Friday, May 30, 2008

May 30, 2008

BET

BETing on safer streets

'STOP THE VIOLENCE' | TV network's campaign to save city's children will include Common, Kanye. Responding to an emotional appeal from Mayor Daley that followed Chicago's "bloodiest weekends," Black Entertainment Television is adding its formidable voice to the campaign to stop the violence that's killing the city's children.

CBS

CBS's Moonves Anticipates Slower Ad Sales

CBS may sign fewer advance advertising agreements for the 2008-2009 television season than last year, reports CEO Les Moonves. The network expects the number of deals to be lower this year and prices to be higher. "Advertisers don't even know what to make of everything yet."

Ex-CBS Exec Lassoed by Video Site Redlasso

Redlasso.com, a video-sharing site for bloggers, is hiring former CBS exec Michael Jordan to help it smooth relations with the media industry after the broadcast networks sought to shut it down for violating copyrights. Redlasso says it plans to continue "business as usual."

FOX

Fox News Worker Sues Over Office Bedbugs

Jane Clark, a 12-year veteran of Fox News, says she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after being bitten by bedbugs at work. Clark is filing a lawsuit against the owner of the Manhattan office tower where she works, claiming the building was not treated for months.

MTV

MTV launches romance reality show

Fun, Sex, Sin, Betrayal...get ready for MTV"s brand new romance reality show - Vodafone MTV Splitsvilla! From the makers of Roadies, comes a show about 2 sexy guys looking for love among 20 hot girls who compete not just for love, but fame, money and a chance to become MTV's first couple VJ!

UNIVISION

Who’s Doing What

Universal Music Group announced plans to acquire Univision Communications, along with the company’s music recording and publishing division. UMG will continue to promote Latin artists on the Univision Network, but will phase out the Univision name.

VIACOM

Comedy Central Move Rankles Cable Companies

The trend of Webcasting, which in this case refers to the redistribution of TV shows on the Web, is not pleasing large cable operators. As Glenn Britt, CEO of Time Warner Cable, said recently, "Guess what? We do mind." That obvious response is the big reason that almost no cable TV shows appear on the Web (except on YouTube, of course). The reason is that cable and satellite systems pay large fees to networks for what they have seen as exclusive rights to their content.

Viacom Also Mad about YouTube Download Tools

Viacom amended its complaint in its ongoing legal dispute with Google last month to suggest that YouTube “consciously tolerates or cooperates” with software tools that allow users to download its videos, as Cynthia Brumfield notes.

Viacom Hits 52-Week Low On Ad Concerns

Viacom Inc.'s stock hit a 52-week low Thursday -- adding to the previous day's slide -- after President and Chief Executive Philippe Dauman said second-quarter advertising growth will be slower than originally expected, at a conference on Wednesday.

AFRICA

ANGOLA: Should intentional HIV/AIDS infection be a crime?

Proposed reforms to Angola's Penal Code have divided opinion in the country about whether HIV-positive people who intentionally infect others with the virus should be punished.

HIV/AIDS Prevalence Increasing In Burundi, Health Officials Say

HIV/AIDS prevalence in Burundi has increased to 4.2% in 2007 from 3.5% in 2002, health officials in the country announced on Thursday, AFP/Google.com reports. About 250,000 people are living with HIV in Burundi, which has a population of seven million. About 11,000 HIV-positive people have access to treatment, according to AFP/Google.com.

Namibia: Aids Novel Officially Launched

The Minister of Health and Social Services on Tuesday evening urged that a new book be prescribed in Namibian schools, youth groups and in workplaces in an effort to defeat the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Pornography reigns in media as public yearns for solutions

Experts have warned over the easy access to pornography in Kenya which has been blamed for the rise in rape cases, childhood sex and sexually transmitted diseases.

SOUTH AFRICA: Links between HIV and mental illness overlooked

The links between HIV and mental illness are so multi-layered, and little understood, that doctors often struggle to determine which came first. Mental healthcare professionals in South Africa sometimes battle to understand the causes of a patient's psychosis or dementia, without knowing that the patient has a late-stage HIV infection, while their colleagues in the HIV/AIDS sector have little or no training on how to deal with patients with mental illnesses.

Uganda: Kumi District Tops in HIV Testing

Kumi District, in eastern Uganda, has the highest number of people who have been counseled and tested for HIV/Aids in the country. The National Coordinator for HIV testing and counseling in the Ministry of Health, Dr Zainabu Akol, said in Kumi, 75 per cent of the population has tested for HIV compared to the national figure of 38 per cent.

ASIA

City will have 3000 condom dispensers more

The civic body has tied up with an NGO — Hindustan Lattice Family Planning Trust — for this Aids awareness venture. There are plans to install 3,000 machines across the city — 1,500 of which will be set up in the first phase in June.

HIV/AIDS victims get insurance cards

About 500 Vietnamese children living with HIV/AIDS have received free insurance cards to mark International Children’s Day, which falls on Sunday.

HIV risk in war-torn Afghanistan high

The prevalence of HIV is low in Afghanistan, but the potential risk factors for the spread of the disease remain high, the Public Health Ministry said on Monday. So far 435 HIV positive cases have been reported in Afghanistan, the ministry said in a statement, but it is estimated there are 2,000-2,500 cases in a population of some 26 million, still a relatively low infection rate.

Sexual Assault More Prevalent Than Reported

Twenty-nine out of every 1,000 women were sexually assaulted last year, the Ministry of Gender Equality said Friday. The figure is more than 100 times bigger than previous official reports because in the past 99.7 percent of victims had declined to report incidents to the police, it said.

