5th January 2012

Welcome to IBT’s January newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry.

Google briefing later this month
Our next briefing will be with Peter Barron, a former Newsnight editor and now Google’s Director of External Relations. It will take place at 10am on Tuesday January 24th 2012 at the IBT offices in Southwark. He’ll talk about how charities can use Google’s tools more effectively for raising awareness, fundraising and operating more efficiently. We’ll also be discussing the changing role of the digital public space and Google’s contribution to this. This will be an informal session with plenty of time for questions. Places are limited so please let me know if you’d like to attend.

New IBT research
Our next piece of research will focus exclusively on new media. We’ll be working with Charlie Beckett and his team at POLIS, the LSE based journalism think tank. Our aim is to explore the public space online and see how we can use this space more effectively to promote international content to a range of audiences. This is a challenging piece of research as the media landscape is changing so rapidly. We’re keen to draw on the experience and expertise of IBT members - please let me know if you’d like to participate in this research project.

Latest trends in television viewing
The latest viewing figures published by Ofcom and BARB show that television viewing continues to rise. The average person in the UK watches 4 hours of television a day. The main public service broadcasters – the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and Channel 5 – still dominate viewing in multichannel homes and are more highly regarded by audiences for their delivery of news. Online tv viewing – watching tv on a PC, laptop or tablet computer – continues to grow but the rate of growth has slowed significantly.  15% of people say that they regularly watch tv online.

Media coverage of the Arab Spring
The BBC Trust is reviewing the BBC’s coverage of the Arab Spring and has asked IBT to submit evidence. They’re keen to look at whether the coverage was impartial and reflected a wide range of views. Please let Sophie Chalk, IBT’s Head of Campaigns, know your views on this sophie.chalk@btinternet.com

CCTV launches new English language services
CCTV, the Chinese state broadcaster, has announced a major expansion of its English language services, in pursuit of international audiences. It will be targeting audiences in the US and Africa, with production teams based in Washington and Nairobi. 150 new staff have been recruited. It’s the latest move in a multibillion pound soft power push. By 2016 CCTV plans to have 500 staff based in 80 bureaux around the world.

One World Media Awards
The closing date for entries for this year’s One World Media Awards is Monday January 30th. There are several new categories this year, including a News Award and a Sustainable Development Award. The awards ceremony, hosted by Jon Snow, will be on Tuesday May 8th at Kings Place. Tickets go on sale in March. Further details here.

ESoDoc - European Social Documentary
Applications have opened for the innovative ESoDoc training scheme which brings together documentary makers from across Europe who are interested in working with NGOs and on campaigning films. The course is increasingly focusing on multimedia projects. Details here.

Best wishes

Mark