Dec 14, 2021 | News
CVE-2021-44228 Myers Information Services
To All Myers Clients:
Please be advised that we are aware of the recently reported Apache Log4J2/Log4Shell zero-day vulnerability (NVD – CVE-2021-44228). Following the initial report on 12/10/21, Myers’ engineering team has conducted an extensive review of our product offerings to assess any potential threat to Myers clients.
Our findings are as follows:
- • Myers uses the Spring Boot framework for all Java-based applications
- • Myers’ configuration of Spring Boot uses the default logging system provided and not Log4J2.
- • None of Myers’ products use log4j-core
- • Per the Spring Boot statement regarding Log4J2 vulnerability (Log4J2 Vulnerability and Spring Boot), the jars included and used in their default logging cannot be exploited on their own and only applications using log4j-core are vulnerable.
Please be assured that Myers products are not affected by the recently disclosed Log4J2/Log4Shell zero-day vulnerability. Further, we are closely monitoring the situation and will notify you of any updates that may affect your internal systems.
Sincerely,
The Myers Team
Oct 27, 2021 | News
A Technical Viewpoint from Myers Director, Technical Support, Chris Martin
When comparing in-house vs cloud-hosted servers, it can be hard to decide which is the right option as it is dependent upon each station’s unique needs, infrastructure, and resources.
When choosing to run ProTrack on an in-house server, the station itself is responsible for choosing the appropriate physical hardware, having it installed and set up, and are then providing the necessary monitoring and maintenance to ensure systems and hardware are up-to-date and operating effectively. Prior to cloud technologies, this was the only way that stations ran ProTrack.
Myer’s ProHost, is a dedicated cloud-based ProTrack solution that provides all the benefits of an in-house server along with some added benefits. A station still has complete control over all their information but the need to purchase and maintain a physical server is eliminated.
With the ProHost solution, a station is responsible for a single upfront cost and then the entire set-up and ongoing maintenance are fully managed by the Myers team, shifting the burden of 24/7 accountability and maintenance off the in-house user. The solution is built on the latest Amazon Web Services technology, which is highly secure and configurable, meaning that it will scale with the operation-at-hand as needed, so your cloud-based server will continue to run smooth and always be up to date.
On top of scalability, a cloud-hosted server allows for consistent and easy backups of all the station’s information housed within ProTrack. To perform a backup of the information on an in-house server is always possible, but does take up more time and space as the station employees are responsible for carrying out that task and housing the physical back up information. Knowing your information is securely in the cloud provides vital peace of mind that no matter what may happen, that information is always protected. In the event of something happening on a larger scale that could compromise an in-house server, this cloud-hosted solution is able to provide disaster recovery, allowing for quick access to your information through restoring those backups so you can keep moving forward, business as usual, without skipping a beat.
With ProHost and the Myers team, our customers can rely on the cloud-based benefits they would expect, along with the convenience and reassurance of having all of their ProTrack integration points within their own network.
Additionally, our Technical Support team can use an in-house control panel to monitor the environments we host with ProHost, 24/7. The control panel alerts our team to any system issues, allowing us to resolve errors or issues before they become outages. This allows our customers to double down on a more efficient operation and eliminates the guesswork that comes with maintaining an in-house server.
I encourage those not using ProHost to contact us to discuss the specific benefits that it can afford their own station operation. More specifically, we can walk through each station’s own unique workflow or requirements to ensure that ProHost provides the exact solution you need so you can run your station to the highest and most efficient standards.
Mar 22, 2021 | News
Extending the International channel’s reach, Myers will make all of France 24’s programming and metadata available for automatic download through their ProLink distribution service to all customers who subscribe to the channel
Westfield, MA.— Myers, a pioneer in broadcast management solutions, has announced a new distribution partnership with France 24 which will make the International news channel’s programming information and associated metadata available through their ProLink distribution service. All Myers customers, including all US-based PBS member stations, who subscribe to France 24 will reap the benefits of having all of the channel’s schedule and program metadata automatically downloaded into their ProTrack scheduling environment, saving them both time and money.
This new partnership between Myers and France 24 originated from a reach by Myers’ customer, Northwest Public Broadcasting. Their initial interest was to be able to subscribe to the France 24 packaged channel while using Myers as the conduit to facilitate the acquisition of all the associated essential metadata directly into their ProTrack system. ProTrack is a complete end-to-end broadcast management solution provided by Myers that manages content up and down the broadcast chain, providing robust sales, traffic, and billing capabilities. The set-up of France 24 into a cloud-based version of ProTrack and integrated into ProLink will make it easily accessible for Northwest Public Broadcastings’ two stations, KWSU and KTNW, and any additional ProTrack customers, to subscribe to and download schedule and program metadata for the new channel.
“For us, this new partnership with France 24 is demonstrative of our commitment to giving our customers content choices and delivering them efficiencies,” said Crist Myers, President and CEO, Myers. “I am very excited to have partnered with France 24, extending their channel’s reach and our customer’s International content options, all while automating the process to make it happen. It is truly a win-win-win for us all.”
