Google Earth adds ‘New York Times’ layer

Google has partnered with The New York Times to allow users to track the news geographically in a layer on Google Earth. The Times layer is updated every 15 minutes by pulling new stories from NYTimes.com. The layer includes articles from the last 30 days. Users can follow the news by location and section. Items on the layer are mapped based on place names given to each article when it is uploaded to NYTimes.com. The items include headlines and the first paragraph with links back to the full story or that particular section. (Editor and Publisher)

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