ASIA

A new RNZ scholarship programme, established with support from NZ On Air, that aims to reduce the financial burden associated with a postgraduate degree in journalism for students of Asian heritage has its first recipients, with Nabeelah Khan (of Fiji-Indian descent) and Chengqi (Mavis) Ye (of Chinese descent) set to receive up to $8000 for payment of one year’s fees and a two-week internship/work experience at RNZ.Applicants were asked to complete a short essay detailing the current state of Asian representation in New Zealand media and identify specific ways they can increase and/or improve media contributions about and for Asian communities in New Zealand.Nabeelah Khan is in the third year of a Bachelor of Communication Studies at Auckland University of Technology, majoring in journalism with minors in screen production and psychology. Khan said rectifying the imbalance of Asian representation in New Zealand media was crucial.“A key challenge with representing Asian narratives within New Zealand’s mainstream media is the difference in communication styles,” she wrote. “Asian cultures tend to follow a collectivist framework as opposed to the individualistic framework that Westernised cultures are accustomed to.”The second scholarship recipient, Chengqi (Mavis) Ye, who is completing a Master of Communication Studies at Auckland University of Technology this year and is a contributor to BusinessDesk, working collaboratively on investigations into the exploitation of Chinese workers, said mistrust was an issue with reporting on and for the Chinese community.“Due to the strict news environment in China, they are not accustomed to seeking help from journalists,” she wrote. “We need more Chinese journalists to listen to Chinese voices, establish connections with them and make them understand the power of the media.” The scholarship is part of the RNZ Asia service, launched in July 2023 and co-funded with NZ On Air, as part of a new initiative to speak to and report on issues in the growing Asian communities of New Zealand.Elliott Samuels who heads the RNZ Asia unit said the continued success of these new channels depended on a continual pathway of promising Asian journalists coming into the industry.“While Asian New Zealanders made up 15 percent of the New Zealand population at the 2018 census, they make up less than 5 percent of New Zealand journalists, suggesting that they are underrepresented in the industry,” he said. “The scholarships aim to remove financial barriers that might deter some in the community who would instead choose to work in other industries.” NZ On Air says it is pleased to see the scholarship initiative increasing meaningful representation in local news media.“It’s vital that stories are told by, for and about all audiences in Aotearoa. Genuine representation in our democracy is only achievable when communities have a strong voice in the fourth estate,” said NZ On Air Head of Funding Amie Mills.Former RNZ News Foreign Editor Graeme Acton now heads the Asia Media Centre, part of the Asia New Zealand Foundation in Wellington. He says the issue of finding and retaining journalists from Asian backgrounds is vital for a strong and diverse news media in this country.“The Asia Media Centre is right behind this initiative, breaking down the financial issue that has in the past often prevented these students from progressing into post-graduate journalism study,” he said.“We need these voices in our media, now and in the future. This scholarship programme is a vital step in that process.”  […]

GatesAir, a Thomson Broadcast subsidiary dedicated to wireless content delivery, will introduce a new Intraplex software release to help broadcast networks and content syndicators efficiently manage local ad insertions through Intraplex Audio over IP and cloud networking systems. The new targeted advertising capabilities, fueled through precise metadata triggers enabled within the software, offer a compelling new reason for broadcasters to transition out of the satellite space and embrace the benefits of the cloud for bulk audio transport. GatesAir will demonstrate the new software release, available in June, at NAB Show 2024 in Las Vegas next week. GatesAir exhibits at W2730.The new software capabilities are supported on the Intraplex Ascent cloud platform and IP Link 100c, 100e and 100n Audio over IP codec solutions. GatesAir introduced Intraplex Ascent in 2019 to reduce the costs of multichannel contribution and distribution between many locations. Ascent builds in all of the features that Intraplex IP Link Audio over IP codecs are valued for and reimagines them for enterprise-level deployments that benefit from scalable, IT-oriented architectures. For broadcasters using satellite for bulk transport today, moving to a cloud platform such as Ascent means much lower long-term costs and greater control of the operation without any sacrifice to reliable program delivery.In a typical scenario, a customer’s Traffic Manager will interface with a headend-based IP Link codec or Ascent to trigger virtual metadata that activates local ads for network afilliates at defined times with exacting precision, and switch back to national programming at the conclusion of the local ad break. Triggers are scheduled within the Intraplex platform, which automates delivery to all affiliates without requirements for local manual intervention. Intraplex IP Link Audio over IP codecs or Ascent will automatically receive and activate triggers at local affiliates to manage the breaks.“Broadcasters that use satellite for program syndication and large-scale content delivery are faced with new challenges from the recent C-Band satellite repack, from diminished capacity to rising operational costs,” said Keyur Parikh, VP of Engineering, GatesAir. “Ascent’s agile cloud architecture offers the bandwidth and high availability required for enterprise-level networks that rely on satellite today, along with simple scalability to new end points at much lower costs. Our new advanced local ad insertion feature introduces an important function to Ascent and our IP Link hardware codec platforms that will compel network operators still locked into satellite to migrate their operations to the cloud.”GatesAir started rolling out its second generation of Intraplex IP Link codec solutions in 2020, including the new IP Link 100n hardware codec introduced at IBC. Receiving its North American debut, the IP Link 100n is a full-duplex, single stereo-channel codec for simultaneous reception and transmission of Audio over IP streams in STL (Studio-to-Transmitter), STS (Studio-to-Studio) and other networking applications for radio and streaming services. Same as Ascent and all IP Link products, the IP Link 100n is SRT-capable and integrated with Dynamic Stream Splicing (DSS)  technology, a GatesAir industry-first innovation nearly ten years ago, which fortifies network path redundancy across two or more live streams for hitless protection against packet and link losses.GatesAir will also preview wide-area audio networking applications that takes the Intraplex brand into new areas of content delivery outside of the broadcast space, including the retail and hospitality markets. The new applications, powered through the new software release and managed through Ascent, includes delivery of live audio streams and scheduled playlists to retail chains, hotels, restaurants and other businesses. […]