CARIBBEAN & LATIN AMERICA

Barbados Parliament Approves Plan To Spend $90M Over Five Years To Fight Spread of HIV/AIDS

The Barbados Parliament on Tuesday approved a plan to spend 180 million Barbados dollars, or about $90 million, over the next five years to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country, Barbados' Nation News reports. According to Minister of Community Development and Culture Steven Blackett, about 4,700 people in Barbados, or 1.7% of the population, are living with the disease

EUROPE

President took part in opening of centre "Clinic for HIV/AIDS

The Head of State reminded that AIDS is the most severe challenge for the Ukrainian society - as of January 1 there were almost 123 thousand of HIV-infected citizens registered in Ukraine, while more than 12 thousand of children died of AIDS (241 of them are at the age of up to 14 years old).

Press legal advisor launches new media law book

A new media law book has been written by the legal advisor to the Manchester Evening News. Cleland Thom's The How-to Media Law Manual has 200 pages covering everything from subbing the letters page to complex legal challenges in court.

ADVERTISING NEWS

Google Sees U.S. Paid Ad Clicks Jump 20%

Google had a 20% jump in clicks on its U.S. text advertisements in April, a reversal from slowing growth the month before. Also: Google is the biggest recipient of Barack Obama's online ad dollars. The Democratic presidential hopeful is said to prefer "performance-based" ad buys.

Local Web Ads Are Sizzling For Newspapers

Newspaper-owned Web sites are taking the biggest slice of an online local ad pie that is rapidly getting bigger, says a new study by Borrell Associates. In 2007, newspaper online local ads for the first time topped more than $2 billion.

Target Social Network Ads To Capture Clicks

58 percent of nearly 800 users of social networking sites say that very few of the ads and offers they're currently seeing on social networking sites match their specific interests and preferences, and another 29 percent say none of them do, as reported in a recently released Prospectiv poll. Only 13 percent say that "most" ads meet their interests and preferences.

HIV/AIDS AND SEXUAL HEALTH NEWS

AIDS foundation lobbying Merck on price

In a series of ads, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is urging Merck to change its pricing and access policies, criticizing an increase of up to six times the price of its anti-HIV drug Stocrin in Mexico than in other Latin American countries.

Birth of a Number

Does one of every four American teenagers really have a sexually transmitted disease? No, despite headlines given to a recent federal study. The one-in-four number “really caught every parent in America’s attention,” said Cecile Richards, the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, because it is so simple and “so stunning.” Richards said that her 17-year-old daughter read it “and personalized it, and said, ‘There are some girls I know who have an STI’ ”—shorthand for sexually transmitted infection. “It really brought it home.”

HIV diagnoses up 32% in Utah

The number of new HIV diagnoses in Utah was up 32 percent during the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same time period the year before, while the median age of those affected has dropped, according to health experts and community advocates who cite misconceptions and an increase in substance abuse as among probable causes for the increase.

How did 'Sex and the City' score on STIs?

If Samantha Jones, the sexy and sex-obsessed character on the hit television show Sex and the City, was a real woman, sexually transmitted disease counsellors might have to sit her down and explain the tenets of safe sex.

The Almighty Condom is Not So Mighty

Studies by the National College Heath Assessment (NCHA) approximate college students had sex 20 million times last year, and about 72% of college students admit to taking part in sex acts. All this sex is equally shadowed by the looming statistics about sexually transmitted diseases, and the FDA has made some startling conclusions about the condom, which is largely marketed as the best, most efficient means of protection from sexually transmitted diseases.

MOBILE NEWS

Popularity Of Smartphones Boosts Average Cell Phone Price

Kirk Parsons, senior director of wireless services at J.D. Power and Associates, says consumers like the ease of use in smartphones, especially those that have a full keyboard and touch screens. "Discounts on pricing in advertisements get consumers in the store, but sales are mainly driven by design and functions on the phone," he says.

Virgin Mobile Offers Access With Phone Buy

Virgin Mobile USA customers who buy one of 15,000 Virgin Mobile Festival Special Edition Wild Card phones by Kyocera Wireless will have special access to the Virgin Mobile Guest Lounge at the upcoming Virgin Mobile Festival Aug. 9-10 in Baltimore.

MULTI CULTURAL NEWS

Gay Atlanta 2028: Rising to our challenges

“The Atlanta gay community has changed dramatically in the last two decades. Anti-gay prejudice is rooted in religious principles, and because we live in the Bible belt, our changes may seem somehow less significant than northern gay communities. Despite that, our relationships are still not legally recognized, we can't openly adopt, we still get bullied, and discriminated against... and yet things for us have changed. More of us are out to families, our communities, our jobs and even have been elected openly gay.

DOCUMENTARIES STAR AT BLACK FILM FESTIVAL

When entries started streaming in for the San Francisco Black Film Festival, its director, Ave Montague, immediately noticed something different. Lots more of them were documentaries. There were strong submissions on political subjects such as reaching young Africans who are susceptible to AIDS and fanciful fare such as the true story of some youngsters in Cape Town, South Africa, who win a trip to Las Vegas to compete in a magic show.

Hispanic Viewers Help Send 'American Idol' and 'Dancing' Out On Top

AMERICAN IDOL concluded its competition with a bang, as more than 30 million viewers tuned in to the season-ending finale. The audience, which included including 1.65 million U.S. Hispanics, watched and applauded the crowning of singer David Cook as American Idol for 2008

SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS

Canadian Study Says Facebook Violates Privacy

The university's Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) is asking the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to investigate what it considers to be Facebook's violations of Canadian privacy law. Facebook's policies – from sign-up requirements and advertising policies to third party applications and mobile access – represent 22 privacy violations, according to CIPPIC.

