ASIA

Registrations are open for Radiodays Asia, the leading radio and podcasting conference in the Asia-Pacific, to be held on September 5 and 6 in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.You can register at the Super Early Bird rate here before June 1, 2023.“It has never been more important to have a global perspective on media trends, consumer behaviour, competition, new technology and business opportunities. Though your radio or podcast might be local or national, the challenges and competiiton facing your business is global. That opportunity to get ahead of your competition and future-proof your service and business is what Radiodays Asia offers,” says Anders Held, Project Director of Radiodays Asia and Founder of Radiodays Europe.

Radiodays Asia is a collaboration between Radiodays Europe, the world´s largest and leading conference for radio, audio and podcast, and broadcasting and podcast partners in Asia and Australia. The 2023 edition will run over 2 days in 2 tracks with 50 sessions. Top international speakers and industry leaders as well as succesful producers and market experts will share their insights.It will be held at the Royale Chulan Hotel in central Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Additional workshop and specialst meetings will be organised on Monday 4 September, while the main conference is held 5-6 September.Top ratings from attendeesSince 2019 Radiodays Asia is the meeting point for everyone in radio-audio-podcasting who wants to understand more about the challenges of today and tomorrow. The event will bring 400 attendees from 40 countries together with a top-quality programme and many networking opportunities to meet and learn from colleagues in the audio industry.Participants at Radiodays Asia have been overwhelmingly positive. The participant rating is 4,2 on a 1-5 scale with 90% rating the event a 4 or a 5.Podcast SummitAsia Podcast Summit will be part of this year´s Radiodays Asia. A full day dedicated to bring podcasters together and discuss how to develop your podcast business – how to format, market and monetize your podcast. A chance to learn from the most successful in podcasting and to network with other creative podcasters.PartnersRadiodays Asia is supported by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), Public Media Alliance, Commercial Radio Malaysia, Indonesia Private Radio Association, Commercial Radio Australia, Radio Operators for India, Radio Festival India, Radio Broadcasters Association NZ, Podnews, radioinfo.asia and others.You will find more information about the event on radiodaysasia.com.If you have suggestions for speakers or topics for Radiodays Asia 2023 please send these to Anders Held, Project Director, Radiodays Asia at [email protected] […]

DRM had a bigger presence at the 27th annual Broadcast Engineering Society (BES) Expo held at New Delhi, India, from February 16 to 18.The Broadcast Engineering Society (India) was established in 1987 to promote the advancement and dissemination of knowledge & practices of broadcasting in the field of Radio, Television and other media; and to enhance the knowledge of broadcast engineering professionals.The theme for the conference this year was Next-Gen Broadcasting: Create, Connect & Capitalise. With more than 1,000 delegates, speakers and panelists from India and abroad, the conference, rated as the biggest in Asia, is an ideal forum to know the direction broadcasting in India is going to take in years to come.

Following the inaugural session, the Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Apurva Chandra, visited the DRM display and was particularly interested in the various DRM receivers being presented.Visitors to the DRM booth were especially attracted by the new in-car receiver for both DRM in the AM and FM bands, the after-market car receiver on display in the DRM booth, as well as by a new DRM chipset module costing approximately $10 when ordered in bulk.Multi-channel transmissions were made from a local transmitter, which demonstrated the Emergency Warning Functionality (EWF) in the receivers displayed on the stand. This attracted the attention of many visitors and VIPs alike.DRM also featured in the BES 2023 conference programme on the first and third days. Many discussions revolved around the topic of relative transmitter energy efficiency when switching between analogue and DRM modes. […]

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a consultation paper seeking views on issues related to FM radio broadcasting.As of December 2018, there are more than 369 operational private radio stations in more than 101 cities and towns across India. The Government of India-owned All India Radio has about 450 FM stations covering 39% of the area and 52% of the population of India.The issues in the consultation paper include whether FM radio stations should be permitted to broadcast independent news bulletins.

FM radio operators are currently allowed to carry All India Radio (AIR) news bulletins in exactly the same format without any alterations. No other news and current affairs programmes are permitted.In its statement, TRAI said that industry bodies and players have made representations that FM radio stations must be allowed to broadcast news and current affairs just as it is allowed on private TV channels and digital platforms.It has also sought views on issues related to the annual license fee and license period for FM radio players. FM radio license holders are required to pay an annual license fee to the government at the rate of 4 per cent of the gross revenue of its FM radio channel for the financial year or 2.5 per cent of the NOTEF (Non-Refundable One Time Entry Fee) for the concerned city, whichever is higher.TRAI said that last May it received a reference from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in May last year seeking recommendations on two issues – the removal of the linkage to the non-refundable one-time entry fee (NOTEF) in the formula for the annual fee as prescribed in the FM Phase III policy guidelines and recommendations on whether there is a need to extend the existing FM license period of 15 years by three years.It has also sought comments on whether it should be made mandatory for all mobile handsets sold in the country to have in-built FM radio transmitters, as industry players have said that with the introduction of 4G handsets, device manufacturers and operating systems are turning the FM tuners off.Written comments on the consultation paper are invited from the stakeholders by 9 March 2023. Counter comments, if any, may be submitted by 23 March 2023. […]

A few weeks after the BBC released a documentary titles India: The Modi Question, which probed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in communal violence in Gujarat in 2002, when he was the state’s Chief Minister, its offices in India have been raided by the Income Tax authorities.On February 14, a team of Income Tax Officials landed at the broadcaster’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and seized all the employees’ computers and personal phones. While the tax department has not put out any official press release, several media organisations quoted “sources” to say that this was a “survey” which formed a part of a tax investigation.In a short statement, the BBC said it was “fully cooperating” with authorities, adding that it hoped to have the situation “resolved as soon as possible.”

