Birmingham City University’s Media Content Lab this week re-launched Media Talent Bank, a supportive new website to help businesses in the creative industries source talent and freelancers to find work.

The website allows businesses and creatives to upload a profile, CV and portfolio onto an online directory which can easily be browsed by potential employers or collaborators.
See: www.mediatalentbank.com

The former head of the BBC Asian Programmes Unit has returned to the BBC after a few years outside the corporation.

Tommy Nagra was previously executive producer of the APU, based in Birmingham, before he left to join the independent production company Maverick Television three years ago.
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Former BBC journalist Waseem Mahmood has been nominated for a ‘Person of the Year’ award for his anti-terrorism work in Pakistan.

He is in a cast of strong individuals from around the world who have been nominated for embodying the values of OneWorld: “human rights for all; a fair distribution of the world’s natural and economic resources; simple and sustainable ways of life; the right of every individual to inform and be informed; participation and transparency in decision making; and social, cultural, and linguistic diversity.
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Entrepreneur Nitin Dahad, founder of the technology consultancy TechSpark, has been appointed to the board of East of England Development Agency, the organisation announced this week.

Mr Dahad has been involved in the high-tech sector for 24 years, and his consultancy works with technology start-ups and high-growth companies. He will represent the business sector, said Pat McFadden, Minister of State for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs.

American media is in a tizzy over British actress Parminder Nagra confirming that she is pregnant. The long-running star of hospital drama ER confirmed with US Weekly magazine that she is expecting with her long-term boy friend James Stenson.
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Sunday Times media correspondent Dipesh Gadher has been appointed deputy news editor at the weekly paper, it was reported this week.

The 33 year-old journalist, who started his journalist career at Asian paper Eastern Eye, has been with the paper for 10 years.
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The Asian Woman magazine awards took place last week at the Whitehall Palace Banqueting House in central London.

Actress Manjinder Virk with writer Neil Biswas
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Former model and journalist Anjana Gosai has published a new beauty book aimed at South Asian women.

Currently beauty editor at Asian magazine, Ms Gosai’s book – ‘The Ultimate Guide To Beauty’ – is billed as “a one-of-a-kind dressing table guide containing everything a girl needs to look and feel her best”.
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A Bollywood film starring Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan is in contention for a Bafta award.

The period epic Jodhaa Akbar is competing in the Best Foreign Film Category.

It is directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, whose previous film Lagaan was nominated for an Oscar in 2001 as Best Foreign Language Film.
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by Amardeep Sohi
Freelance Arts Journalist

Two Pakistani girls living in a women’s refuge in a Northern town, shackled by the past and fighting for their freedom is the setting for the latest production by Tamasha, the theatre company who first introduced us to the much celebrated East is East.

Sweet Cider follows Nosheen and Tazeem’s journey as they struggle to make sense of their fractured and troubled lives, anchored only by their friendship.

Directed by Kristine Landon-Smith at the acclaimed Arcola theatre, the play lives up to Tamasha’s reputation for exhibiting fresh new talent with an up and coming playwright and cast.
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Digital station BBC Asian Network announced yesterday that its drivetime presenter Adil Ray was taking over the reins of the Breakfast show (weekdays 6-9am) from the New Year.

Current occupier Jas Rao will swap roles with him and present the Drivetime show in a new weekday timeslot of 3pm – 6pm.

Nasreen Akhtar, a 34 year writer was recently longlisted for an award for her self-published book, Catch a Fish from the Sea (Using the Internet). It is a memoir about trying to find a partner on the web and traces the remarkable journey of a hopeful soul seeking something that every human being craves: to love and be loved.

How did the idea for the book come about?

My post graduate study was called ‘Eenie, meenie, minie, mo…Catch a Fish from the Sea (Using the Internet)’. Then one day purely by chance, I looked at it from a non-academic angle and saw that is was amusing at the same time and thought that if it was a book, it would be quite entertaining.

During the years that followed, many people told me that I should write a book but I did not take this idea seriously. Then someone very important came into my life and told me that he wanted me to do something with my writing as he believed that I could create something fantastic.

By that time, even though I had set up my publishing company, I abandoned the idea due to severe writer’s block. But when he shared his thoughts with me, how could I not honour his request? And so Catch a Fish from the Sea (Using the Internet) as the world knows it now, came to be in its full glory.
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The radio industry teamed up with media and education unions, students and lecturers at 50 universities and colleges round the country in a campaign to interest more ethnic minority students in radio.

