CTK Newsletter No. 6/2005

15.03.2005

New overviews in Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is a photo product that provides the latest news from society, films, music and the arts. It contains curiosities from both home and abroad. Kaleidoscope is basically short pieces of news with an attractive photograph, a sort of “two in one”. You can learn more about Kaleidoscope in the first Newsletter dated June 1, 2003 which is located in the Novelties section at www.ctk.cz.

OVERVIEWS FROM KALEIDOSCOPE PROVIDE TIPS ON WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT.

Our editors present our clients, especially editors, with a tool that will help them quickly orientate themselves in the database.There are two types of daily overviews. Since February, we prepare a selection of the most interesting events every day as published by Kaleidoscope. The advantage is that a simple click on any headline of the selection locatedon the right of the Kaleidoscope homepage opens the photograph thumbnails and text.

Another useful tool is the complete daily production overview (about 150 headlines) sent directly to your e-mail address. Theoverviews are updated daily. You can order the complete daily production overview for free by contacting Draga Hajdová, hajdova@mail.ctk.cz, tel. 222 098 203. The overview, however, cannot completely replace browsing the database for inspiration, because photographs simply have to be seen.

Kaleidoscope’s advantages:

• A combination of a photo and Czech text
• Up to date
• Searchable (according to key words, categories, and other criteria)
• Two-month archive (with search engine)
• Daily overviews (about 150 pieces)
• Selections of the most interesting events
• 7 thematic blocks with thumbnails
• Sources – ČTK production and foreign agencies (i.e. ABACA)
• Other topics and photos than in the ČTK news service
• Some photographs match “long” news marked by the signal word MIX from the ČTK text news service

We present: ČTK Audioservice

Václav Klaus, Jaromír Jágr, Karel Gott... The Czech News Agency offers thousands of sound bytes to our radio and television clients each year. The nation-wide coverage in the Czech Republic and partial in Slovakia grew from an originally local project to becoming the dominant provider of news interviews. Over 50 radio stations (Impuls, Frekvence 1, etc.) have been using the sound news 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the last five years.
“Statements by politicians, economists, athletes, actors and singers spice up our broadcasting many times during the day,” Petr Lesák from Radio Impuls says. “We frequently use the Infobank sound archive,” Radio Relax programming director Milan Hanuš says. This Kladno-based station was the first to start using the new ČTK product on May 15, 2000. Up to now, reporters and ČTK collaborators have produced more than thirty thousand recordings.
The development of modern technologies means that greater interest has come from mobile phone operators (for MMS messages) and websites, like www.ceskenoviny.cz. ČTK uses SONY Memory Stick and Minidisk products that allow not only for quality recording, but quick processing. The goal of sound news is to provide real recordings of events or telephone calls from reportersaround the world (New York, Paris, London etc.) as quickly as possible.

The sound studio in Prague, equipped with cutting edge technology, helps in this process. Pieces of sound news are usually sent to clients by e-mail as MP3 files of about 150 Kb. Our goal is to keep the service as up to date as possible, meaning to send the sound just after the event has taken place. Searching the recordings archive is easy as the same categories as the text news service are used. Fulltext searches are also possible. We are pleased with the growing popularity of sound news. We try to meet our clients’ needs as much as possible and last year, on the basis of a poll and comments from clients, we set the length of pieces at about 30 seconds and improved the quality of sound from abroad.

ČTK Infobank seminar in March 2005

22. 03. 2005 AT 10:00 A.M. – EFFECTIVE WORK WITH THE INFOBANK
We look forward to you visiting us at ČTK, Prague 1, Opletalova 5. If you are interested in participating, please contact: docekalova@mail.ctk.cz . Participation is free of charge.
We also offer our corporate clients the possibility of holding the seminar at their place of business. The topics and times can be set according to the clients needs. (tel. 222 098 326).

Six years of Protext. What does it offer today?

PROTEXT – AN EFFECTIVE ROAD TO THE MEDIA AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC

For six years now, Czech and foreign clients have been able to use the Protext service, which distributes media announcements in their original forms through the Czech News Agency distribution network. On March 1, 1999, the first Protext media report was broadcast. Today the Protext database has thousands of entries.

Who uses Protext? Is it for companies or journalists?

IT’S FOR BOTH! THE BASIC ADVANTAGE OF PROTEXT IS THE FACT THAT IT IS A SINGLE POINT TO WHICH FIRMS SEND THEIR STATEMENTS AND JOURNALISTS THEN CAN FIND THEM EASILY.

For companies – communication is vital

WHY DO COMPANIES AND INDIVIDUALS USE PROTEXT?
Because it is an inexpensive, quick and effective way to reach the media, state bodies or the business world and the general public. These subjects will all receive the news along with ČTK’s news. Also, it is possible to add a photograph or logo to every Protext piece.

WHAT AREAS ARE MOST OFTEN COVERED BY PROTEXT?
Most of the pieces come from the category “computers and IT, science and technology”, “finances, markets, commerce andtaxes” and “culture, society, media, advertising”. Other areas, however, are available as well.

WHEN TO USE THE PROTEXT SERVICE?
It can be used as a press release to inform about new products and services, changes in a company,planned events or as a reaction to news in the media or to publish a point of view on a problem.

WHO ARE AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT PROTEXT CLIENTS?
They include Microsoft, Sony, ProCA, McDonald, Marks &Spencer, Media Online, Moneco, IKEA, Volksbank, Seznam. cz, Tiscali and many others. Most of them have worked with Protext for a number years.

For journalists and the general public – news, contacts, archive

WHAT CAN A JOURNALIST OR A READER FIND IN PROTEXT?
They can find news about companies, various statements and invitations to events, contacts and an archive with a search engine all in one place. Journalists will be pleased to know that they can find press releases back to 1999 according to categories, company name and fulltext searches.

ANYTHING ELSE?
Many companies and organizations also provide their logos and photographs with their releases.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Access to the database is free of charge and you can also order Protext media announcements by e-mail.

The beginnings of ČTK news radio broadcasts

THIS YEAR MARKS THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEGINNING OF COOPERATION BETWEEN ČTK AND CZECH RADIO.
The first contract between Radiojournal (the precursor of Czech Radio) and ČTK was signed in June 1925 and was effective retroactively from the beginning of the year. The contract obliged ČTK to provide Radiojournal with radio news by telephone. The dictation of news, however, produced various errors and therefore it was agreed that ČTK would broadcast the news itself. ČTK‘s first news presenter was František Soldán. Actor Zdeněk Štěpánek read the news of the Munich Agreement from the ČTK studio on September 30, 1938. The radio desk existed at ČTK until the end of the Nazi occupation in 1945, but Czech Radio presenters started presenting thenews in 1944.

Members of the ČTK and Czech Radio councils and management met at ČTK headquarters in Prague on January 19 to commemorate the signing of the contract between ČTK and Radiojournal.

ČTK Photo Archive Gem

ČTK Golden Pen

The traditional presentation of ČTK‘s internal Golden Pen awards, given to the best reporters and talents of the last year, took place in February. Several categories are awarded and the top prize was given to Petr Běhal and Petr Jonák.