Watch the highlights of the AIBs 2022:

You can read the 2022 winners and finalists book here, and watch the complete awards presentations - part one is here | part two is here.

As pan-Arab news channel Al Arabiya marks its 20th anniversary, Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, Chairman of parent group MBC, has announced a new strategy for the next phase of the broadcaster's expansion.

This follows the relocation of Al Arabiya's headquarters to Riyadh and a new state-of-the-art TV news studio. It's coupled with digital expansion, increased use of AI, and a focus on global leadership.

Read more here.

Meanwhile, Salman al-Dosary (pictured) has been appointed Minister of Information in Saudi Arabia. al-Doary is former editor in chief of the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. Quoted in the newspaper, al-Dosary has said he will revamp Saudi Arabia's media sector. He pledged to redouble efforts as minister of media to match what he said is the country's "leading position on a global scale".

It is likely that the renewed focus on Saudi Arabia's media is part of the ambitious long-term Vision 2030 project.

After constant, credible threats made towards journalists and staff working at Iran International in London, the channel has taken the decision to move its newsroom to Washington DC.

The decision to relocate followed the arrest of a Chechen-born Austrian national who had allegedly been carrying out hostile reconnaissance of the broadcaster at Chiswick Park in west London. Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command and appeared before magistrates in London charged under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

This incident led the Metropolitan Police to say that despite a "ring of steel" around the broadcasters' premises, it could no longer guarantee the safety of Iran International journalists. At the same time, it feared that members of the public were unsafe as a result of the threats to the broadcaster.

Mahmood Enayat, the channel’s general manager, said in a statement: “I cannot believe it has come to this. A foreign state has caused such a significant threat to the British public on British soil that we have to move.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes (pictured) said: “Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing alongside local officers and other specialists from the Metropolitan Police continue to work in response to potential threats projected from Iran against a number of UK-based individuals. At its sharpest, this has involved police and MI5 working together to foil 15 plots since the start of 2022 to either kidnap or even kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime.

“Those affected continue to be given appropriate advice and support and a number of protective security measures have been put in place to mitigate against these threats. As was apparent late last year, this involved protective security measures including an overt armed policing presence focused around the west London offices of a Persian-language media company.

"Since that time, we have continued to investigate this particular threat alongside others and security operations have continued. In light of the ongoing investigation that follows the arrest of a man last weekend in that area, and despite extraordinary security measures, we still have serious concerns for the safety of people working at this company. This has led to us giving further advice and the company is now relocating. We would like to thank the company for their ongoing understanding with this as we continue to support them."

Threats have also been made against journalists working for BBC News Persian, as well as their families in the UK and in Iran. The BBC has raised the issue within the United Nations.

The UK Royal Television Society recognised BBC News for editorial excellence, investigative grit and creative innovation.

Read the full story here

blinx, the first digital native storytelling hub in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, has been launched, with a high-tech studio in Dubai Media City (pictured). The hub aims to "elevate storytelling and offer new perspectives," targeting Gen Z and Millennials in the region, and beyond.

Headquartered in Dubai Media City, blinx will launch on multiple platforms, offering a “More Story, Less Noise“ approach, By the Youth, For the Youth - delivering relatable content to a young audience in a way the MENA region has yet to see.

“Our purpose is to inspire the Youth through honest, genuine, and spectacular storytelling. By providing news, entertainment and infotainment powered by the best tech and people available, we help build a better tomorrow,“ said Nakhle Elhage, blinx General Manager. “Engaging the region's talented, bold, and brave storytellers, our new digital hub aims to be the go-to destination for stories that connect young people in MENA to the world and like-minded communities.“

Elhage - former Director of News and Current Affairs at Al Arabiya - is joined by two other Al Arabiya alumni: Ruba Ibrahim takes on the post of Chief Operating Officer, and Fadi Radi is Chief Content Officer.

On 28 February, a number of TV channels and radio stations operating in Russia were hacked, with air raid warnings broadcast. On television, usual programmes were replaced by a black screen with a pictogram urging people to take shelter, with a verbal warning of a "threat of a missile strike". The screen switched to a map of the Russian Federation slowing being covered in red from the western part of the country. On radio, the same verbal warning was broadcast.

In some cases, the interruption lasted around 13 minutes - one of the longest-lasting known take overs of transmission systems by hackers. In contrast, an interruption to Iranian television in October 2022 lasted less than 30 seconds.

Gazprom-Media Entertainment Television said in a statement that the attacks were the "result of an attack on a satellite operator's infrastructure. Such attacks on satellites have become part of our working day routine."

A few days earlier, two Russian radio stations in Crimea - Sputnik and Vera - were hacked, broadcasting a statement by the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defence Ministry, followed by the Ukrainian national anthem.

In a further deterioration of media freedom in Belarus, the government has declared the Belarusian Association of Journalists an "extremist organisation". The decision was reportedly taken by the Committee for State Security - the KGB - on 28 February and added to the Interior Ministry's list of extremists on 7 March.

The Association, founded in 1995, aims to protect freedom of speech, freedom of information and to promote professional standards in journalism. In 2020 the Association received the first Media Freedom Award presented by the governments of Canada and the united Kingdom during the Global Conference for Media Freedom that year.

Meanwhile in Kenya, Senator Aaron Cheruiyot has said in a tweet that the Kenyan media are a "cartel" that need "crushing", along with the country's banks. His tweet said that President Ruto will succeed in crushing the cartels.

Following President Ruto's election last year, a number of senior journalists left their posts in the country's main media houses.

On 6 March, Nation Media Group's NTV channel ran a four-minute editorial condemning the attacks on the country's media by some Kenyan politicians.

NHK WORLD-JAPAN highlights for March

The AIB’s mission is to support, sustain, promote and protect its Members, wherever they are in the world, via a range of specialist services.

To find out more about the benefits that Membership of the Association for International Broadcasting delivers, see our Guide to Membership booklet and talk to Tom Wragg at AIB headquarters in the UK.