The Ad Bargain, a consumer study of more than 2000 Americans aged 18+ by Sounds Profitable, have looked at on the effectiveness of ad spends across TV, radio, podcasts and this year with an additional focus on YouTube and streaming CTV.The results largely show that the latter three, particularly podcast advertising, leads consumers to feel more positive about brands due to an ability to see the link between audio product creator support and the ads within.Tom Webster left Edison Research two years ago to partner with Bryan Barletta at Sounds Profitable.Webster said at the time:“Ultimately, Bryan and I have a shared vision to improve podcasting by tirelessly advocating for transparency, access, inclusion, and fair play. We want podcasts to be measured accurately and consistently.“We want the core fundamentals of the podcast business to be available to anyone who wants to learn them. We want creators and executives at the highest levels in podcasting to be as diverse as the incredible audience for podcasting. And we want podcasting companies and independents alike to be able to profit from their efforts in a fair marketplace.”The study yielded insights similar to one former CADA GM Emily Copeland conducted prior to the DAB+ station’s launch which she spoke of at this year’s Radiodays Europe convention. It also show how our feelings towards advertising and platforms we are most receptive to hearing branded messages from have changed.The Ad Bargain study showed Instagram is on top when asked, “Advertising on this media is generally the best way to reach me”. Radio is 20% behind Instagram and TikTok.Then, when you look at the relevance of the advertising to the consumer on each platform again Instagram is on top, with podcasting not far behind. This time the gap between Insta and radio is 30%.Most relevant to potential audio advertising is the next result of when the study participants were asked their willingness to consider a product or service when advertised on a certain platform. Podcasting led this, closely followed again by Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Radio was around 50%.Further questions show that podcast listeners are more willing to purchase a product or service on a podcast because of reasons including:
Podcasts do not feel inundated with ads
Podcast ads, due to the above, are less objectionable
Listeners feel that by doing so they support the podcasts’ creators
There is some sense that podcasts protect a listener’s privacy more than YouTube or streamed TV advertising
They might go out of their way to support a product or service that similarly supports their favourite podcast
The fully study can be found here. It does appear that currently the balance between content, advertising, consumers and creators is largely working for podcasting. […]

Streaming and podcast solutions provider StreamGuys have announced Reflector EVO, a cloud service for enterprise-level audio contribution and distribution that will be demonstrated at and available for purchase from the NAB Show 2024 opening.Developed in partnership with Barix, StreamGuys will lead all sales efforts and provide service hosting and 24/7 technical support for radio broadcasters, program syndicators and audio content creators that require a scalable, one-to-many cloud networking architecture for content delivery.Reflector EVO is the service’s second generation, developed 14 years ago to help broadcasters move high-quality audio over the internet. The original version removed network configuration challenges and made it simple to immediately send audio between studios and transmitters sites upon connecting a Barix encoder and decoder.Reflector EVO aims to be more affordable than satellite for syndicated delivery offering a highly available cloud service that can transport bulk audio streams to many locations at once, including uncompressed PCM signals with high bandwidth requirements.  Strengthened redundancy for mission-critical broadcast delivery has been added, with primary and backup streams operating in parallel to optimize signal integrity. The redundant streams borrow packets from each other as drops occur, ensuring streams are reassembled upon reaching end points.Barix has also updated its encoding and decoding hardware for additional network resiliency, along with enabling fast switching between encoders and adding support for lossless audio compression. Barix’s new LX400 broadcast codec, also at NAB, offers OPUS audio support for customers that want the highest possible audio quality and bandwidth conservation, with support for constant and variable bitrates (6kb/s to 510kb/s).The LX400 devices also include standard Barix AoIP codec features such as selectable input gain, relay support and contact closures, the latter of which allows broadcast networks to provide affiliates with precisely timed triggers for local ad breaks over EVO. There are also improved alerting applications ensuring that important notifications are prioritised for affected stations only, rather than being disseminated to all engineers in the network.Eduardo Martinez, the Vice President of Technology for StreamGuys said:“Reflector EVO isn’t merely an improvement on the original – it’s a reimagining of the infrastructure for the reliable transport of large media workloads, and modernized for today’s enterprise broadcast networks. With options for uncompressed transport, lossless compression and legacy compression, broadcasters have an array of options for high-quality deliver of speech and music and are assured a high level of service and consistent uptime for all cloud networking applications.”If you are at the NAB Show, April 14 -17 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, StreamGuys will demonstrate Reflector EVO at the ENCO booth (W1743). There they will also offer several service plan options across technical formats (compressed or uncompressed), hardware (purchase or lease) and support. […]

