television

The wedding that captivated America

Julien — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:21:53 +0200

Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz weren’t expecting anyone but friends and family to watch when they posted a video of their wedding on YouTube. But just two days later, it had been viewed by three and a half million people. And within three months, that number had climbed to over 28 million. Since then, the Minnesota newlyweds have been invited onto some of America’s biggest talk shows, including Good Morning America (ABC) and The Today Show (MSNBC). Their biggest achievement? Perhaps being mimicked on the US version of sitcom The Office…

The original

The parody

A glaring case of plagiarism on Chinese TV

Julien — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:40:32 +0200

Image posted here.

On August 22, Chinese broadcaster CCTV released “Soul’s Window”, a much-trumpeted “original production” aimed at a child audience. But Web users haven’t fallen for it.

Same set, same features, same hairstyles – manga fans were not fooled. Several scenes from the 52-episode cartoon were copied directly from "Byousoku" (Five Centimetres per Second), a popular Japanese animated film by Makoto Shinkai released in 2007.

CCTV, China’ state-owned television network, says it was not aware that the production violated copyright. China’s propaganda department, which co-produced the cartoon, had billed it as an educational programme. “Soul’s Window” was supposed to teach children a lesson in ethics.

Replying to the accusations, the cartoon’s producer, Lanhai, recognised that roughly 1 percent of the 2,500 scenes mirrored parts of “Byousoku” and offered an apology. The company said it would launch an inquiry in order to “identify those responsible and draw lessons from this case".

Concealing satellite dishes in China

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:52:35 +0200

Satellite dishes are banned in China in order to prevent Chinese people from watching foreign TV channels. Not that it stops them.

Digital set-top boxes are available and gaining some popularity in China, but unlike their satellite rivals, they don't allow access to channels unauthorised by the government. The only way to watch foreign channels is to get a satellite.

But the dishes are banned by the government, except in exceptional circumstances: for research purposes, for the army and in luxury hotels, for example.

Many Chinese people, however, want to receive foreign channels. The majority of them are more interested in MTV than CNN, or in renting out their apartments to expats in the country.

It's not terribly difficult to get hold of a satellite dish. Most sites that market the goods are banned in China, but not all.

The main problem is keeping the satellite dish hidden. If your dish is discovered by the authorities, the firemen will be sent round to destroy it — as illustrated below.

Source: Zonaeuropa

The best thing to do is either hide the dish — or disguise it.

Source: Zonaeuropa

Photos posted here.

Media blooper of the year: Bolivian channel uses images from TV drama "Lost" in coverage of Air France crash

Team Observers — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:14:52 +0200

A mighty blow for Bolivian television network PAT. Last Thursday, they aired "exclusive" photos supposedly taken by a passenger of Air France flight 447 at the moment the plane crashed. In fact, the mid-air plane dismemberment photos were taken from the television series "Lost."

The Bolivian news presenter even specified that the images were found in a Casio Z750 digital camera, retrieved after the disaster.

As with many other media outlets we received these images via email last week. One can see a passenger spiralling off into the atmosphere in the second shot; in the first shot, the face is obviously that of actress Evangeline Lilly, who plays the character Kate on “Lost.” She is seen seated with an oxygen mask on her face. Another embarrassing tipoff: on the photos, it is clearly daytime, whereas the Airbus A330 crash occurred in the middle of the night.

The Bolivian network was not the only one duped. A Dutch radio station and a Polish television network also fell for it.

French news channel iTélé makes mighty booboo

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:50:44 +0100

One of our Observers in Madagascar, editor of the Malagasy info site Sobika.com , has alerted us to a blunder made by the French news channel iTélé. In the middle of a report on the protests in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe come several minutes of footage showing ... the protests in Madagascar.

Supposed footage of Guadeloupe. In the red circle you can see a tobacconist called "Tana Tabac" - Tana is short for the Malagasy capital Antananarivo.

This story merely made us laugh. We recognise that it was a mistake and resulted in no dire consequences - so there's no need to slate iTélé.

The video was posted by iTélé (here). The video's accompanied with this info: "The situation in Guadeloupe is getting worse. For 27 days now the island has been at a standstill, paralysed by roadblocks and riddled by violence..." (Tuesday 17 Feb.09 - 1pm).

Obama censored live on Chinese TV

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:47:44 +0100

China's censorship devices were faced with a challenge during Obama's inauguration speech when the new American president mentioned the word communism. Chinese broadcasters quickly faded out the translator's voice and replaced it with an unsuspecting presenter.

Images from state TV channel CCTV. Six seconds into the video, Obama begins to say "Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions." After 20 seconds he had been silenced by the Chinese broadcasters. In reality, he went on to say: "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist".