Facebook, IM to Be 'Demanded' by Workers

The next generation of workers will demand access to tools such as social networks and instant messaging, according to a study by market intelligence firm IDC. The younger generation is increasingly "hyper-connected" and expects to use a variety of communication platforms.

For Fashion, Social Network Equals Market Research

Times may be tough for fashion retailers, but a little applied science and technology could help tremendously. The fashion industry is "a nightmare of surplus inventory, which leads to markdowns and unhealthy profit-and-loss statements." What it needs is an inexhaustible, ever-ready focus group that could help retailers cut back on excess purchases. Something like a social network.

OTHER NEWS

Childhood Obesity Levels Off, Pressure on Advertisers Remains

A new study suggests that childhood obesity may be leveling off in the U.S., after steadily increasing for decades. The finding comes as welcome news to parents, doctors and educators worried about health ramifications including heart disease and diabetes--but there will be no reprieve for food manufacturers, often lambasted by children's health activists for targeting children with ads for foods high in fat or sugar.

FCC Unveils Free Broadband Plan
The Federal Communications Commission is considering giving away broadband Internet for free, in exchange for the right to control it. The new plan would see the winner of an upcoming airwaves auction offer free wireless Internet service to most Americans within a few years, but the FCC would regulate the service. Details of what exactly that means still have to be worked out, but the FCC confirmed that pornography sites, for starters, would be blocked.

Netflix Inks Deal For Gay TV Shows

Netflix has agreed to be the exclusive distributor of TV series from Logo, the gay- and lesbian-themed cable channel. The arrangement leaves open the possibility that future titles from MTV Networks-owned Logo will be distributed the same way.

TV Soap to Launch Internet Mag

Is it a TV show, a Web site or print publication? "The Young and the Restless," the TV soap opera, is rolling out a new fashion magazine with a twist. The magazine is online only, and it coincides with the launch of a fictional print version of the magazine on the show.

YouTube: The World's Biggest TV Station

Google's YouTube is now seen as "the biggest television station on the planet," attracting some 1 billion views per day. The video-sharing site is expected to generate $200 million this year. Also: Republican presidential contender John McCain is "taking a serious drubbing" on YouTube.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

May 29, 2008

BET

BET’s Lee Weighs In On Diversity, Cable Cares

Black Entertainment Television CEO Debra Lee served as co-chair at the 2008 Cable Show, which just wrapped up in New Orleans. That’s where Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead spoke to Lee about the industry’s Cable Cares initiatives and contributions to rebuilding the Crescent City. In a separate interview, Lee discussed the industry’s diversity efforts, as well as BET and its future prospects. An edited transcript follows

CBS

CBS Interactive Eyes More New Media Buys

Mike Marquez, head of mergers and acquisitions for CBS Interactive, says the company's recent $1.8 billion purchase of CNET will open up the door to even more acquisitions. The broadcaster is looking to expand "in the video, mobile and local space."

CW NETWORK

CW Video Ads Bounce Between TV, Web
The CW, which has shown a willingness to reinvent TV ads, is offering advertisers a chance to attach commercials to a series of unusual video clips that tell a story around one of its stars. To see the entire story, viewers watch the first clip on TV, the next one online and the final one on TV.
"We're mimicking the way our viewers move from TV to online and even to mobile," said CW marketing boss Rick Haskins, The core audience of the fledgling network increasingly views video in places other than on a TV screen.

Tyra to Follow Martha, Oprah in Branding Move

New York Times Magazine's cover story this Sunday focuses on efforts by former model Tyra Banks to turn herself into a brand. The host of "America's Next Top Model" and "The Tyra Banks Show" aims to become "like her hero, Martha Stewart," according to the profile.

FOX

Google to Provide Search to MySpace Email

Google is supplying software technology that will let users of News Corp.'s MySpace more quickly search their e-mail. MySpace counted 110 million users earlier this year. More than 170 million messages are sent daily by members of the leading social-networking site.

How Fox can freshen 'American Idol'

With ratings off this year, Fox has said it would give "American Idol" a makeover, and media buyers think it's a wise decision. They've got a passel of suggestions for how the network can breathe new life into what's still easily the top-rated show on network TV. Those suggestions came in a flood in a survey Media Life posted last week on the show. Some 92 percent of respondents said a makeover was due.

Murdoch "Mystified" By Microhoo Failure
PaidContent.org records plenty of sound bytes from Wall Street Journal owner Rupert Murdoch, speaking at his own show, the sixth annual D Conference, hosted by All Things Digital bloggers Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg. During the interview, the News Corp. chairman touched on a variety of topics, starting with his decision to keep the WSJ.com/Barron's Online subscription model, which he said stemmed from realizing how much money it was generating. "People can pay a lot more than we are charging," he said.

Murdoch to Lecture on Changing Media World

Rupert Murdoch will present a series of lectures on Australia's ABC Radio starting in November. The Boyer Lecture series is a showcase for prominent figures to comment on various issues. Murdoch is in a "rare position" to address the "changing media landscape," says ABC Radio.

Murdoch: U.S. Economy Faces 'Very Hard Time'

News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch predicts the U.S. economy will be dismal in the coming months. "People are suffering terribly," he says. Newspapers are going to "deteriorate tremendously." Also, Google is "the greatest company in America." Barack Obama is "like a rock star."

MTV

50 Cent, Diddy On Board For New MTV Projects

MTV has a slew of projects in the works for summer and fall, including a reality competition from 50 Cent, a search for the next female singing superstar, a rock-themed "Making the Band" spinoff and, as previously reported, a reality show about rapper T.I.

