Briefly… Equality, Hate Speech & Attacks on Lesbians, an IAJ seminar; PAMRO Conference speakers will give lessons from the continent; DDB South Africa continues its winning streak; InMobi Acquires Sprout; Entries open for 10th annual Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards; Radio 702 Awards recognise small businesses
Equality, Hate Speech & Attacks on Lesbians, an IAJ seminar
David Bullard. Kuli Roberts. Now, sacked Sowetan columnist Eric Miyeni’s attack on City Press editor Ferial Haffajee has raised the spectre of hate speech yet again. The Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ) and the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) are hosting lunchtime seminar to debate the societal issues and current developments regarding the killing and “corrective rape” of lesbians – against the broader backdrop of the Equality Courts and their evolving hate speech rulings.
A legal briefing on the Equality Courts by attorney Chris Todd who successfully defeated Julius Malema on behalf of the Sonke Gender Justice Network, will be followed by a live-tweeted panel debate on Has Hate Speech Instigated the Killings and “Corrective Rapes” of Lesbians? We will conclude with a finger lunch and networking / interviewing opportunity.
Date & Time: Wednesday 10 August, 11am – 1pm
Venue: Institute for the Advancement of Journalism
9 Jubilee Rd, Parktown, Johannesburg
RSVP (before noon, 8 Aug): Aniesha Bulbulia, aniesha@iaj.org.za / 011-484-1765
PAMRO Conference speakers will give lessons from the continent
The Pan African Media Research Organisation (PAMRO) has lined up a top panel of speakers for its 13th meeting and All Africa Media Research Conference. Speakers from Angola, Australia, Senegal, Kenya, Nigeria, the UK, Hong Kong, the Czech Republic, Zimbabwe and South Africa have been secured and will present topics under the theme of Harnessing the Power of Research: Lessons from the Continent.
The Hon. Moustapha Guirassy, Senegal’s Minister of Communication and Telecommunication who is in charge of New Technologies and Information will deliver the conference’s keynote address. Keld Nielsen, global business development director of TNS Media Research, UK, offers his perspectives on new media measurement, while Steve Garton, Synovate’s MD: media, Greater China, and global head of media, looks at global media trends and what they mean for Africa.
Anne Rayner, regional director: brand equity and communications, TNS Australia; Charles Foster, MD of Millward Brown Africa; Tomas Bicik, business development director for the Czech Republic’s Mediaresearch, Mluleki Ncube; Chris Maroleng, Africa editor: head of department for eNews Africa; Joe Hall and Kevin Cowan of the BBC Global News Division and Vivien Marles, MD of InterMedia, Africa, looks at two technological developments that are changing media across the continent.
The 13th PAMRO meeting and All Africa Media Research Conference takes place at the Le Méridien President Hotel in Dakar, Senegal, and runs from 22-24 August 2011, with registration beginning late afternoon on Sunday, 21 August. The programme runs full day on Monday, with two half days in conference on the Tuesday and Wednesday.
To register for the PAMRO conference, click here: https://www.saarf.co.za/PAMRO/pamro.htm
DDB South Africa continues its winning streak
Hot on the heels from their success in the May Creative Circle awards and their win at Cannes, top creative agency DDB South Africa has been awarded the prestigious FWA Site of the Day (4 July 201) award for Wrigley’s 5 Gum.
FWA is a global awards programme which recognises the very best in website design. DDB South Africa is only the second full service agency in South Africa to win one of these esteemed awards.
The Wrigley’s 5 Gum site gave South Africans the ability to create their own 3D building projections onto a building of their choice, in a city of their choice, on the date of their choice. The most popular 3D projections were selected and the creators given the chance to project the images live onto the actual buildings in Cape Town and Johannesburg. This was the first time that live, user generated 3D projection mapping had ever been done in South Africa.
“With digital being able to connect with consumers on a global scale, the bar is not local but global. We have endeavoured to create a purely digital South African first, which this is’, said Matt Ross, Chief Creative Officer of DDB South Africa.
InMobi Acquires Sprout
InMobi has announced the acquisition of Sprout, whose HTML5 rich media creative platform helps agencies and brands reduce the complexity of rich media mobile ad creation and distribution. InMobi’s global presence combined with Sprout’s rich media technology will help the mobile advertising industry easily build and distribute engaging rich media ads to consumers everywhere.
Naveen Tewari, CEO of InMobi, comments: “Sprout’s technology solves a critical need for the industry by helping bring engaging mobile ad experiences to consumers all around the globe. The acquisition fits perfectly with our vision to enable the mobile ecosystem with best of breed technology and services. The entire industry will benefit from the combination of our technology and operational footprint on five continents and Sprout’s platform.”
Sprout will operate as a fully independent company working with the entire mobile advertising industry to solve the HTML5 creation and delivery problem, and will continue to expand its product in the coming months by adding workflow enhancements, analytics, and innovative new ad units.
Carnet Williams, CEO and co-founder of Sprout, comments: “InMobi’s commitment to an open and independent Sprout made them the clear choice for us. We will continue to work with all existing partners, including competitive ad networks, globally.”
Entries open for 10th annual Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards
Vodacom has announced the opening of entries for the 2011 Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards. The Awards celebrate a decade of excellence in journalism and aim to reward the media that have displayed outstanding reporting in 2010/2011.
“We are delighted to announce the opening of entries for the 2011 Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards. To celebrate the tenth year of the Awards, we have added new judges and two new categories,” says Portia Maurice, Chief Officer of Corporate Affairs at Vodacom.
The Awards have been expanded to include two new categories: one for consumer journalism and another for journalism in social media.
“We feel that the addition of these two categories is vital to the growth of the Awards,” says Maurice. “Consumer journalism is imperative as it provides a platform to air the rights of consumers and of course, social media has become an increasingly important part of our news landscape.”
Judges for this year’s Awards include industry influencers like Ruda Landman, Tim Modise, Max du Preez and Arthur Goldstuck. The national winner for 2010, Barbara Friedman, says, “The Award has given me increased confidence in telling the kind of stories that I believe in – often of an unconventional and sensitive nature. I have also gained more respect and recognition within the industry. But by and large, the job hasn’t changed; I’m still always looking for my next provocative story!”
Entries are open from August 2, 2011 until August 26, 2011. Journalists and editors nominating their Editor’s Choice candidates can enter online through the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards website on www.vodacom.co.za/journalist.
The overall 2011 Vodacom Journalist of the Year national winner will walk away with R125 000 in prize money, as well as being given the opportunity to donate an additional R125 000 to an official charity of his or her choosing. Every regional winner will receive R7 500, while each national winner will receive R15 000.
Radio 702 Awards recognise small businesses
The annual Small Business Awards on Talk Radio 702 with Softline Pastel launched this week with the aim of rewarding small businesses that are doing great things.
The awards call for nominations based on great service, and anyone can nominate a small business they have dealt with that has gone the extra mile to get the job done.
“We’re, once again, looking forward to celebrating the valuable role that small businesses play in our city,” says Steven Cohen, managing director of Pastel Accounting. “A business owner doesn’t have to offer something unusual or different to be recognised by the awards but certainly has to deliver extraordinary service to outshine competitors and gain the attention of Joburg’s discerning consumers.”
Those businesses that show the most potential are shortlisted and will be interviewed on Talk Radio 702 in Joburg. The interviews start on 15 August 2011, and two business owners will be interviewed each day – in the morning and afternoon drive shows.
Listeners will be able to nominate businesses throughout the interview process, until September 2. Following this, a panel of judges will select the top three finalists and one winner, to be announced at a ceremony on 6th September.
For details or to nominate a small business, visit www.702.co.za.
