‘International Journalism’ Academy

International media company Bertelsmann on Thursday founded an Academy of Journalism that will advocate the spread of the ideals of press freedom and promote expertise and networking among journalistic talent worldwide. The founding act, which took place on Thursday evening in Berlin at a ceremony to mark Bertelsmann’s 175th year.

Each year, the Academy will convey the tools of the trade for the digital future of journalism to a select group of journalists worldwide, by means of on-site workshops and e-learning modules. Its primary target group are aspiring journalistic talents, mainly from countries where press freedom is nonexistent or at risk.

The “International Academy of Journalism” will be built up in the months ahead and officially take up its teaching activity at the end of 2011.

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Television Bureau of Advertising Name Change

After being known for years as TVB, the Television Bureau of Advertising in New York is adopting TVB as its official name. More than 600 stations are its members. The rebranding echoes a decision by the American Association of Advertising Agencies to adopt a shorthand designation, the Four A’s, as its name. A goal of the changes is to acknowledge that when it comes to advertising, “it’s no longer just about local spot television” and to remind marketers that local stations now also have “digital subchannels, mobile, Web sites and hyperlocal Web sites” on which they can buy commercial time and ad space.

Spending by advertisers on spot, or local, television rose 25.1 percent in the first half of 2010 compared with a year earlier, according to a report released on Monday by the Kantar Media unit of WPP.

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