MTV Casting Chubby Chicks From Dallas

The show will be a boot camp style modeling show for plus size girls with the prize being weight loss, $100,000 cash prize and a possible modeling contract. MTV's casting directors will look for young women 18-25 years old who are 30 to 100 lbs. overweight. Of course producers are looking for women with a great attitude and a pretty face

MTV Programming Exec Resurrects Cool Factor

Since becoming MTV's programming head in September, Tony DiSanto has developed a string of hits that have re-established MTV as an arbiter of cool among its target audience aged 12 to 24. Hollywood was abuzz last week with a rumor that DiSanto was jumping ship to The CW.

NBC U, MTV Team Up For Action Sports Joint Venture

NBC U will more than double the amount of programming it generates from the series from 33 hours to more than 70. Some of the coverage will air on MTV and MTV2, which will also develop lifestyle programming around athletes competing in skateboarding, surfing, BMX, and winter sports events.

Rapper to shoot MTV reality show before jail term

Rapper T.I. is turning his legal woes into an eight-episode MTV documentary series. Cameras will follow the hip-hop star while he performs more than 1,000 hours of community service before starting a one-year prison sentence on weapons charges next spring, according to his Atlantic Records label. His recent release from house arrest has already been captured on film.

UNIVISION

Joe Uva takes over at Univision

There is a new, more open dynamic at work at Hispanic powerhouse Univision -- and the change can in large part be attributed to the tone set by CEO Joe Uva. While no one would ever describe Uva as an over-the-top personality, his hands-on approach and openness with his employees, the media and Wall Street are the opposite of the bunker mentality imposed by his predecessor, Jerry Perenchio.

Univision Should be Proud

And I’m pretty sure Univision is proud. It should be proud, too, but some of the other networks should be ashamed. In a press release headlined For Eight Consecutive Weeks, Univision Has Ranked 3rd or Higher In Overall Prime Among Adults 18-34 , Univision offered up a slew of data points, including these…

VIACOM

'Indiana Jones' And the Kingdom of Facebook

In a marketing campaign on Facebook to promote "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," Viacom's Paramount Pictures is allowing site users to send their friends a virtual version of Indy's iconic brown hat. In less than 12 hours, all 250,000 of the hats sold out.

Spike TV Relaunches Web Site with Playboy

MTV Networks is relaunching Spike.com on Friday, stocked with online-only original programming from content providers including Playboy Enterprises. The online arm of the young men's cable channel also will be supplemented with a high-resolution full-episode player.

Viacom sees ad growth slowing in 2nd quarter

The company's second-quarter domestic advertising revenue is expected to grow 3 percent to 4 percent, he said. Viacom's domestic ad revenue rose 7 percent in the first quarter. "Right now, we're in an economically uncertain environment," Dauman said at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions conference. "We're preparing for that."

AFRICA

Battling AIDS in Africa with New Strategies

A recent Harvard study suggests HIV prevention methods — such as condom use, regular testing, and abstinence — are not as effective in Africa. Researchers say male circumcision and reducing sexual partners would have a greater impact on stemming the AIDS pandemic within the continent.

Congo gets 5 million condom donation

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has donated 5 million male condoms to the National AIDS Control Council(SEP/CNLS) in Congo, an official source indicated on Thursday. "UNFPA was tasked to supply countries with condoms as part of the distribution of mandates between the UN system agencies fighting HIV/AIDS

Gambia gay death threat condemned

Gay rights activists have condemned Gambian President Yahya Jammeh's threat to behead homosexuals. Last week he told a political rally that gay people had 24 hours to leave the country. He promised "stricter laws than Iran" on homosexuality and said he would "cut off the head" of any gay person found in The Gambia.

Japan awards Kenyan, Briton new Africa health prize

Japan has awarded a lucrative new medical prize for Africa to a Kenyan who has fought to stem HIV infections and a Briton whose research is credited with stemming malaria on the continent. Emperor Akihito presented the new Hideo Noguchi Prize, which comes with 100 million yen (one million dollars) for each recipient, at a summit attended by 40 African heads of state in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

Kenyan media houses face threat of relevance as readers migrate online

These are interesting and frightening times for the news media. It is a sector being radically transformed from within and without by new and emerging technologies. These, depending on how one looks at them can either provide new opportunities for media organisations or lead to their demise.

Massive HIV/Aids Survey Kicks Off

The 3rd South African National HIV, Behaviour and Health Survey has kicked off in Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban aiming to reach 28 000 people in 15 000 randomly selected households across the country in the next five months.

Namibia Commended on HIV/Aids

Members of parliament who recently attended a regional conference on HIV/AIDS policy commended Namibia for the strides it has made on HIV prevention. African parliamentarians also applauded Namibia for its progressive HIV policy that does not discriminate against sufferers of the relatively incurable disease.

Nigeria: Group Launches Assistance for Aids Orphans

As scientists and medical professionals intensify their search for a vaccine against the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV), a civil society organisation, Education as Vaccine Against AIDS (EVA) has launched two projects for children who have been made orphans as a result of the ravaging disease.

Nigeria: Group Makes Case for Sexuality Education

The Adolescent Girls Initiative (AGI), a Non- Governmental Organisation based in Sokoto, has advocated the teaching of sexuality education and reproductive health to young people in Muslim communities using Islamic books of jurisprudence.

Oral HIV tests yield accurate results in southern Africa

Two oral HIV tests have been shown to be highly accurate in a study conducted in Namibia and reported in the May 1st edition of theJournal of Acquired Immunde Deficiency Syndromes. The studies were conducted amongst patients infected with HIV subtype C and the OraQuick test was shown to be 100% accurate with the OrSure test being 98.9% accurate.

