28 February 2014
RFE/RL’s Board of Directors has appointed Vice President of Finance, CFO and Treasurer John Giambalvo and Editor-in-Chief for Programming Nenad Pejic to serve as Interim Managers of the Corporation. Their service begins on March 2, following the departure of Kevin Klose as President and CEO, and remains in effect until a new president is appointed. The RFE/RL Board of Directors consists of all of the members of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
Commenting on the leadership change at RFE/RL, Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman Jeffrey Shell said, “Kevin Klose’s leadership in the past year has assured RFE/RL’s place in the forefront of independent journalism in an area of the world where uncensored news and information is in very short supply. I and the entire board have the utmost confidence in John Giambalvo and Nenad Pejic’s ability to further enhance RFE/RL’s reputation and impact as we search for Kevin’s successor.”
Giambalvo joined RFE/RL as Deputy CFO in 2009, after five years on the BBG staff as Policy and Program Coordinator. Giambalvo is a 1997 graduate of the Duke University School of Law, served as an Associate at Hale and Dorr LLP from 2000-2003 and as an Associate at White & Case LLP from 1997-2000. He also holds a Master’s degree from the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University and has earned a B.S. in Business Administration at the State University of New York at Albany.
Pejic, who was named Editor-in-Chief in December 2013, joined RFE/RL in 1993 as the first Director of RFE/RL’s Balkan Service. Prior to this, Pejic held various positions with Sarajevo Television including head of the news department, Belgrade correspondent, and Program Director. He also served briefly as the Head of Publications and Public Relations at the European Institute for the Media.
The Board has engaged a professional search firm to identify a successor president. (Source: press release)
25 February 2014
Channel NewsAsia, covering the news and helping the region understand Asia for the past 15 years, launches its Corporate Social Responsibility programme during its annual Luminary Awards Gala at the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore.
Over the last year, the channel re-launched with 24-hour “live” news reporting, and increased production of original content by over 30 percent with focus on current affairs, analysis and documentaries. The channel has moved aggressively into the digital space with mobile applications and interfaces with smartphones for the on-the-go Asian consumer. A Chinese SMS language service was launched and the channel continues to work on improving accessibility, speed to market, and is developing apps for the next generation Smart TVs.
For the coming year, the channel will launch a slew of initiatives to take on challenges in a diverse and very dynamic market. It will continue to focus on building its programming, and roll out the slate of changes in the next few months for its flagship news programmes and launch programming initiatives to support its CSR plan.
Starting with the morning show, AM Live!, the new format will take in fresh segments that explore for the viewers the latest trends around Asia, in property, food, motoring, health, luxury lifestyle and travel. These will provide opportunities for businesses around the region to work with the channel to reach the affluent Asian consumer. It will continue to have a business focus with daily “live” crosses to its bureaus in the region so viewers get a first-hand update of the Business Day across Asia.
- To further improve its business coverage, there will be more business reports spread throughout the day, increasing the number of hours of market updates across Asia per day, and more hours of business news in its prime time programmes.
- To improve depth of coverage in the daily news cycle, a daily analysis show called Between the Lines will give the story behind the headlines.
- And for viewers who want to understand Singapore better, the current half hour Singapore Tonight, will become a full-hour programme, incorporating the key happenings in the Singapore market and business world.
A series of specials will be committed to initiatives to support the advancement of Women in Asia, in line with the channels’ brand promise to be the “Voice of Asian Progress”. Beyond merely being a Voice – the channel aims to go a step further and promote “Progress in Asia” – improving the lives of Asians via infrastructure and connectivity for local communities.
The focus on women centres around the fact that while they represent nearly half the population in Asia, their voices often go unheard. In many parts of Asia, women still do not have equal opportunities to education, nor are they treated on par in the legal system. The channel aims to use its reach of 50 million across Asia to bring attention to not only the issues, but also the success of women in Asia. It will work with corporate partners to promote awareness of the issues, especially to improve access to infrastructure and technologies.
Ms Debra Soon, Managing Director of Channel NewsAsia comments, “The channel is still young, at 15 years old, we are a baby when compared with other international broadcasters in terms of viewership in Asia. We have worked hard to improve our programming and content over the last year so as to stay abreast and sometimes ahead of the competition, but it’s also time to seriously think about where we are, why we exist and how we can go beyond our business to do something lasting for communities in Asia. We will raise issues about access, talk about uncomfortable things such as the issue of rape and violence against women, gender bias, and also talk about progress and positivity, feature successful role models in business and society.” More details on the CSR programme and projects will be revealed throughout the coming year.
