SOMALIA

Somaliland: 25 journos arrested, four held, TV station closed

Reporters Without Borders is worried by events of the past week affecting the media in the breakaway northwestern territory of Somaliland, in which a total of 25 journalists were arrested and a television station, HornCable TV, was closed in Hargeisa. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

[2012 trends] Apocalypse now!

[Matt Rose] 2012 is the year of the apocalypse (thanks, Mayans). But if you think about it, in a way they are right. Every year it ceases to be the end of the world as we know it. The world is in a constant state of revolution and innovation. Read more >>

AFRICA

Creating an interactive mobile marketing experience with Flash and HTML5

[Staff Reporter] It's not as difficult as you would believe to grab customers' attention, but retaining them once you have sucked them into your mobile marketing campaign is another story. Marketers need to create a vibrant, interactive platform which gets users talking about your various products and the only way to do this is by tapping into different levels of user engagement. This can be done with one (or both) of the most popular interactive web development languages, Flash (ActionScript) or HTML5. Read more >>

ZIMBABWE

Saicom reaches into Zimbabwe

While furthering its objective of capturing market share in the field of electronic vending services in Africa, Saicom, the telecommunications company and providers of GSM Community Service Telephones has concluded an agreement with Zimbabwe based Electronic Automation Systems and Integration (EASI). Read more >>

ZAMBIA

Airtel launches 3.75G service in Zambia

Airtel, yesterday, 17 January 2012, announced the launch of its 3.75G platform in the country. This promises significant changes to how subscribers experience the web on 3.75G-enabled devices. The improved technology will enhance multimedia functionality, high speed mobile broadband and internet access, allowing users to make video calls, watch live TV, send and receive emails and download music from the devices. Read more >>

AFRICA

Sign Africa Expo to visit Nelspruit

Sign Africa Expo will be visiting Nelspruit in the Mpumalanga province, South Africa, for the second time, as one of their road show destinations for 2012. The expo will take place on the 15 February at Emnotweni Arena. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

[2012 trends] What's up in media for 2012?

[Marion Scher] Ever since I read Faith Popcorn's Clicking in 1998 (and I can't believe you haven't read it - really?) I've been hooked on trends and how important it is not only to pay attention to what's affecting people right now but what could happen around the corner. Because you need to be around that corner, armed with what you need to reach your market. Read more >>

AFRICA

APO signs distribution agreement with DowJones Factiva

The African Press Organisation (APO), the African press release wire, announced yesterday, 17 January 2012, a distribution agreement with Dow Jones Factiva, a global news and business information research tool. Read more >>

AFRICA

'Women in News' programme open for applications

The Women in News (WIN) programme, a leadership programme for African women working in media and launched by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) in 2010, is now accepting applications from women media professionals from either the business or editorial side of newspapers in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

[2012 trends] It's not about trends, it's about a reality check

[Dustin Chick] There are no trends in the communications industry this year. There are realities. Fundamental, yet often simple, factors which then influence how communicators can bring value to the organisations they work within. Read more >>

UGANDA

Uganda's wildlife set for the screen

[Walter Wafula] Uganda Wild Life at Heart, a television show which comes to the screen in February 2011, is set to promote tourism and wildlife conservation in Uganda. Read more >>

UNITED STATES

Art Directors Club: Design Jury for ADC 91st Annual Awards

NEW YORK, US: The Art Directors Club (www.adcglobal.org), one of the premier organisation for creatives in integrated media and claimed to be the first global creative collective of its kind, has announced the full Design jury for the global ADC 91st Annual Awards. Arem Duplessis will chair the jury. Read more >>

UNITED STATES

Lens makers focus on smartphone cameras

LAS VEGAS, US: Smartphone cameras have been getting better all the time and accessory makers are now offering a variety of lens options for the devices, intensifying their rivalry with the compact "point-and-shoots." Read more >>

UNITED STATES

RIM previews BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 at CES

LAS VEGAS, US: Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Research In Motion previewed new features of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 that it says will enable customers to stay even more connected and productive in their personal and professional lives. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

MPs to engage South Africans on Info Bill

[Francis Hweshe] Parliament's Ad Hoc Committee looking into the Protection of State Information Bill has adopted what it believes to be an ambitious public hearing drive aimed at getting maximum input from as many South Africans as possible. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

SANRAL denies e-toll accounts terms are unfair

The SA National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) has denied that its e-toll accounts terms and conditions were either unfair or illegal, as reported in a Gauteng newspaper. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Money wasted - but how much?

It's difficult to know exactly how much taxpayers' money has been wasted in the past year because media reports all vary wildly on the subject. News24, for example, says that Auditor-General Terence Nombembe has unearthed R25bn in wasteful expenditure in national and provincial government departments for the 2010/11 financial year. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

New board members for MDDA

President Jacob Zuma has appointed five members to the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) board, his office announced on Monday. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

SEZs to drive regional industrialisation, boost jobs

A new Bill gazetted today aims to boost job creation and industrialisation in outlying areas through the licensing of special economic zones (SEZs). Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Festive season death toll declines

Preliminary figures for the 2011/2012 festive season road death toll report show a decrease in road fatalities compared to the previous festive season's report. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

MINI recalls 3350 cars for repairs

About 3 350 customers in SA would be affected by a worldwide technical recall of Mini Cooper S and Mini John Cooper Works models. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Scorpion ready to sting

[Henrie Geyser: motoring editor] Bet there aren't many people out there who can brag about sharing a race track experience with famous Formula 1 racing drivers, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa... Well, I can because all three of us have driven the sizzling new limited edition 500 Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari on a race track. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Ban on use of Number Two jetty to remain?

The Department of Home Affairs is adamant that Cape Town's Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is not a "designated point of entry" and is standing by its decision that all cruise ships must berth in Duncan Dock, according to a report on Business Live. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

The Sol sets...

Hotel and resort magnate Sol Kerzner has stepped down as CEO of Kerzner International. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Cruise ships banned from V&A

According to a Times Live and a Politicsweb report, the Department of Home Affairs has banned passenger ships from docking in the harbour at the V&A Waterfront and insisted that all ships must dock in an enclosed area at Duncan Dock in Table Bay Harbour. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Life on the edge in Margin Call

[Eugene Yiga: @eugeneyiga] "We are the 99 percent!" So screamed many a protester who "occupied" the world. Clearly, there's still a lot of anger following the 2008 financial crash. That probably explains why Inside Job won last year's Oscar for the best documentary (despite coming across as a manipulative vendetta a few too many times). But what about the other side? What do the bankers think and feel? And what was going through their minds while the mess was going on? Margin Call is here to answer these questions. Read more >>