Plight of a 28-year-old HIV-positive lady

Adewale Oshodi writes on the lonely life of a 28-year-old HIV-positive lady, who, because of her status, is now being treated like an unwelcome stranger, even by her immediate family.

Rwanda: Why Women Need More Support in Fighting Aids

"I never intended to become a sex worker, but it is the only way I have to survive with my three-year old son," says Placidia, a sex worker who operates in the Magerwa area. "The boy's father abandoned us, leaving us helpless without any means of living." Her situation is made even more precarious by the fact that she is highly at risk of being infected with HIV, the virus that causes Aids. "I always tell my customers to use condoms, but some of them just don't listen and force me to accept unprotected sex."

ASIA

China activists harassed for speaking on human rights

Chinese activists said Tuesday that they were harassed by police and warned not to talk to U.S. officials visiting China for the first human rights talks between the two countries in six years.

NACO to promote female condom across India

Buoyed by the success of its year-long pilot project in six states, National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has decided to promote the use of female condoms across India to control the spread of HIV/AIDS.

UTV launches new media division

Mumbai-based UTV Software Communications on Monday launched UTV New Media to develop mobile, online and IPTV platforms with $30 million in investment over the next two years. To kick off the parent company's fifth division, UTVNM spent $3.75 million to buy a 76% stake in IT Nation, a Mumbai-based company that runs various properties such as consumer technology portal techtree.com.

Voices rise against HIV/AIDS

Twenty celebrated Vietnamese singers have joined together to record a song to promote the National Action Month for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. The song, Hoa Nhip Con Tim (The Same Heartbeat), will be the theme song of the action month, which was organised by the Health Ministry’s Department of Population and Family Planning.

CARIBBEAN & LATIN AMERICA

10% HIV/AIDS infected persons receive treatment in Peru

Some 10 percent of the people infected with HIV/AIDS in Peru have received medical treatment from the government, the National Coordinator of the Sanitarian Strategy of Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS Jose Sebastian said Wednesday. At least 90,000 Peruvians are now living with HIV/AIDS, and the Peruvian government has so far given treatment to 9,000 persons infected with the virus, Sebastian said.

Are Jamaicans developing a growing appetite for child porn?

Some critics believe the growing appetite for child pornography is being, in equal parts, fed and fuelled by the media.
"Children have been 'fooling around' sexually for centuries. What is happening now though is that you have far more media available for children below the age of 18," sociologist Dr Orville Taylor told the Sunday Observer.

Caribbean People International Collective Inc to Host 8th Annual AIDS WALK CARIBBEAN

Caribbean People International Collective Inc (CPIC) will host AIDS WALK CARIBBEAN (R) 2008. This 8th annual community event is set for Sunday, June 8th 2008--Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The walk will begin with an opening sunrise ceremony at 9:30 A.M. and then will kick off from the Junction of Nostrand and Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn

Don't fall in love at the click of a mouse

A potentially dangerous new phenomenon has now emerged called virtual sex and cyber dating. Virtual sex is a form of non-penetrative intercourse where two or more people come together via some form of communication equipment to arouse each other by transmitting sexually explicit messages. It is a form of role play in which the participants pretend they are actually having sexual relations.

'Don't laugh if gran asks for condom'

NO ONE SHOULD turn up one's nose or laugh at a "granny" if she asks about using a condom. This is the view of Minister of Family, Youth Affairs, Sports and the Environment Esther Byer-Suckoo, who told Parliament yesterday that elderly people felt embarrassed to go to a doctor and ask such questions because Barbadians had "a way of looking at them funny".

Government to spend $180 million in AIDS fight

Barbados is to spend a whopping $180 million between 2008 and 2013 in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. Just over half of the money – $92.8 million – will be for treatment programmes, with
$33 million earmarked for prevention. The projected spending was tabulated in Government's National Strategic Plan For HIV Prevention And Control (2008-2013) which was debated by the House of Assembly yesterday.

Grandmas to the rescue: Elderly women aid Jamaica’s Paediatric HIV ...

A policy or strategy to promote and ensure access to comprehensive HIV and AIDS care and support programmes specifically to vulnerable groups. This means caregivers such as the grandmothers have no access to care and support services. Jamaica will need to consider mechanisms to reduce the burden on elderly women as they strive to protect their grand and great grand children living with HIV.

Highlight On AIDS In The Workplace

As the International Labour Organization [ILO] commends the Caribbean region for new programmes to root out workplace discrimination against HIV/AIDS infected persons, in The Bahamas trade union activists say they continue to try to educate employers and employees about how to deal with the situation.

Red Cross HIV, AIDS Programme

Every first week of December the media floods the public with information about the HIV and AIDS pandemics in an effort to raise awareness of World AIDS Day and how much is being done and needs to be done in the global fight against the spread of the disease worldwide.

Stop turning a deaf ear

We must admit that over the years health officials have done a lot to educate the public of the dangers of being promiscuous. The media has also played a significant role in disseminating information on HIV/AIDS. The Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS (CBMP) and Scotiabank in collaboration with the Barbados Ministry of Health has announced a new regional HIV testing pilot programme that will culminate with on-site HIV testing at local branches of Scotiabank on 27 June.

EUROPE

Jamaicans overseas to be considered for the country's upper house of parliament?

Jamaica's Prime Minister, Bruce Golding has reiterated his commitment to exploring the possibility of having Jamaicans overseas represented in the country's upper house of parliament, the Senate. Mr Golding said the time had come to examine how the Diaspora may actively contribute to decision making and governance in Jamaica.

