Multilingual Service Offers Broad Spectrum
KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, MAY 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A nonprofit organization is aiming to provide a place where producers and networks can present and find Catholic programming.
The Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN) has launched an updated version of its Web site to disseminate programming internationally.
"Catholic networks know that Catholic producers with quality Catholic programming are out there, but they are a bit like stars in the sky -- you can see them but you don't know quite how to reach them," stated CRTN managing director Mark Riedemann.
"This is particularly true in Latin America where now over half of the Catholic networks exist," Riedemann added.
CRTN's updated Web site can now facilitate the presentation, negotiation and distribution of Catholic programming worldwide in a variety of languages.
Spanish services
Riedemann explained, "Interestingly, though not surprising, the strongest growth has come from Latin America. We soon realized that our service, weak in the Spanish language, needed to be updated.
"At first I considered separating the system in two -- an English service for the English and Spanish for the Spanish market -- but through communication with Latin American colleagues it became clear that for them the greatest threat was to be locked into their own markets with little cross-border communication and presentation opportunities."
He continued, "Consequently, we developed a search engine system in which all programs in all languages relating to that topic appear. This will allow Catholic television networks the opportunity to select from a broad spectrum of available programming."
The CRTN Web site, financially supported by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, also provides information on Catholic media funding opportunities, production resources, a Catholic radio and television data bank and an archive image exchange.
Martin Fontanari, director of marketing, information and development for Aid to the Church in Need, said that it "has been supporting the work of CRTN for many years, as we understand the growing urgency for the re-evangelization of the developed and developing world, and that Catholic media is an increasingly fundamental part of this process."
Code: ZE07050812
Date: 2007-05-08