While a senior advisor to the government told a local news channel that there was no connection between the documentary and the investigation, media watchdogs and rights groups have expressed fear that the raids are politically motivated.The documentary, which was not officially released in India, made its way to YouTube and other video streaming platforms. The government called it “a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative” and days later, invoked special emergency powers to get social media platforms to block it completely.The ruling Bharatiya Janta Party’s spokesperson called the BBC “corrupt” and “rubbish” and that it should “respect Indian law.”In recent years, similar raids have targeted journalists and civil society organizations critical of the Indian government with criminal cases under India’s opaque terrorism and sedition laws, and allegations of financial misconduct and improper foreign funding that have been used to freeze bank accounts.The Press Club of India, in a statement, condemned the survey and said that it was, “part of a series of attacks on the media by the government agencies in recent times, especially against those sections of the media that the government perceives is hostile to it and critical of the ruling establishment.” It added that, “this latest instance appears to be a clear-cut case of vendetta, coming within weeks of a documentary aired by the BBC on the Gujarat riots.”The Editors Guild of India, in a statement, said: “This comes soon after the release of two documentaries by the BBC, on 2002 violence in Gujarat and the current status of the minorities in India … This is a trend that undermines constitutional democracy.” The Committee to Protect Journalists said: “Raiding the BBC’s India offices in the wake of a documentary criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi smacks of intimidation. Indian authorities have used tax investigations as a pretext to target critical news outlets before, and must cease harassing BBC employees immediately, in line with the values of freedom that should be espoused in the world’s largest democracy.”Reporters Without Borders tweeted: “The searches by the tax authorities of the offices of BBC World in India, 3 weeks after the censorship of his documentary on Narendra Modi, constitutes an outrageous reprisal. RSF denounces these attempts to silence any criticism of the Indian government.” In the 2022 edition of the annual press freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders, India fell to 150th place out of 180 countries.Western governments, however, have been silent on the “surveys”. The UK government has not put anything on record, while the US made a generic comment on the “importance of a free press around the world”.Speaking to scroll.in, many foreign journalists said it was increasingly becoming clear to them that they had little backing from their governments back home. […]

The Voice of Vietnam celebrated World Radio Day with a talk show at its headquarters in Hanoi on Monday.The event was attended by journalists, representatives of listeners’ clubs and nearly 300 students of journalism and communication.Themed “Radio and Peace”, this year’s World Radio Day focuses on the role of radio in promoting cohesion, sympathy, sharing, speaking out against injustice in society, and addressing conflicts and disputes toward building a peaceful and compassionate society.

The speakers included Pham Manh Hung, VOV Vice President and Chairman of VOV Journalists Association, Philomena Gnanapragasam, Director of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD), Journalist Cong Vinh of Voice of People’s Ho Chi Minh City (VOH) and Journalist Thu Hoa of VOV Ethnic Affairs Department (VOV4).The guest journalists talked about the opportunities, challenges, and the role of radio in promoting peace and defusing tension and conflict. They also shared stories about their profession and their passion for radio journalism.Journalist Le Quoc Minh, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan newspaper and Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association, said: “The Voice of Vietnam has taken bold steps in the digital transformation process. Its radio programs were originally from the waves and now are available on the Internet platform, spreading to people in all regions as well as internationally. This approach is certainly in the right direction.”VOV President Do Tien Sy said that VOV is always proud of the voice of conscience, the fight for the aspiration for freedom and independence, and joint efforts to build a peaceful world.“VOV is a pioneer in innovating and modernizing the media to meet the public needs in the era of booming new kinds of media. VOV pays great attention to innovating broadcast programs to attract more investment and enhance interaction with the public, thus improving their quality and turning radio into a true companion of the public in all circumstances,” said Sy.Hai Quang, vice president of Voice of Vietnam (VOV), in his article written on the occasion of World Radio Day, said: “Radio represents both a powerful and effective tool used to promote peace and security, whilst it plays a significant role in enhancing mutual understanding and enhancing dialogue in order to reduce conflicts.”Earlier, in a pre-recorded video sent to the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) to mark World Radio Day 2023, the leadership of VOV affirmed radio’s role in assisting in reducing tensions, preventing conflicts and fostering peace by acting as a tool for humanitarian communication. […]

Association of Community Radio Broadcasters’ (ACORAB), AMARC Asia Pacific and UNESCO Kathmandu Office held an event in Kathmandu on the occasion of #WorldRadioDay, whose theme this year was ‘Radio and Peace’.The event explored, emphasised and understood the roles of radio and community radio in building peace in Nepal.Meanwhile, talking to Radio Nepal on the occasion of World Radio Day, the country’s minister for Communication and Information Technology, Rekha Sharma, said that the government was responsible for the betterment of radio stations in the country.

She also asked for suggestions from all stakeholders to resolve the problems seen in the radio communication sector, stating that radio was a pivotal medium for the flow of information in Nepal.Minister Sharma also appreciated the role played by Radio Nepal as a leading media house in Nepal.Executive Director of Radio Nepal Buddhi Bahadur KC also expressed his best wishes on the occasion of World Radio Day and said that Radio Nepal had remained an important medium for ensuring democracy, prosperity, and citizens’ access to information, education and health since its inception in 1951. […]