Successful Community-Driven Efforts Against HIV/AIDS Highlighted ...

"'Only the People can Liberate Themselves from AIDS' -- this is what reality has taught us and it represents the building block of our model to fight HIV & AIDS," says Marie Lichtenberg, Director of International Partnerships, of the Federation Humana People to People.

ADVERTISING NEWS

Interactive Vitality Pushes Internet Ad Revenues Up 26% in 2007

According to the IAB Internet Advertising Report, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, released in May, 2008, Internet advertising revenues in the United States totaled $21.2 billion for the full year 2007. For the fourth consecutive year, revenues posted record results, with total revenues for the 2007 fourth quarter increasing 13 percent from the third-quarter and 24 percent from the 2006 fourth-quarter total.

Online Ad Growth May Slow Over Privacy Issues

Companies that track users online behavior could see their Internet advertising growth slow because of consumer uneasiness with such practices, predicts the Stanford Group. Many Internet users would choose to opt out of online tracking if they were able, says the research firm.

You Call That Groundbreaking?

Despite a difficult economy and a killer learning curve for new media, agencies seem to have produced a bumper crop of meritorious work for this season's awards shows. Clio judges were energized; Television/Cinema/Digital jury chair Tony Granger pointed out that only 8 percent of all entries made the shortlist, and called the winners "really, really great."

HIV/AIDS AND SEXUAL HEALTH NEWS

Ad-libbed for your pleasure: Five myths and facts about condoms

Myth: You can’t feel anything when you wear a condom.

Fact: Youth in the classes I facilitate had fun noticing with eyes closed and a condom stretched over their hands that they could feel someone touching their hand, blowing on it and tickling it with a feather. Any change in sensation is minor and not worth an STD or unwanted pregnancy.

America’s sex-mad culture

A lot of very sexual products are being marketed to very young kids,” said University of Iowa journalism professor Gigi Durham. “I’m criticizing the unhealthy and damaging representations of girls’ sexuality, and how the media present girls’ sexuality in a way that’s tied to their profit motives.”

Award-Winning Celebrities Take to the Stage to Reduce the Rate of STDs Among African American Girls

Studies show that education is one of the most powerful weapons against the growing prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases among African-American adolescent girls. On July 28, 2008, some of the industry's most talented celebrities and media personalities are joining forces to do their part in combating the spread of STDs among African-American youth. As the stars of The Pocketbook Monologues, Kim Coles, Jacque Reid, and Sharon McGhee deliver provocative performances, while simultaneously educating both young women and their parents about issues related to sexuality, disease and prevention.

Be Virus Smart: Wear a Condom and Download Norton

In the style of punters, desktop hijackers and Trojan horses circa 1998, the New Zealand AIDS Foundation is circulating this chain letter-style "viral." (Get it? GET IT?!!!) The punchline: "Catching a virus is easy. Always use a condom." The page also reminds viewers that World AIDS Day takes place on December 1st.

City's push on condoms nearly skips the Island

As part of the city Department of Health and Hygiene's campaign to make condoms sexy, out-in-the-open and easy-to-grab, 200 NYC condom dispensers have popped up in bars and other venues citywide in recent months.

But Islanders looking to "get some" free condoms through the city's campaign to promote safe sex, will only find the dome-shaped, metallic, wall-mounted dispensers at one location: Sharkey's Sports Bar & Grill in Rosebank.

FDA seeking to label condoms less effective in protecting against STDs

A recent GAO letter to Senator Tom A. Coburn, M.D. and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee revealed ongoing Food and Drug Agency's (FDA) efforts to alter the language on condom labels to more accurately convey the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease while using a condom.

Gay men want sexually explicit internet-based health promotion information

The largest-ever survey to assess the health promotion information that gay men who use the internet to meet sexual partners in the United States would like to see has found that sexually explicit materials are not only acceptable across a diverse range of demographics but are preferred to non-visual, non-explicit and technical communication when describing HIV risk between men

Halting teen pregnancy

A community organization based in southeastern San Diego, Children Having Children has spent more than 20 years trying to prevent teen pregnancy. Since its incorporation in 1986, the organization headquartered at the Tubman-Chavez Multicultural Center on Euclid Avenue has provided workshops and classes for parents and their children centered on sexual health issues.

HIV/AIDS leaders press Congress for national AIDS strategy

HIV/AIDS advocates convened in Washington, D.C., on May 20 to hold a congressional hearing at the Rayburn Building to outline their call for the federal government to develop a national strategy to end the epidemic. Rebecca Haag, who is executive director both of the D.C.-based AIDS Action and Massachusetts’ AIDS Action Committee (AAC), moderated the panel that spoke at the hearing, and she told Bay Windows Congress has a crucial role to play in developing and implementing such a strategy.

Kim Cattrall in Episode 57 of Sex and the City, "Sex and the Country"

Several studies have shown that rural teens are more likely to have sex than their urban counterparts, that they lose their virginity earlier, and that they have more sexual partners. This and other research also reveals that country dwellers, both teens and adults, are less likely to use condoms during their rolls in the hay (sorry, couldn't resist). A survey of college students in Indiana, for instance, revealed that students who had grown up in the country were more likely than city natives to skip the love glove when they rendezvous. (The paper doesn't define its terms, but presumably most of the students were from rural or urban Indiana.)

Many young people living with HIV/AIDS still lack health care

Young people infected with HIV/AIDS still do not have adequate access to health care, according to the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GYCA) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Along with the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNAIDS, and the Permanent Mission of Jamaica, GCYA and UNFPA organized a briefing at the United Nations last week on the access young people infected with the disease have to medical care.