On the business front, the channel took its series of regional seminars called, Business Insights, to different cities starting with Jakarta, Bangkok and Yangon. These seminars will continue to travel to key Asian cities throughout the year and provide opportunities for corporates to join us and tap on the opportunities presented in the gatherings of captains of industry, think-tanks and governments.
It is significant that Channel NewsAsia marks its 15th anniversary at its most prominent event, the Luminary Awards, where it honours some of the best business practitioners. The highest honour of Lifetime Achievement Award for 2014 is bestowed on Mr John L. Gokongwei Jr, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of JG Summit Holdings in the Philippines. His personal life story of overcoming adversity and his exemplary entrepreneurial spirit of achieving great success is one which resonates with the channel and will serve as an inspiration to Asians.
At the Gala, three other awards – Innovation, Green and Future Luminary Awards – will be presented to outstanding businesses and individuals. The recipients had undergone a stringent selection process before being shortlisted and evaluated by a distinguished jury panel of renowned management strategists, academics and corporate personalities. (Please see Annex 1 for details). In conjunction with the Luminary Awards, the Leadership Forum gathers key corporate leaders to share their business insights on the theme of driving growth in a global landscape, focusing on innovative and sustainable leadership. Luminary Leadership Forum 2014 is moderated by Channel NewsAsia’s Teymoor Nabili. (Please see Annex 2 for details). The Awards Gala Dinner will be recorded and telecast on Channel NewsAsia on 28 February 2014, 8-9pm (SIN/HK/MNL time) and the Leadership Forum will be shown on 4 March 2014, 11.30pm (SIN/HK/MNL time).
(Source: Channel NewsAsia press release)
25 February 2014
Euronews joins Google’s free application for smartphones and tablets, available on Android as “Google Play Newsstand” and on iOS as “Google Currents”.
Euronews, the European news leader, is now a partner of the Google App that brings together magazines and other news sources in one must-have reading app.
Both Apps, Google Play Newsstand or Google Currents, help people to create their personalized magazine by aggregating information from selected news sites, magazines, blogs and others news sources in one single place.
Euronews provides users with six content verticals to choose from: “News”, “Europe”, “Business”, “Culture”, “No Comment” and “Sci-Tech” in text, images and videos. Euronews for Google Play Newsstand/Currents Apps is available in six languages: English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish.
The Google Apps are free on the AppStore for iPhone/iPad and on Google Play for Android smartphones and tablets.
Furthermore, Newsstand is pre-installed on all new Android devices.
With 1 billion devices and 1.5 million daily activations on Android, Newsstand represents a one-stop shop for users to discover and consume Euronews’ content.
“Being a partner of Google on such a platform allows Euronews to increase its audience reach and engagement in an unprecedented manner and to remain at the forefront of new content consumption trends.” said Walid Chamak, Head of Digital Partnerships at Euronews.
Content syndication fits into Euronews strategy to be a global multimedia News organization.
As underlined at the MIPCOM conference in October: Euronews places innovation at the heart of its strategy which aims to transform the company into a global media group offering “the right content, in the right place, at the right time.”
The company is a pioneer in adapting content to new trends in digital news consumption. By launching some of the most innovative projects and products all over the world, Euronews aims to increase its audience and brand awareness.
(Source: Euronews press release)
25 February 2014
RFE/RL President and CEO Kevin Klose has announced that he will leave the organization March 1.
In farewell remarks to RFE/RL staff, Klose expressed how “honored and delighted” he was to have worked with colleagues in Washington; Prague, Czech Republic, where RFE/RL’s offices are headquartered; and in RFE/RL’s 19 local bureaus.
At the request of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), Klose returned to RFE/RL in January 2013 after previously serving as its president from 1994 to 1997. In his most recent tenure, Klose oversaw the revitalization of RFE/RL’s Russian Service, Radio Svoboda and its Moscow bureau; strengthening of the company’s multimedia platforms and programming; and, most recently, the Ukrainian Service‘s outstanding coverage of Kyiv’s Euromaidan protests.
“Having achieved what the BBG asked me to do, it’s time to move aside and take up the other part of my life,” Klose said, adding that he plans to work “as an independent person steeped in journalism in the pursuit of a wider public engagement of the importance of the work we and our colleagues in U.S. international media do.”