The new packaged channel will be available to go live with Myers’ customers in April 1, 2021. In preparation of going live, the Myers Programming Team will be entering all of France 24’s schedules and program metadata into a cloud-based instance of ProTrack. Once entered, the information will be uploaded to Myers’ ProLink metadata distribution service, where it will then be available to directly download into a subscribing station’s ProTrack scheduling environment. Stations then can quickly download schedules and the required program metadata, which will drastically reduce errors and eliminate the need for the stations to manually enter that data into their system.
“Myers has always proven themselves a true business partner who continually works to provide us with solutions that make our life easier; streamlining processes and simplifying and automating workflows wherever possible to help us increase our operational efficiency,” “said Tom Hungate, Program Manager, Northwest Public Broadcasting. “Therefore, it was not a surprise that in our station’s initial inquiry into subscribing to and broadcasting France 24’s content, we knew we wanted Myers involved. This project has proven no exception to the productive and successful partnership we share with Myers as they have taken on a majority of the upfront work and heavy lifting, by way of getting all the schedules and program information uploaded, so that when we do go live with France 24’s content, all we have to do is start downloading.”
France 24 broadcasts to 404 million households around the world in French, Arabic, English, and Spanish, with a combined weekly viewership between the four channels of 87.1 million viewers. To learn more about France 24, please visit their website at france24.com. ProTrack customers interested in subscribing to France 24 can contact brice.bertrand@francemm.com.
For more information on Myers, visit myersinfosys.com.
ABOUT MYERS
Founded in 1982, Myers has been a pioneer in developing broadcast management software for the rapidly evolving media landscape. Myers’ extensive domain knowledge and systems integration expertise has served as an integral part in the development of a suite of software products and services that drive distribution workflows across multiple departments and systems. Media facilities large and small utilize and benefit from our unique, scalable broadcast management solution, helping them improve operational efficiency and profitability. For more information, please visit: www.myersinfosys.com.
ABOUT FRANCE 24, A FRANCE MÉDIAS MONDE CHANNEL
France 24, the international news channel, broadcasts 24/7 (12 hours a day in Spanish) to 404 million households around the world in French, Arabic, English and Spanish. The four channels have a combined weekly viewership of 87.1 million viewers. France 24 gives a French perspective on global affairs through a network of 160 correspondent bureaus located in nearly every country. It is available via cable, satellite, DTT, ADSL, on mobile phones, tablets and connected TVs, as well as on YouTube in four languages. Every month, France 24’s digital platforms attract 28.7 million visits, 156 million video views (2020 average) and 53 million followers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (December 2020). france24.com
Nov 17, 2020 | News, Partnership Spotlight
The PBS-led sIX Interconnect Project is demonstrative of the collaboration and commitment infused in the public television system. So, let us first start by saying, working with PBS, you, our member station customers, and the multiple vendor partners to modernize the way we do business is something we are extremely proud and happy to be a part of. And although the final project is not yet fully complete, Stage I is, which is the transition from predominate satellite linear video delivery to file-based content delivery. By moving to file-based delivery, stations can now utilize their ProTrack system to access and download content and its associated metadata directly from the cloud-based interconnect system into their \ system. Further, the download process is automated using Myers’ Air Date Processor (ADP).
So how does it work? Myers’ ProTrack reaches out to the interconnect system regularly both via ProLink and also the ProTrack sIX Module to identify any new or updated content. New content metadata is then surfaced to the user in the form of a program offer that is searchable and viewable from within the ProTrack UI. ProTrack users then have a few options. They can select the content they want and download it directly into their ProTrack system manually or they can simply schedule it. Once scheduled, the ADP will recognize if the content is not currently in house, determine whether or not it is available for download in sIX and, schedule a download in time for air. All of the associated content metadata is automatically imported into the system simultaneously, saving users valuable time and money by eliminating the need to re-enter that information as well as eliminating potential data entry errors.
In addition to file download functionality for existing PBS, APT and, NETA content, Stage I of sIX Interconnection also expands upon its content offerings by giving member stations the ability to upload their content to be discovered and shared across the PTV system. Myers is proud to play a part in streamlining this new functionality by allowing for the upload of content and its associated metadata directly from the ProTrack UI. That’s right, the latest ProTrack release enables its users to leverage their existing content metadata library to publish their local programming to sIX Interconnection. Users can simply identify a program to be uploaded and with the click of a button enable it to be downloaded by any member station or National Distributor. This time saving new functionality is currently in beta release and is scheduled to be rolled out to all member stations by late 2020. For more information regarding setup and onboarding for content upload, please reach out to Vigor support at sixtickets@onevigor.tv.
Again, we are excited to be a part of the PBS-led initiative that is modernizing the way we do business and helping member stations improve operational efficiencies. Our goal is to ensure that our customers can maximize their technology investment. We welcome you to share any questions or comments you may have with regards to our team’s or ProTrack’s role in the sIX Interconnection Project.