National Education Summit To Tackle African-American HIV/STD Crisis

Black state board of education leaders from across the nation will meet to strategize about ways in which public schools can help address the HIV and STD crises among African-Americans and to highlight the clear link between risky sexual behaviors and academic performance on May 28-30, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Oakland mom to do AIDS ride for daughter

Two years ago, Lexi never knew such love. She was born HIV-positive and grew up in an abusive home. She was teased, tormented and assaulted by schoolmates. When she was 14, her father dumped her at Child Protective Services and drove off. She bounced from foster homes to friend's homes. She lived with uninvolved extended family and on the streets.

Prisoners milk condom machines

A FAILED prison trial, in which Australian inmates were found to be using flavoured condoms to flavour their milk, is on again. The study will compare sexual behaviours and attitudes of prisoners in Queensland - which doesn't make condoms available to inmates - with those in NSW.

Safe Sex Practices Extend to Much More Than Just Condoms

Spring is here in full swing and summer is on the horizon. That means scantily-clad encounters on the beach, late-night parties, and plenty of potential hook-ups. Jane Bogart, UC Santa Cruz’s resident sexpert and director of Student Health Outreach and Promotion (SHOP), gives tips about how to have fun while staying safe during this summer’s hot and heavy nights.

SF AIDS funding likely spared budget knife

As his staff puts the finishing touches on Mayor Gavin Newsom's proposed budget for next year before releasing the tome Monday, one area has already been spared serious cuts: AIDS programs. Newsom has flatly rejected a proposal by his public health chief to slice $3 million out of the $10 million the department pays to about 30 nonprofits that provide services for AIDS patients.

Survey sheds light on unplanned pregnancies

Here are two facts that don't seem to jibe: Birth control is widely available. And about half of the 6 million pregnancies in the United States each year are accidents. Contraception experts have long known that even couples who want to avoid pregnancy can be strikingly lax about preventing it. This month, a survey from the Guttmacher Institute, a think tank on reproductive issues, casts new light on the whys.

The price of promiscuity

In basketball, if a person commits five fouls, he or she is out of the game. In baseball, it’s three strikes, and the player has a long walk back to the bench. In the game of life, contracting four sexually transmitted infections (STIs) could leave an individual permanently sterile.

The shame in a name

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently declared sexually transmitted infections (STIs) an "epidemic," citing the 19 million new infections that occur in the US annually. Gonorrhea and chlamydia are the No. 1 and No. 2 most reported infectious diseases in the country. An estimated one in four people have herpes. Approximately 20 million people in the US are infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), and at least half of sexually active people will acquire genital HPV.

MOBILE NEWS

Barnes & Noble Launches Mobile Retail Site

Book retailer Barnes & Noble is launching B&N Mobile (bn.com/mobile), an e-commerce site accessible via any mobile device with a Web browser, but tailored for Blackberries and iPhones. The goal is to serve customers "in a multitude of platforms," says B&N CEO Marie Toulantis.

Mobile: The Weekend Web
There may be only one Internet, but a BusinessWeek report suggests that consumers use the Web differently from their cell phones and personal devices compared to their computers. As one Silicon Valley exec says, "I pretty much live on Google," from his office computer, but from his BlackBerry he spends a lot of time searching for items on Craigslist, and checking weather forecasts and airline schedules.

New cell phone offers TV-to-go

Last week, I noted that for better or worse, it's quite possible to watch Desperate Housewives on your computer. This week, I'm happy to report that if you missed it on your TV or PC, you can catch Desperate Housewives on your cell phone.

Nielsen Extends @Plan From Online To Mobile

The Nielsen Co. today launches a new service extending its @Plan online audience profiling system to the mobile realm. Mobile @Plan is aimed at helping marketers reach their target audiences on handheld devices by supplying lifestyle and demographic information for 200 top mobile Web sites

Text Ads Gain Traction with Users
Analysts may have "overshot reality" when it comes to the bold predictions around mobile advertising, but The Wall Street Journal says that ads sent via text message are starting to catch on, at least. Marketers say that SMS messages have their advantages: Text ads lend an interactivity to marketers' campaigns that's easily measured, and almost all cell phones can send and receive them. Consumers also choose to receive text messages, which addresses some marketers' concerns about compromising user privacy.

Yahoo to Text-Message Ads to Consumers

4INFO.net, a Silicon Valley text-message advertising firm, plans to announce a new trial partnership with Yahoo. 4INFO will provide the technology for Yahoo to publish news updates, sports scores and other content via text messages that also contain a small ad.

MULTI CULTURAL NEWS

Are Black Churches to Blame for the AIDS/HIV Pandemic?

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people since 1981 because of complacency and lack of support from black churches touts the new book by South Florida pastor Dr. (Tony) Ferdinand Drayton. Dr. Drayton leaves no stone unturned in his new controversial book that calls for a transformation of the church's stance on the disease in his new book titled Transformation and The Church: A Push Toward Acceptance Within the HIV/AIDS Pandemic.

Minorities Dominate Use of New Media

According to BIGresearch's most recent Simultaneous Media Survey, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Whites not only use traditional media differently, their adoption of new media is also quite unique. When it comes to traditional media, types of TV shows watched as well as radio formats listened to most often differ by consumer group.

New Media Award in Jewish Diversity

Robin Washington, the editorial page editor of Minnesota's Duluth News Tribune and a television producer and National Public Radio commentator, is the first recipient of the Be'chol Lashon Media Award established to honor excellence in coverage of the ethnic and racial diversity of world Jewry. The purpose is to give recognition to journalists and others covering the wide diversity of Jewish ethnicity.

