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Media Network web editor Andy Sennitt announced late this afternoon that their international media news blog is closing down as of Saturday March 24th 2012. Andy is retiring. Radio Nederland Wereldomroep (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) is heading off in a very different direction in the future. So it makes sense to bow out knowing that a job has been well done. Several thousand people a week have relied on Andy’s sharp eye in spotting international media developments and their implications for those who work in the business of international story-telling. I understand the plan is to keep it online as a reference, since it’s a searchable record of media stories over the last decade that has more than academic value. That’s good news.

I hope you’ll join me in thanking Andy for great time and effort he put into editing the on-line version of Media Network. There are over 15,000 stories on the blog going back to October 2003 and he’s continued the tradition of international media reporting in fine style. That can only come from someone who is fascinated by the medium – it’s not a job – it’s a passion. As you can hear in the Media Network vintage radio archive, Andy was a regular contributor from the very start of the programme in 1981. I particularly remember that show we did about the offshore radio days. Andy has spent his career following the media, especially radio. He worked for BBC Monitoring in Caversham Park, UK as well as becoming Editor of the World Radio TV Handbook in Denmark. He moved the HQ of the WRTH to Amsterdam and Diana Janssen recruited him to work on a web-version of the radio programme.

It’s not going to be possible to replace the Media Network news blog. But I will increase the frequency and focus of this Critical Distance blog to include more international media stories. I have been playing around with the Storyful platform, which allows you to mix video and audio clips to add to the traditional text and photos. So if you’re interested to follow what we get up to, visit the blog (if you’re not already there), subscribe and contribute to the next stage of the journey. We’re also on Facebook. I hope we can persuade Andy to drop by from time to time. But for now, Andy we salute you. Big time!
(Thanks to Jonathan Marks and his criticaldistance.blogspot.in)

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