Ananova was a web-oriented news service that originally featured a
computer-simulated newscaster named ''Ananova'' programmed to read newscasts to users 24 hours a day. Ananova became a subsidiary of mobile telecommunication operator
Orange S.A., after it was purchased from the
Press Association
PA Media (formerly the Press Association) is a multimedia news agency, and the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is part of PA Media Group Limited, a private company with 26 shareholders, most of whom are national and re ...
(PA) in a £95m deal in 2000, after which it was merged into the Orange main news site. The character Ananova was retired in 2004, but the website continued to provide written news articles until 2009.
History
Ananova was developed by a division of the
Press Association
PA Media (formerly the Press Association) is a multimedia news agency, and the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is part of PA Media Group Limited, a private company with 26 shareholders, most of whom are national and re ...
, a
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
news agency. The character was devised as a virtual
news presenter
A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...
who would read news stories on demand via computer or mobile phone. Ananova was launched in April 2000.
The Press Association soon renamed the division Ananova Ltd. and put the group up for sale.
In July 2000, Ananova Ltd. was purchased by the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that ...
s company
Orange S.A. as part of a £95m deal.
The animated Ananova character was unavailable from 2004, though the Ananova website was still operational and providing written news items until 2009. In April 2010, Orange decided to scrap the name Ananova. Users entering the site ananova.com are now redirected to a Web Hosting Service Directory. Between April 2010 and April 2015 Ananova was known as Orange News. The Orange version of the news service finished with the end of Orange on-line identity.
The Ananova news service was known for its collection of unusual news stories, which it featured in its ''Quirkies'' section.
The site was frequently referenced by
Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington (born 23 September 1972) is an English presenter, comedian, actor, voice-artist, producer and author.
After working with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as producer on their XFM radio show, Pilkington became a co-host of ' ...
during the
Ricky Gervais Show.
Character
The character of Ananova was given a distinctive look and personality based on celebrities
Victoria Beckham
Victoria Caroline Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spice. Wi ...
,
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
, and
Carol Vorderman
Carol Jean Vorderman, HonFIET (born 24 December 1960) is a Welsh media personality, best known for appearing on the game show ''Countdown'' for 26 years from 1982 until 2008, as a newspaper columnist and nominal author of educational and diet ...
.
She appeared as a white female with a thin, toned body. Ananova sported short "unnaturally green" hair and was always seen in make-up. Her creators described her as a 28-year-old "girl about town" who stands at tall and loves the band
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
and the TV show ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
''.
Ananova's creators stated the original incarnation of the character was a prototype, and in the future they intended "to allow every individual to customize Ananova, right down to age, race and gender." The character was launched in April 2000 from a press conference in London.
A significant portion of Ananova's official website was dedicated to detailed fictions regarding the character's personality.
Speech synthesis
The
speech synthesis
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware products. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal langua ...
used by Ananova was developed using patented methods that applied human inflections to extend the rVoice solution from Rhetorical Systems (now
Nuance Communications
Nuance Communications, Inc. is an American multinational computer software technology corporation, headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, that markets speech recognition and artificial intelligence software.
Nuance merged with its compe ...
).
See also
*
Kyoko Date is a "virtual idol" associated with Horipro. She made her debut in 1996 as a 3D CG character. Despite her virtual nature, she was treated as talent by Horipro. She never enjoyed great popularity, but after her debut she intermittently continued he ...
*
Mya (program)
Mya was an intelligent personal assistant under development by Motorola. Proposed features for the program included the ability to read emails and answer questions 24 hours a day. Mya was intended to work with an internet service Motorola was d ...
*
T-Babe
T-Babe (stylised as t-babe) was a virtual pop singer created by husband-and-wife team Sascha and Tessa Hartmann for their independent record label Glasgow Records. The couple were looking to sign an artist to sing the dance tunes that Sascha had w ...
References
Bibliography
*{{cite book , last=Matrix , first=Sidney , date=2006 , title=Cyberpop: Digital Lifestyles and Commodity Culture , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AFvKFLsso3oC&pg=PT108 , publisher=
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...
, isbn=978-1135506711
External links
Article on Ananova in TheScreamOnline
American news websites
Orange S.A.
Internet properties established in 2000
Defunct websites
Internet properties disestablished in 2010
Fictional broadcasters