The ‘Represent!’ campaign, launched during university Freshers Week, was in response to under-representation of ethnic minorities in student radio – a key entry point into the industry.
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The hotly anticipated film Slumdog Millionaire opened in North America this weekend to financial success.

The film sees British actor Dev Patel (from Channel 4’s Skins) play Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”
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Following on from their acclaimed album ‘Hanging Around’, music band Trickbaby are releasing their follow-up album ‘Chor Bazaar’ on Chachaman Records.

From the album comes the first single Nine Parts next month, inspired by a west end shopping trip when lead singer Saira Hussain became fascinated by the rolex watches and gold jewellery peering out from the Muslim ladies’ Yashmaks.

It stars Bollywood superstar Abhishek Bachchan as Saira’s love interest and Priyanka Chopra as her love rival. See the music video:
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Radio presenter Veena V won the ‘Best Radio Presenter’ at Channel 4′s 4Talent Awards, being the youngest nominee and only female in her category.

The 4Talent Awards aim to recognise UK’s young creative talent and are part of Channel 4′s drive to act as talent spotters for the people who provide Channel 4, E4, More4, Film4, and channel4.com with programming..
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Hello readers!
After a hiatus for just over 6 weeks, as announced on our weekly newsletter, AIM magazine is back again. So please come up regularly to be updated with all the news. The newsletter will go out again from later this week.

regards
editor, Sunny Hundal

by Mariam Manneh
Freelance Journalist

They say the best things in life come in small packages. And if British Sri Lankan actress Amara Karan is the gold standard for this British saying, then this assertion must be true.

At just 24, and standing just 5ft 3 inch tall, the exceptionally pretty Karan recently starred in Royal Shakespeare Company’s play ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.
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by Waheed Khan
Filmmaker

As a 30 something Londonstani I’ve grown accustomed to being stopped and searched by the boys in blue. My white friends forever ask me, “What is it like to have the police stopping you just because your skin colour fits a racial profile?”. Same old shenanigans. Black friends jokingly say, “It’s your turn to be enemy number 1!”

If you flip the script what would it be like if you were born in the wrong colour skin. I’m talking about Albinism, a genetic condition that affects the pigment in your eyes, hair and skin. This is the subject of my latest documentary ‘Britain’s Whitest Family’ where I meet 3 young British Albinos.
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Former Club Asia presenter is one of the shortlisted few in a 4Talent magazine, published by Channel 4.

The 21 year old radio and television personality is among five nominated for the Off-Air Radio 4Talent Awards 2008. The full list is here.

Author Rashmita Patel has just published her second teenage novel – Web of Lies.

We ask her what makes her tick and why she likes writing books for teenagers.

What do you do other than write?

I work as a School Librarian. I have been working at Alumwell Business & Enterprise College for the last 14 years.

How did you first find the inspiration to write and what drove you to finish it?

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Nafeesa Shan, a reporter on the Lancashire Telegraph, last night won the GG2 Young Journalist of the Year award.

The GG2 awards are an annual event held by Asian Media & Marketing Group to award high achievers in various categories. In total 11 awards were handed out.

Nafeesa was also shortlisted for Young Journalist of the Year at this year’s 17th annual North West Newspaper Awards.

27 year old journalist Angela Saini has left the BBC to go freelance.
AIM magazine asks whether it was a wise decision to make, and why.

You’ve just won an award for your work at the BBC. Why leave now?

Although I love news reporting, I always really wanted to be a science journalist. Winning a high-profile award for a major investigation opened up lots of doors, but rather than go down a route not meant for me, I decided to follow my dream.

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The London Film Festival has announced a major event for this year’s calendar titled: UK and India:The Shape of Things to Come.

Co-sponsored by the UK Film Council, it will explore the implications of the recent UK-India co-production treaty.
www.lff.org.uk

Director Smita Bhide’s debut feature film, The Blue Tower, has been nominated for Best UK Feature at the Raindance Film Festival this year.

The film’s stars include Manjinder Virk (Britz), Kayvan Novak (Fonejacker), Indira Joshi (Kumars at No 42), Madhav Sharma (Coronation Street) and Abhin Galeya (The Bill’s Arun Ghir, pictured) as the hapless hero, Mohan.
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