CBA General Conference - 2004
NEWS AND SPEECHES
 |
|
Elizabeth R Fund Supporting Quality Broadcasting Throughout the Commonwealth
Elizabeth R Award is won by Sierra Leonean broadcaster who would not be defeated by the civil war
The 2004 Elizabeth R Award for an Exceptional Contribution to Public Service Broadcasting was chosen out of a very competitive field, by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Executive Committee. The award goes to Andrew Jeneke Kromah, Managing Director of SKYY 106.6 Freetown and KISS 104 Bo. During Sierra Leone’s devastating civil war, Andrew Kromah ran a rural radio station bringing news to isolated rural communities, training his own journalists and broadcasters. He ensured that voices from all sides of the conflict were heard, rebels, government forces and civilians. His programmes on “Democracy Now” aimed to provide illiterate people with the knowledge to vote. In his 10 years in radio broadcasting he has promoted free speech and democracy and he is presently investing in recruiting young journalists to expose corruption in government and investigate violations of the rights of rural people.
Award for Exceptional News Feature 2004 Sticky Business – SABC
A powerful report on glue-sniffing among Durban street children by Ida Jooste and Andre Smith of SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) is this year’s winner. Sticky Business investigates the children’s addiction to inhaling toxic shoe repair glue to relieve the misery of their lives on the streets. Working sometimes undercover, using a small digital camera, the team filmed shopkeepers selling the glue to barefoot children. They arranged for the shoe glue to be chemically analysed and tracked it back to the manufacturers, confronting them with the evidence that their glue was knowingly targeted at street children who used it for inhaling.
The judges were Keith Bowers, former senior BBC TV editor, Margaret Budy, former BBC news editor and Stella Maris Ekpene, CBA MA Bursar at City University from Nigeria’s FRCN. They commended the programme for its skill in gaining the trust of the children, its courage in ignoring threats from street gangs, and its forensic pursuit of the glue manufacturers. Since the transmission of the report, South Africa’s Legal Aid Board is investigating legal proceedings against the manufacturer and there are plans to introduce legislation to protect the children.
Highly Commended Education For Sale - NDTV (New Delhi Television)
The judges also gave a Highly Commended Award in this category. This went to NDTV’s Sindhu Manesh, Anand Rao and Srikanth G. Rao for their investigation into Education For Sale in Maharashtra, India. Using a hidden camera the team revealed that seats in top medical colleges were being sold for large amounts of money by state government ministers, politicians, principals and college registrars. The judges were impressed by the team’s bravery, their meticulous research and the scale of the corruption revealed on film. As a result of the report the Supreme Court of India has clamped down on the colleges.
Award for Outstanding Local Children’s Programme 2004
Soul Buddyz – SABC Education A compelling episode in this weekly drama series has taken this year’s prize. Thulane is about a young teenager who dreams of becoming a photographer when he leaves school. On the third anniversary of his mother’s death he is thrown out of the house by his violent father. With nowhere else to go he seeks refuge with some dropout drug-taking friends who persuade him, against his better judgement, to steal. The judges, Sarah McNeill, Director World Radio Forum, Wendy Zych of UNICEF and Seamogano Mosanako, CBA MA Bursar at Westminster University from Botswana TV, were unanimous in their praise for the programme from the team led by Charles Owen, Editor Children’s Programming. They particularly admired the high quality of the production, the brave use of location shooting, the dramatic depiction of the hero’s dilemma, and the simple, natural dialogue. They also admired the way the programme ended with footage of real children commenting on the morality of the programme.
Gates Malaria Award 2004 Kalyani - Doordarshan
Doordarshan’s health campaign, Kalyani , aimed at 480 million people in India’s eight most populous and poorest states was the unanimous winner of this new award. The judges were Professor Geoff Targett, Deputy Director of the Gates Malaria Partnership, Angela Dawson, Educational Advisor to the GMP, and Dr Toby Murcott, former BBC World Service Science Correspondent.
Under the direction of Concept and Series Director Usha Bhasin, Kalyani focussed on the means of infection, symptoms, cures and, above all, prevention. What impressed the judges was the range of strategies which the campaign used. These included interviews with experts, messages from health workers and local leaders, dramas illustrating the signs and symptoms of malaria, advice on prompt treatment and preventative action, such as using mosquito nets impregnated with insecticide.
The campaign employed music, dance and song to broadcast information on malaria as well as comedy sketches, health tips, quizzes, news stories, phone-ins, letters from the audience, competitions, and clubs. The production team drew on local government officials, rural women’s clubs and the national youth network to create a climate for change. Following transmission the campaign was found in some states to be more keenly watched than the regional news. In some cases the villagers use tractor batteries to watch the programmes during power cuts. The judges felt it was a hugely ambitious and determined campaign with the capacity to make a real difference.
IBC Award for Cost Effective Engineering 2004 MPEG-4 Over Satellite DSNG Network - NDTV
This year’s award goes to NDTV (New Delhi Television) for a low cost satellite contribution and return path DSNG (digital satellite newsgathering) system. It replaces an existing service supplier, does not rely on third party operators and is resilient to poor power and telecom facilities. The concept and design were by NDTV’s Systems Manager, Rahul Deshpande and Senior Broadcast Engineer Jay Chauhan and the project was executed by a team led by Chief Engineer, Jawahar Lal, Deputy Chief Engineer, Dinesh Singh and Producer Shayne P. Singh among others. NDTV believe it is the first DSNG network relying entirely on MPEG-4 encoding.
The judges were Martin Salter, Chairman of the IABM and IBC Conference Committee, Peter Owen, Chairman of IBC Council, Mike Lumley, Royal Television Society, David Woods, EBU and they were chaired by Neil Dormand, CBA Technology Consultant. They thought that the quality of the presentation from NDTV was excellent and that the achievement is a model to broadcasters in similar situations. There was a detailed cost comparison of the chosen techniques against the alternatives. Not only were technical difficulties overcome but also after a fair amount of political lobbying, were the regulatory issues. The outcome was very cost effective in terms of capital and operation. The solution gave additional facilities with ensured quality of service. Large additional savings were made by completing the work locally. Also worth noting was the development of a CD ROM for training purposes.
Highly Commended Setting up a terrestrial TV station with production facilities to operate two TV channels island-wide in Sri Lanka - EAP Networks (pvt) Ltd.
The project was led by W.A.Shanthakumara, Director-Engineering of EAP Networks (pvt) Ltd. The judges’ view was that this entry was distinguished by the creative use of local labour. The result was a building that was one third of the cost of a turnkey system. Major savings were made by the fabrication of such things as a console for the MCR (master control room) into which was mounted the necessary equipment. For the studio construction everything was built locally including such things as the lighting system, large steel studio doors and hinges, and the floating studio floor to eliminate traffic noise. The judges felt that this submission amply demonstrated what can be achieved by self-help in a country where resources are limited.