MALAWI

Human rights group faults MACRA on media freedom

[Gregory Gondwe] The human rights arm of the Livingstonia Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian has said the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) is denying the people their right to freedom of expression and media freedom by not issuing out operating licences to prospective TV and radio operators. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Standard Bank HIV/Aids programme benefits thousands

Standard Bank's HIV/Aids programmes have touched the lives of an estimated 160 000 Standard Bank employees and their families, says Sim Tshabalala, the bank's chief executive. Read more >>

AFRICA

African Bureau of Conventions joins ICCA

The African Bureau of Conventions has announced that it has been accepted as a member of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). ICCA's network of approximately 900 suppliers to the international meetings industry has members in 86 countries. Read more >>

AFRICA

New Africa Analysis hits SA shelves

The UK-based New Africa Analysis, a fortnightly magazine on progressive Africa, launched on Monday, 11 October 2010 in South Africa with 10,000 copies of the first issue printed and made available. Read more >>

AFRICA

Elections in Africa: BBC, CNN in the dock

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] BBC and CNN stand accused of providing 'dishonest', 'euro-centrist' and 'personalised' coverage of African elections, which totally misses the point and fails to connect with the real issues on the ground. This emerged at the Media and Elections in Africa two-day conference held this week at Wits University in Johannesburg, South Africa. Read more >>

AFRICA

Elections in Africa: can media do the right thing?

[Issa Sikiti da Silva] With the SABC and e.tv scoring 45% and 47% respectively in covering the ruling ANC politics during the 2009 elections, compared to 12% and 14% respectively for the opposition DA, and a number of other media also dedicating most of their resources to cover ANC politics, some observers wonder whether this is fair practice or done at the expense of socio-economic issues and the 'other' parties. Read more >>

EGYPT

Egypt media needs permit for SMS news

CAIRO: The telecommunications regulator is asking Egyptian news services to obtain a licence before sending news alerts in cellphone text messages, newspapers reported on Tuesday (12 October 2010). Read more >>

MALAWI

Malawi: Court stops MACRA from revoking G-Mobile licence

[Gregory Gondwe] Malawi's Zomba High Court has given G-Mobile a flicker of hope as it has stopped the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) from revoking the mobile service providers licence until the matter is heard before the court. Read more >>

AFRICA

2010 WSSR criticises social science expertise

Huge inequalities in international research capabilities and knowledge fragmentation hamper the capacity of social sciences to contribute answers to global challenges of today and tomorrow. This is one of the many criticisms against the social sciences, according to the 2010 World Social Science Report (WSSR) launched for the first time in South Africa on Monday, 11 October 2010. Read more >>

AFRICA

Balancing Act updates broadcast reports list

Balancing Act, a research house focused on broadcast, telecoms and internet markets in Africa, has updated its list of reports in the broadcast and film segment. The most successful report so far, according to Balancing Act is the African Pay TV report. Read more >>

AFRICA

2010 African Economic Conference set for Tunis

Tunis: The 2010 African Economic Conference (AEC), jointly organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), will take place 27-29 October in Tunis, Tunisia. This year's conference theme will be 'Setting the agenda for Africa's economic recovery and long term growth'. Read more >>

UNITED KINGDOM

Join free FIPP webinar to discuss adapting magazines

LONDON, UK: The latest generation of digital magazines are making the leap from computer screens to mobile and tablet devices. But which platforms are bound to succeed and which are destined for failure? Read more >>

UNITED KINGDOM

Protect your digital brand against Twitter

[Howard Scott] LONDON, UK: A digital brand is the collective impression of all that is online about a person or a business, including your own, and it is important in establishing and building customer trust and loyalty. Increasingly, businesses use popular social networking sites such as Twitter to encompass their digital brand. Read more >>

UNITED STATES

Global ad spend on the rise

NEW YORK, US: Global ad spend increased 12.8%* in the first six months of 2010 when compared with the same period in 2009 and totalled 238 billion USD - driven by booming emerging markets and a return to double-digit ad spending in automotive, durables, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), financial services, and telecommunications. Read more >>