20 January 2015
Respected journalist and media executive Andrew Lack was sworn-in today as the Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the federal agency that oversees the five networks and broadcasting operations of U.S. international media. Those networks include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio and TV Martí, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.
Lack is the first-ever CEO of U.S. international media. Creating the position of a CEO has been a key objective of the agency’s governing board and the Administration.
“We are at a unique time in the extraordinary history of this agency. The 21st Century’s global war on information is increasingly threatening to our country and our values,” said Lack. “I am lucky to join a great group of journalists and news professionals spread across the globe who care so deeply about our critical role in that battle.”
Lack’s selection follows an almost year-long search process that began in October 2013.
“To say we are fortunate that Andy has agreed to accept this challenge is a huge understatement,” said Jeff Shell, Chairman of the BBG. “He is an experienced media executive, a respected journalist, and an energetic and inspirational leader. We are grateful that Andy has decided to serve his country and lead the BBG at this critical juncture.”
Prior to being selected by the BBG, Lack served as the Chairman of the Bloomberg Media Group. He joined Bloomberg in October 2008 as CEO of its Global Media Group and was responsible for expanding television, radio, magazine, conference and digital businesses.
Previous to joining Bloomberg, Lack was Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, where he led the company’s roster of prominent international artists and vast catalog of recorded music from around the world. Before joining Sony Music Entertainment, he was president and chief operating officer of NBC, where he oversaw entertainment, news (including MSNBC and CNBC), NBC stations, sales and broadcast and network operations. He was responsible for expanding the Today show to three hours and creating the show’s street-side studio in New York’s Rockefeller Center.
From 1993 to 2001, Lack was president of NBC News, which he transformed into America’s most-watched news organization through NBC Nightly News, Meet the Press, Today and Dateline NBC.
Before going to NBC, Lack spent much of his television career at CBS News. After joining in 1976, within a year, he became a prominent producer for 60 Minutes and subsequently, senior executive producer of CBS Reports. Lack’s broadcasts at CBS earned numerous honors, including 16 Emmy Awards and 4 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Journalism Awards.
Lack received a bachelor’s degree from the College of Fine Arts at Boston University, where he is currently a trustee. (Source: BBG press release)
19 January 2015
Komla Dumor received a posthumous AIB Founders award last year
The BBC has today launched the BBC World News Komla Dumor Award in honour of presenter Komla Dumor, who passed away a year ago, aged 41.
Komla was an exceptional Ghanaian broadcaster who in his short life made an extraordinary impact – in Ghana, in Africa and across the world – on Joy FM and at the BBC. He worked tirelessly to bring a more sophisticated African narrative to the world. In June 2012, he was named the presenter of Focus on Africa, the BBC’s first-ever dedicated daily TV news programme in English for African audiences, broadcast on BBC World News. He also interviewed a number of high-profile guests including Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Kofi Annan, Tony Blair and Africa’s wealthiest businessman, Aliko Dangote. He anchored live coverage of major global events including the death of Nelson Mandela and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. In 2013, the respected publication, New African, listed Dumor in its list of 100 most influential Africans.
Komla Dumor was the recipient of an AIB Founders award at the 2014 AIB Awards. The award was accepted by his widow, Kwansema Dumor at the AIB Awards ceremony in November of last year.
The BBC World News Komla Dumor Award is now open for applications and will be given to an outstanding individual living and working in Africa, who combines strong journalism skills and an exceptional talent in telling African stories, with the ambition and potential to become a star of the future.
The winner will be awarded the opportunity to gain skills and experience, working with teams across BBC News during a three month placement in London. They will have the chance to broadcast on TV, Radio and Online to the BBC’s audiences of 265 million across the world.
Solomon Mugera, BBC Africa Editor said: “Komla epitomised a new Africa; youthful, dynamic and enterprising. With his infectious enthusiasm, beaming smile and engaging personality he made the stories of a new Africa, good and bad, difficult to ignore. The BBC is committed to continuing Komla’s dedication to this continent with this award. We are searching for a rising star who displays exceptional talent, someone who embodies the spirit of Komla.”