“Words are inadequate to express how sad we are to see Kevin leave,” said RFE/RL’s Editor-in-Chief Nenad Pejic. “He pushed us to the next level, and raised the bar of our professionalism. He stood for us whenever we needed it and we responded by making our content better, sharper, more attractive.”
Klose is a tenured professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, where he served as dean of the journalism college from 2009 to 2012. He also served as president of NPR from 1998 to 2008, directed the International Broadcasting Bureau at the U.S. Information Agency from 1997 to 1998, and was an editor and reporter for “The Washington Post” for 25 years, including stints as Moscow bureau chief, city editor and deputy national editor.
About RFE/RL
RFE/RL is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, Internet, television, and mobile — reach influential audiences in 21 countries, including Russia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
(Source: RFE/RL press release)
20 February 2014
Khalid Ahmed Balkheyour, Chief Executive Officer, Arabsat, has been named Via Satellite’s Satellite Executive of the Year for 2013. In his role as CEO, Balkheyour has developed and directed the Middle East satellite operator which continues to gain ground as the regional industry leader.
The past 12 months resulted in another banner year for the company, the centrepiece of which was a deal to acquire Greek satellite operator Hellas-Sat, enabling the operator to become more of a presence in Europe. Crucially, Arabsat will now be able to offer Middle East broadcasters more of a gateway into Europe, and the deal takes the company outside of its Middle East home turf and creates a more multi-faceted regional operator. The acquisition accelerates top line growth of Arabsat by more than ten percent, and new satellites, Hellas-sat-3 and Hellas-sat-4, will boost top line growth still further. It is a deal that underlines Balkheyour’s ambition to grow one of the most powerful regional operators — globally.
What is most impressive about Balkheyour’s tenure is his creative deal-making, which has pioneered hosted payload deals in the region, including a contract with Emerging Market Communications (EMC) for a Ka-band hosted payload. In 2013, Arabsat signed a number of significant contracts, including agreements with Qatari satellite operator, Es’hailSat, which will see the Es’hailSat 2 satellite join Arabsat’s BADR fleet at 26 degrees East. Another major contract was signed with ‘My HD’ which plans to bring around 50 HD channels to households across the Middle East. Arabsat also signed an MoU agreement with the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information to build a new media platform in Saudi Arabia.
Arabsat’s numbers are also highly impressive, with the company set to achieve double-digit growth in both revenues and profits in 2013. It has the stated ambition of becoming the fifth ranked global FSS operator by 2020, which given its impressive growth in recent years seems well within reach.
The Arabsat story once again showcases the power of regional operators, and in this area, Arabsat has few peers. From strong financial performance, innovative deals, as well as a potential game-changing acquisition for the company, Arabsat continues to tick every box for a regional operator, and it is of little surprise that Arabsat CEO Khalid Balkheyour has once again been nominated to be the 2013 Satellite Executive of the Year.
“Khalid Balkheyour has built Arabsat into a regional powerhouse in the MENA region,” said Mark Holmes, Editorial Director, Aerospace. “Over the last few years, Balkheyour has been a perennial nominee for this award, and it is not hard to understand why. The company has shown fantastic revenue and profit growth, is a leader in terms of HD/DTH in the Middle East, and is fast becoming one of the top regional operators around. 2013 was another great year for the company with the acquisition of Hellas-Sat in Greece and a new partnership deal with fellow Middle East operator, Es’hailSat, as two of the highlights. Arabsat is just continually excellent in everything it does, and we are delighted that finally Khalid Balkheyour is our Satellite Executive of the Year for 2013. It is richly deserved.”
“We are extremely grateful for this wonderful award from Via Satellite, and for the recognition of our accomplishments,” said Khalid Balkheyour. “This recognition comes at a time of great success for the company, as we continue to position ourselves as a regional and global leader in this dynamic industry. Naturally, this success could not happen without the support of our loyal customers, dedicated employees and shareholders, and we would like to thank them for helping us to become the fastest growing satellite operator in the region.”
For more than 20 years, Via Satellite magazine has been honoring the satellite executives who made a lasting business impact on the global satellite market during the previous calendar year.
Via Satellite magazine will showcase Balkheyour in its “Satellite Executive of the Year” cover feature in the March issue. Balkheyour will be presented with his award at the Satellite Executive of the Year award luncheon on Wednesday, March 12, and a reception that will be held that evening. Both events take place during the SATELLITE 2014 Conference and Exhibition, which runs March 10-13 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center at 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW, Washington, DC. For more information or to register, visit www.SATELLITE2014.com. (Source: Arabsat press release)