The presenter, visibly embarrassed by the sudden interruption, poses an impromptu question to a reporter, who then stumbles over a response about Obama's economic policy. On the Chinese web, only versions of the speech in English include references to communism and corruption. Extracts broadcast by the Chinese media and local press, however, were all censored.

Censorship - live on Russian TV

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:53:38 +0200

Could the Kremlin censor an entertainment programme on live TV? According to Russian bloggers, that's exactly what happened on one of the country's national television channels.

The programme, "Phenomenon," aired on the state-run Rossiya channel on Sept. 5. In the live broadcast, Russian magician and self-styled psychic Alexander Char played a version of the children's game Cluedo, telling the audience that the details of a murder were in a safe. Then he asked three audience members to name first a weapon, then a place, then the person who committed the crime.

The first guinea pig in the audience chose a knife, the second, Munich, and third, after much hesitation... "Putin." An assistant wrote the details on a board: Putin, in Munich, with a knife. The scenario apparently didn't please the show's producers, and a man in a suit, wearing a headset, rushes onto the stage to tell the psychic to remove the name from the list. But it can't be done, spluttered the presenter, there's nothing to rub it out with. What follows is an extraordinary scene, with the man in the suit barking orders from offstage while the presenters try to explain themselves, until the name Putin is removed by the nervous-looking assistant and replaced with simply "Vladimir".

The scene seems as if it could have been staged: the man in the suit makes such a dramatic entry, and his microphone is open to the audience. That was our team's first reaction when they saw the video sent by our Russian observers. However many Russian journalists we spoke to confrimed that the scene was broadcast on Russian TV. So we decided to go ahead and publish this video, fully understanding how unlikely or unbelievable this incident is. Our Russian observers also told us that Russian television networks are all controlled by the authorities.

UPDATE (12 September 2008 - 2pm): Following some further research and comments posted on this piece, we can confirm that the man who intervenes onstage is a co-presenter. That explains why he has a microphone. It looks like a case of auto-censoring on the part of the co-presenter.

We additionally found out that the show was also aired in eastern Russia, later then the live version in Moscow. In that show, the scene in question had disappeared - something else that seems to support the idea that the censorship was live.

Noor, the soap that breaks up couples

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:00:35 +0200

Everyone's talking about Noor this summer. The Turkish series has caused such a storm in the Middle East, it's even been blamed for breaking up marriages and causing suicides.

The popularity of the show - which has been dubbed into Syrian Arabic for the Middle East - might have something to do with the incredible anecdotes that surround it. Tales of women blaming their husbands for not being as romantic as those in the show; someone selling a herd of goats just to be able to watch the programme in peace; people refusing to go to weddings if it's on; Saudi Arabia even launching a fatwa against the show's broadcasters - the stories were as exaggerated as the soap itself. So why so much success? Maybe because of the blend of east and west, featuring both "free love" and Islam at the same time.

The Muppet Show makes a comeback, on YouTube

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:42:37 +0200

If you thought the cast from the Muppet Show had long disappeared from the mortal world, think again. A number of the Jim Henson puppets have proved their existence by setting up YouTube accounts and posting new footage online. Whether or not the comeback is official, however, currently remains a mystery.

Characters Sam the Eagle, The Great Gonzo, Statler and Waldorf, The Swedish Chef and Beaker are the first to have set up YouTube accounts. Since they began their online adventure a month ago, the Muppets, who have not made regular appearances on TV since 1981, have been posting daily videos online and communicating between each other (Beaker recently asked Statler and Waldiorf "Meep meep meep-meep meep Meeeeeep?" The favourite video so far is a Muppet version of Stars and Stripes Forever (the US national march) posted by Sam the Eagle, who describes himself as "an American and an Eagle. And as a citizen of this great nation, I am not required to give any further information to any weirdoes who may be reading this".

Via Nouvel Observateur's web review.

The panellist who disappeared

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:29:28 +0200

Last October a political analyst well known for his critical attitude towards the Kremlin took part in a pre-recorded debate on the Russian TV channel TV Centre. Were the authorities ready to get slated on television? Apparently not. When the show was broadcast a few days later, the opponent magically disappeared from the set.

The producers of the show - incidentally called "The People Want to Know" - soon realised their mistake after filming and carefully edited out Mikhaïl Deliaguin's contributions from the recordings. The black sheep is an economist who has advised Boris Yeltsin and other various politicians who are today expelled from power. He regularly condemns Russia's power and electoral systems. Although he was removed from the show, you can't say he wasn't there at all - the ghost panellist can sometimes be seen in the background.