Applications close on Monday 2nd February 2015 at 23.59GMT. For more information on how to apply, entry criteria, and terms and conditions visit bbc.com/komladumor.
The BBC World News Komla Dumor Award is supported by Standard Chartered.
16 January 2015
DW’s Chinese-language online content is now easier to access in China, despite state censorship. The cooperation between DW and Greatfire enables users to freely access DW’s website, blocked by Chinese authorities since 2008.
In this cooperative endeavor, Deusche Welle is counting on the innovative technology “Collateral Freedom” developed by the China-based organization Greatfire. The underlying principle for circumventing censorship is simple: Blocked content is distributed via the servers of large internet providers that cooperate with Greatfire.
“If these servers were blocked, a large number of popular web services in China would also fail. We can therefore assume that the state censors will refrain from actions with such wide-reaching consequences,” says DW’s Managing Director of Distribution, Marketing and Technology Guido Baumhauer.
What is currently a three-month collaboration with Greatfire offers DW effective access to the Chinese market through circumvention of state censorship, says Philipp Bilsky, head of DW’s Chinese service. “We want to reach a broad audience with our Chinese-language online content, and Greatfire, particularly because accessibility is made so easy, marks an important step in this direction.”
Baumhauer sees it as “a bit more freedom of information for those who either don’t want to or are unable to use specialized software to bypass internet censorship.” He also says that the software can be recommended for anyone who wants to access all of DW’s multilingual online content.
In China, users who are interested must now be made aware of the new possibilities available to them. To this end, DW is using Facebook, Twitter and email newsletters to disseminate the web addresses that provide access to the Chinese-language content. DW is also relying on Chinese living in exile to communicate the information.
“Although these services are also partly or intermittently blocked in China, this approach is promising because users have learned to find very creative ways to access the information anyway,” says Baumhauer.
In Iran, which practises strict internet censorship similar to that in China, DW has been actively circumventing censorship for the last two years with the help of a specifically developed software from Psiphon.
This enables for example the use of DW content via a smartphone app. As a consequence, the number of page views has steadily increased to over three million per month.
“However, success in circumventing censorship can’t just be measured by statistics,” says Baumhauer. “The availability of freely accessible information and the feeling that one can freely inform oneself alone constitutes an important step.”
DW Chinese: dw.de/chinese
15 January 2015
Research data from the Broadcasting Board of Governors and Gallup shows that the media market in Afghanistan is primarily split between radio and television. While Afghanistan remains one of the few media markets in which shortwave radio use is still in the double digits, presenters at a research briefing today showed that TV use is overtaking radio for the first time in the country.
“Viewership rates are particularly high in the northern part of Afghanistan, where the electricity supply is more reliable, and drop off in the south where we see more Taliban activity,” said Paul Tibbitts, director of market insight and evaluation at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
TV usage has nearly doubled since 2008, with current weekly viewership at 64% of the total population. Urban residents and non-Pashtuns are more likely to tune in, and TV viewing also increases with education level.
“Those with a post-secondary education are the most avid media users for news overall,” said Sonja Gloeckle, director of research for the International Broadcasting Bureau. Highly educated Afghans were more likely to use TV (72%), radio (51%), Internet (19%), SMS (15%), and social media (14%) on a daily basis for news than other segments of the population.
These findings indicate the best media avenues to reach Afghans during a particularly uncertain transition with continued NATO troop withdrawals. According to Gallup World Poll data, Afghans’ quality of life ratings are at the lowest in eight years. Based on self-reporting zero Afghans can be considered “thriving” within Gallup’s life evaluation scale.
“When you see life evaluation assessments as dismal as what we see in Afghanistan coupled with the anticipated withdrawal of NATO forces and a murky political roadmap, it is quite concerning for all of us following events in the country closely,” said Mohamed Younis, senior analyst and senior practice consultant with Gallup.