Report outlines blacks' attitudes toward gay marriage

A new report obtained by the Bay Area Reporter by the National Black Justice Coalition shows that African Americans are more likely than whites (65 percent versus 53 percent) to oppose marriage equality for gays and lesbians.

Sex in the City: An African-American Cast Explores Sexuality On Stage

In a witty and heartfelt production, Kim Coles, Jacque Reid, and Sharon McGhee join forces on stage to explore one of the most provocative, and commonly discussed topics in America: SEXUALITY. The Pocketbook Monologues, written by McGhee, is a stirring collection of stories that will engage and delight audiences, but will also educate them on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases that are becoming an increasing threat in the African-American community.

Watts developing black news channel

The latest business venture of J.C. Watts, former congressman from Oklahoma, is developing a new cable news network focusing on a black audience. Black Television News Channel recently announced a multiyear agreement with Comcast, the country's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services.

PHILANTHROPY

Everyone's Waxing Philanthropic These Days

Cause marketing surrounds us. Open a magazine or newspaper and see ads for Product Red clothing, phones and iPods telling you that every purchase will trigger a donation to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Watch a basketball game and see messages touting NBA Cares, a community-service program involving the league's players. Run in a Race for the Cure 5K, benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and see sponsor logos for Yoplait and Ford on your T-shirt. Go shopping at Target and be reminded that 5% of its income goes to community causes.

Higher Education Marketing Firm TargetX Launches Integrated Philanthropy Effort

TargetX, the nation's leading interactive recruiting company, has announced a program that integrates philanthropy and business in an effort to give back to its local communities and its higher education clients. Patterned after the highly successful 1/1/1/ integrated corporate philanthropy model created by salesforce.com, the global leader in software-as-a-service business applications, TargetX will call its initiative the "Power of X."

SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS

Coors Goes Social With 'Code Blue'
Looking to get your friends together for a beer after work next week? Or more specifically, a Coors Light? Starting Monday you can log on to Facebook and send them a Code Blue alert, and even a map to the gathering place.

Facebook CEO: I Won't Sell to Microsoft for $15B

Facebook boy Mark Zuckerberg has no plans to sell the social-networking site, even if Microsoft offered $15 billion. "The goal of the company is to execute on the things we talked about before," he says, "such as helping users share information more easily."

OTHER NEWS

Alicia Keys isn't just about music anymore — she's on a mission

"I have been blessed to travel around the world. I have spent a lot of time in Africa, and during those trips got to see firsthand the needs of people suffering with AIDS," says Keys, 27, who has noted in past interviews that she was born the year the epidemic began. "I knew I needed to do something." So Keys joined Leigh Blake - a humanitarian activist who has helped to raise millions for AIDS through art and music organizations - in founding Keep A Child Alive. The organization provides medication, support and orphan care to families battling the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Art and Film Festival Seeks to Display and Reflect on New Media

The Big Bang may have occurred billions of years ago, but from June 1 to June 3, the Berkeley Art Museum, Pacific Film Archive and Berkeley Center for New Media will create another Big Bang: one that aims to expose people to the universe of new media.

Glam Launches Revenue-Sharing Video Platform

GlamMedia.com, the publisher of vertical content networks for women online, is launching the GlamTV Platform, a video distribution and advertising platform for Glam's network of some 500 Web sites and blogs. Participants will collect a piece of the advertising revenue.

Journalism educators can learn to teach in new media environment

The “Training Journalism for the New Media Environment” summer school, organized by the International Center for Journalists, is being held July 7 to 19 in Yerevan, Armenia. Up to 21 selected participants will gain a deeper knowledge of the journalism profession and mass media, as well as challenges brought on by the digitization of newsrooms.

Massive New Media Campaign Raises Public Awareness of Embryo Donation and Adoption

Stories of embryo donation and adoption are sweeping across the nation through Internet sites like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, and through a targeted direct mail campaign. The new media campaign began in March with the launch of three educational video's detailing the extraordinary procedure of donating already created embryo's to couples who otherwise could not conceive.

Media to Feel Pinch of Sluggish U.S. Economy

Media and entertainment companies are likely to feel a pinch from a sluggish U.S. economy all year long, based on the results of the just-ended quarterly earnings season. News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch puts it most bluntly: "There's no doubt the consumer economy is stressed."

Networks Trim Reality Show Costs
The Hollywood Reporter
Long considered the cheapest type of programming, reality shows are now being asked to make additional cuts to their costs. Mark Cronin, producer of VH1's "Rock of Love," says, "Every network is having its budgetary problems, and that's being pushed back toward all content."Tighter costs also mean productions are taking less time to shoot and edit a show.

Nielsen Debuts Software For Targeting Markets

The Nielsen Co. and Interactive Market Systems will launch IMS Clear DecisionsT, a software platform that provides media buyers and sellers with media analyses and marketing data in a few keystrokes. The software mines data to pinpoint markets, channels and groups, allowing advertising agencies, media companies and marketers to target their advertising campaigns with greater accuracy and return-on-investment results.

Schmidt: Web 2.0 'Not Necessarily A Revenue Opportunity'
In a lengthy interview, Google CEO Eric Schmidt reveals that "Web 2.0 architecture is not necessarily a revenue opportunity ... This is not where the money is," he says, marking the first time a major Web media exec has publicly suggested that certain forms of user-generated and social media may not be monetizable.

Top Executives Exploring Digital Space

According to the Business Elite Study by Ipsos MediaCt, and the Executive Summary drafted recently for the AAAA, almost half of C-suite executives say "the Internet has made little difference in their reading of business publications," while at the same time, using a publication's website is part of the daily routine for about two out of five (38%).