Media News - Friday, August 29, 2008

Veoh wins copyright protections

Video-sharing service Veoh has been granted copyright immunity in a case that could influence other video services. A US district court judge ruled that the video site qualified for protection under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and could not be sued for copyright infringement. The site had been sued by adult video studio Io Group, which claimed that Veoh violated its copyright in 2006 when the site displayed user-uploaded clips from ten of its films. The judge, however, sided with Veoh, ruling that the site had complied sufficiently with DMCA terms and should be awarded safe harbor from legal action. Though it is commonly used as a vehicle for copyright owners to order video takedowns, the DMCA also provides protection for video sites in certain cases where it is deemed that the site is making an effort to protect copyright, but cannot completely control user uploads. (VNU Net)

Canadian journalism student raped in France as she reported on illegals: official

A Canadian journalism student was raped in an isolated forest in northern France as she reported on a makeshift camp housing illegal immigrants trying to get to Britain, officials said Thursday. The woman - whose identity was not disclosed - went Tuesday evening to the forest nicknamed 'The Jungle' to carry out a photo reportage, said the local prosecutor's office in the port city of Calais. 'There she was the victim of a rape perpetrated by an individual who is now being sought,' it said in a statement. 'The Jungle,' which lies close to the ferry terminal in Calais, is home to hundreds of illegal immigrants looking for an opportunity to cross the English Channel into Britain and is also frequented by human traffickers. Sources close to the enquiry said 150 illegals - mostly from the Middle East - were detained by police on Wednesday and questioned, while a victims' support unit has given help to the woman, who is believed to be 31 years old. An official in the Canadian embassy in Paris said it was aware of the case, and confirmed that the woman was Canadian. The British consulate in the northern city of Lille said the woman attended a London journalism school. (AFP)

German broadcaster suspends Chinese worker

A Chinese woman working at Germany's DW-Radio has been suspended from her job following remarks she made in the media on human rights and other issues in China, the German press has reported. Four days before the opening of the Beijing Olympics, Zhang Danhong, an editor with the German broadcaster's Chinese program, reportedly said that 'The Communist Party of China has more than any political force in the world implemented Article 3 of the Declaration of Human Rights', referring to the Chinese authorities pulling more than 400 million people out of poverty. Similarly, in a TV talk show in late July, Zhang reportedly said the Chinese government had done a lot to protect local culture in Tibet and criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel for sapping relations with Beijing. The German media is said to have reacted strongly to Zhang's remarks. On Aug 11, German magazine Focus attacked Zhang as someone who was 'courting' China's Communist Party. On Aug 20, the Berliner Zeitung newspaper quoted parliamentary representative Dieter Wiefelsputz as saying that Zhang's performance was a 'catastrophe'. Two days later, the same newspaper confirmed Zhang's suspension from work. (China Daily)

Azerbaijan National Television and Radio Council to monitor regional channels

Azerbaijan's National Television and Radio Council plans to establish monitoring centres to observe the TV channels in the Azerbaijani regions, council member Gafar Jabiyev told the Azeri Press Agency. Jabiyev said that the increase of regional channels made it necessary to monitor them. The council member said the first monitoring centre would be possibly established in Gandja. The National Television and Radio Council and Gandja Executive Power have already had talks about it. Gafar Jabiyev said that National Television and Radio Council also continued monitoring all the channels broadcast in the territory of Azerbaijan. The council is expected to hold related discussions soon. (Azeri Press Agency via Media Network Weblog)

GeoEye signs deal to provide imagery to Google

GeoEye Inc on Thursday said it will provide imagery from its new USD 502m (EUR 340m) high-resolution GeoEye-1 satellite to Google Earth and Google Maps after the spacecraft is launched on September 4. GeoEye spokesman Mark Brender said the Google logo was on the first stage of the Delta II rocket that will launch the new satellite, which will provide 'the highest resolution commercial color imagery available on the market'. He said Google did not have any direct or indirect financial interest in the satellite or in GeoEye, nor did it pay to have its logo emblazoned on the rocket. If all goes well with the launch, GeoEye's new satellite will be the world's highest resolution commercial earth-imaging satellite, offering images at .41 meters resolution in black and white and 1.65 meters in color. Under current government rules, the company can only offer the public half-meter images. Google spokeswoman Kate Hurowitz said Google would begin receiving half-meter resolution imagery from the new satellite after 45 to 60 days, during which the company will make sure all the satellite's systems are up and running. (Reuters)

Sony unveils world’s slimmest 40-inch LCD TV

Sony Corp. said Thursday it will launch the world's thinnest and lightest 40-inch liquid crystal display television in November as part of the new fall and winter lineup of its popular Bravia series. The new ZX1 series has an ultraslim screen that is only 9.9 mm thick and weighs only 12.2 kg. The wireless-capable 40-inch model can also be hung on the wall, Sony said. No price has been fixed for the TV, which goes on sale in Japan on Nov. 10, and elsewhere around the world at about the same time, company officials said. Seven other new Bravia models have screen sizes ranging from 40 to 55 inches and will reach Japanese consumers as early as Oct. 10. Among the other features of the new lineup, the W1 series can better catch fast-moving images, and the XR1 series has an improved image quality with a contrast ratio of more than 1 million-to-1 that can clearly portray color differences. (Kyodo News via Japan Times)

More recent Media News:

• 28/08/08 - BBC to launch targeted web music service
• 28/08/08 - Latest Wikileaks prize for sale to the highest bidder
• 28/08/08 - NHK World TV to launch on Astra
• 28/08/08 - Air Canada looking at Internet in the sky for its passengers
• 28/08/08 - English-language newspaper to launch in Indonesia
• 28/08/08 - Korean broadcasters face sanctions for comments during Olympics
• 27/08/08 - New York Times ad sales fell 16 percent last month
• 27/08/08 - Digg, CNN start ‘Dialogg’ new program
• 27/08/08 - Google adds suggestion ability to its Web site query line
• 27/08/08 - Google sets up mobile election Web site
• 27/08/08 - Facebook shuts down Scrabulous internationally
• 27/08/08 - Soon to be available on the Web: Dead Sea Scrolls
• 26/08/08 - Turkish channels likely to broadcast in Kurdish
• 26/08/08 - Protesters lay siege to Thai television station
• 26/08/08 - Australia’s Fairfax Media cuts 550 jobs
• 26/08/08 - Revealed: Britain’s secret propaganda war against al-Qaida
• 26/08/08 - News Corp to sell Bulgarian broadcaster - official
• 26/08/08 - Web Yahoo Japan invites user editors to run news page
• 25/08/08 - Rogge urges China to keep foreign media freedoms
• 25/08/08 - IOC official praises China anti-piracy efforts
• 25/08/08 - Somali government says hunting for abducted reporters
• 25/08/08 - Indian broadcasters plan to self-regulate content
• 25/08/08 - A different way to pay for the news you want
• 25/08/08 - The Obama SMS: (Un-)gratifying instantification

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