A research brief and presentation with further information about this data can be found here, and a video of the briefing will be added in the coming days. More information about the BBG’s media research series is available here.
14 January 2015
Discovery Communications today announced two new executive appointments that will further strengthen the company’s global sports expertise and strategy. Jean-Thierry Augustin has been named President, Sports Strategy & Development in a newly created position at Discovery Networks International, and Peter Hutton has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Eurosport.
Augustin, who previously held the position of CEO at Eurosport, will report directly to JB Perrette, President of Discovery Networks International and continue to be based in Paris. Augustin will work closely with Discovery’s international leadership team and Peter Hutton to create a compelling sports business development strategy that utilizes sports as a game-changing asset and drives new growth globally.
Hutton joins Eurosport from MP & Silva Group, where he held the post of Co-Chief Executive Officer. As Chief Executive Officer of Eurosport, Hutton will oversee the negotiation of sports rights and lead Eurosport’s content strategy to bring renewed focus to programming, production, promotion and platforms. Hutton will take advantage of Discovery’s local infrastructure and global platforms to maximize Eurosport’s value across more than 70 countries and in 20 languages. Hutton also will report to Perrette and will be based in Paris, with a start date of March 1, 2015.
Perrette said, “As we approach the one year anniversary of Discovery’s acquisition of Eurosport in May, our focus is now on unlocking the full value of our must-have sports content for the entire Discovery Communications portfolio to benefit our advertisers, affiliates, audiences and shareholders around the world.”
Perrette continued, “Jean-Thierry has been at the helm of Eurosport for a number of years during which he has proved to be a tremendous commercial leader and this new role will harness his expertise to build Discovery’s global sports strategy and expertise. Similarly, Peter has excelled in the sports media business. With extensive experience in Europe, Asia and Middle East, and strong relationships with broadcasters and rights holders, he is the perfect executive to strengthen Eurosport’s position as a global leader in sports. I am excited to work with both Jean-Thierry and Peter as we take our business to an exciting new level.”
In May 2014, Discovery increased its interest in Eurosport International to 51% from 20% as part of a larger strategic partnership with TF1 Group that began in December 2012. TF1 Group continues to be the majority shareholder of Eurosport France, in which Discovery holds a 20% equity stake.
Jean-Thierry Augustin: Quote and Background
“It has been a privilege to lead Eurosport over the past several years. I look forward to applying my experience and working with JB and Peter to help utilize sports content to drive growth, and create long-term relationships with key partners throughout Discovery’s global business,” said Augustin.
Augustin joined Eurosport in 2001 as Regional Distribution Director and following various promotions was named Chief Executive Officer, Eurosport Group in June 2013. During this period, Augustin played a key role in the launch of Eurosport 2, which is available in 74 million homes in 51 countries and broadcasts 2,300 hours of live action every year. He also oversaw development of Europe’s number-one online sports destination, Eurosport.com which comprises 15 websites in 11 languages, and Eurosport Player, which provides live streaming of Eurosport and Eurosport 2 channels as well as catch-up TV around selected events in 35 markets.
Peter Hutton: Quote and Background
“After over 30 years in sports media, I can’t think of a better brand to lead than Eurosport,” commented Hutton. “I look forward to building on the great work of Jean-Thierry Augustin and his team to ensure that we further improve our line-up of world class sports relevant to our audiences throughout Europe and Asia. With the support of the Discovery teams around the world, we will deliver the best possible global and local events to our viewers and to our commercial partners.”
During his time at MP & Silva Group, Hutton oversaw a portfolio of rights that included the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championships, Formula 1, Grand Slam tennis and Serie A football. He helped launch joint venture channels with Be In Sports in Asia, and took the business into the sponsorship market and key local rights, such as Belgian and Polish football. Before joining MP & Silva Group, Hutton’s previous roles included Managing Director ESPN Star Sports, Senior Vice President Fox International Channels Sport, as well as COO and one of the founders of Middle East and Asian broadcaster Ten Sports.
Source: Eurosport press release