Jul 17, 2020 | News
In an effort to automate digital live streaming for PBS member stations, Myers has extended its workflow solution capabilities
On the heels of PBS’s new partnership with YouTube TV, announced in 2019, Myers has introduced a new cloud-based workflow designed to help stations track streaming rights and manage any deviations of digital rights from standard broadcast rights.
The new, automated workflow provides the user the ability to:
- Easily access and download streaming rights metadata directly into their ProTrack system
- Quickly identify which content has, and has not, been cleared to livestream
- Manage the content and its associated rights throughout its lifecycle
- Use the same ProTrack tools they have come to know and love
This workflow gives users direct and immediate access to live streaming content and the rights associated with it. Users will not only save time and money by utilizing this process, but will also reduce errors, redundancy, and the need for manual entry.
How it works:
Myers has been working very closely with PBS and its digital group to extend the new live streaming workflows to all PBS member stations. The collaborative effort started with making the content available in Myers’ cloud-based ProLink system; giving users access to download the content metadata directly and see which programming is, and is not, cleared for live streaming. This eliminates the need to manually clear each program on a daily basis. Additionally, utilizing ProLink centralizes the metadata, allowing any future changes to be automatically updated for any PBS Station applying it to their system.
Customers download the content metadata, directly into their ProTrack scheduling environment and using existing ProTrack tools, they can request the content from interconnection for playout. With the time needed to manually enter live streaming rights metadata and clear rights no longer needed, users can further monetize the content opportunities available to them.
“We are proud to work with PBS to both support and help drive the adoption of new workflows, such as this new availability to utilize live streaming capabilities,” shared Crist Myers, President and CEO, Myers. “We know that PBS member stations are operating on limited resources, therefore collaborating with them to overcome workflow challenges and seize greater, more automated, and efficient operations is fulfilling for us all.”
Jun 24, 2020 | News
Westfield, Ma. — During the COVID-19 pandemic, Myers, an established broadcast management solutions provider, helped PBS member stations access At-Home Learning programming for grades 6-12 from partners PBS, WGBH and WORLD Channel. At a time when distance learning has become a necessity for children and families, the educational block, with related PBS Learning Media assets, is available Monday through Friday 12PM – 5PM ET until the fall.
WORLD Channel is carried by 174 PBS member stations nationwide, reaching more than 72% of U.S. television households. Offered to all public media stations, this initiative is available to students, families, caregivers and teachers via most delivery platforms, including over-the-air for those who lack access to broadband internet.
Beginning March 30th, 2020, the available content became stored and accessible to the stations in a cloud-based content repository managed by PBS. The schedule and programming metadata is provided by Myers via its exclusive ProLink delivery service. With these services, PBS member stations can access the necessary metadata and content to transmit all or a portion of WORLD’s At-Home Learning block. This service was accomplished in less than two weeks, in time for schools to move to a distance-learning model.
“This collaboration was a tremendous effort by all parties involved and one we are very proud to be a part of,” shared Crist Myers, President and CEO, Myers. “In these trying times, coming together to help our communities is the top priority and the effort put forth to make this content available, and in such a quick and efficient manner, reinforces the significance of public/private partnerships and the positive effects they can have in our communities today.”
“Only public media has the superb programming, quality learning media assets and deep commitment to step-up so quickly in these challenging times,” said Liz Cheng, general manager for WGBH television and WORLD Channel. “We thank Myers for their part in making this happen.”
For more information, visit myersinfosys.com or contact Myers at sales@myersinfosys.com.
ABOUT MYERS
Founded in 1982, Myers has been a pioneer in developing broadcast management software for the rapidly evolving media landscape. Myers’ extensive domain knowledge and systems integration expertise has served as an integral part in the development of a suite of software products and services that drive distribution workflows across multiple departments and systems. Media facilities large and small utilize and benefit from our unique, scalable broadcast management solution, helping them improve operational efficiency and profitability. For more information, please visit: www.myersinfosys.com.
About WORLD Channel
WORLD shares the best of public media in news, documentaries, and fact-based informational programming that helps us understand conflicts, movements and cultures that may be distinct from our own. WORLD’s original content examines issues too often ignored by mainstream media by sharing stories from a diversity of voices. WORLD has won a Peabody Award, an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award, a National News and Documentary Emmy Award and other national honors—including 1st and 2nd place Native Media Awards, an RTNDA Kaleidoscope Award, a Media for a Just Society Award, two Lesbian & Gay Journalist Awards, two Gracies, and an Asian American Journalists Award. WORLD is a growing platform carried by 174 partner stations in markets representing more than 72% of US TV households. It is also available on WORLDChannel.org and social media platforms. Funding for WORLD Channel is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the MacArthur Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts and Artworks. WORLD Channel is produced by WGBH with the support of WNET and is distributed by American Public Television (APT).