1500 broadcasters from around the world prove it.Selling Radio Direct with Pat BrysonSt Patty’s Day saw the opening of Radiodays 2024 in Munich, Germany. I was honored to be one of the speakers in this year’s lineup.Sunday began with several summits, the sales summit being one of them. That’s where I got to address a good group of broadcasters from over 100 countries. Although many stations in Europe are state owned, there are still independent commercial stations that are hungry to learn how to raise revenue in an increasingly complex business world. I hope they may have left my session with an idea or two to help them along their way.A large part of the conference was devoted to the topic of AI. What do we do with it? How do we integrate it into our stations? Will it make our jobs easier or non-existent? Sound familiar? These same questions are being asked daily in the US, Canada and Australia. World-wide broadcasters are learning to adapt and adopt.Podcasting was also a popular theme. More and more people are listening to podcasts. They can be an extension of our on-air products. We embrace them as another way to interact with our listeners.A lot of attention was paid to the latest studies on how radio works. And it does work! In the past few years, the number of studies seems to have accelerated and all reach the same conclusion: radio is powerful. Radio is everywhere. Radio enjoys more listening time in cars. It remains a favorite source for news, information and companionship.Radiodays provides 3 days of information about new products, new ideas. It also provides a chance to network with friends old and new from around the world. Over the years, I’ve developed great friendships with broadcasters from diverse countries. We get together once a year to renew our acquaintances, to make new friends, and to encourage one another in our craft.Wherever I go in the world, I hear the same concerns from radio people. We can truly learn from one another. I have also found that radio people share a love for the business. We are some of the most creative, intelligent and devoted people in any industry. We work hard: we play hard. We continue to innovate, to embrace change and new technologies and integrate them into our business.Is radio dead? No way! In fact, we lead the way in serving our listeners and our advertisers.I hope to be joining Radiodays next year in Athens, Greece. Until then, I will continue to promote the industry I love. Maybe put this on your calendar? March 9-11, 2025. It will rock your world! Happy Selling! […]

If you’re a broadcaster, on the tech and accounting side of things, chances are you’re facing the challenge of rising POTS line costs.Enter Broadcast Bionics with a more affordable solution called CallerOne.CallerOne allows stations to move to affordable SIP lines with minimal investment. New support for existing call control hardware from Telos and Wheatstone allows broadcasters to benefit from lower line costs while retaining their current call handling workflow.“Broadcasters who rely on POTS lines for their talkshow systems will be facing hefty price hikes, if not now, then very soon. But transitioning to SIP can be daunting, and what about those trusted VSets your talent loves?” asks Matt Collison, Brand and Marketing Lead at Broadcast Bionics. “Thankfully, there is now a simple and affordable solution,” he says.At the heart of CallerOne is a sleek, user-friendly interface that empowers on-air talent, call screeners, and producers to effortlessly manage calls and ensure seamless content flow. Additional call screening positions can be set up with only a browser and headset, and two on-air studios can share a single CallerOne system where needed.Broadcast Bionics innovative CallerOne software makes the transition to SIP painless, all while saving line costs, improving call quality, and opening the door to all digital has to offer.“CallerOne’s recent integration with Telos VSet allows stations to keep using the hardware and workflows they are used to, while at the same time transitioning to digital – we expect this to be an extremely popular solution!” says Mr Colllison.CallerOne will be on demo at NAB 2024 April 13 -17 on the Broadcast Bionics booth, C2030.For more details go to the website and contact your local distributors.AustraliaAVC Group – AustraliaP.O.Box 1005Mooney PondsVIC 3039www.avc-group.netTel: 1-800 631 728New ZealandAVC Group – New Zealand3 Ceres CtMairangi BayAucklandwww.avc-group.netTel: 0800 282 477 […]