27 September 2019
A Russian parliamentary committee will urge Russia’s government to revoke DW’s licence for working in the country, claiming that the German broadcaster violated local laws. DW has rejected the accusations.
Russia’s media watchdog, prosecutors, and Justice and Foreign ministries will be asked to consider blacklisting German foreign broadcaster DW in Russia, Russian media reported on Friday. The move comes after the parliamentary commission in charge of investigating potential foreign influence in Russian politics claimed DW had violated domestic media laws.
In response, DW’s Broadcasting Council said that the company’s reporting was “in no way objectionable.” “The Broadcasting Council therefore rejects the accusation that DW interfered in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation,” DW said in a statement.
Broadcasting Council Chairman Karl Jüsten said DW staff should be able to work “unhindered” in Russia. “We expect the Russian authorities to ensure that all DW correspondents in Russia can report freely and without restriction,” he said.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry also pledged to support the broadcaster if necessary. “We know that DW is under pressure in Russia,” they said.
Russia blacklisted US state news outlets Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as foreign agents in 2017.
(Source: DW press release)
25 September 2019
The U.S. Agency for Global Media’s (USAGM) Board of Governors has announced that effective October 1, 2019, Grant Turner, currently USAGM’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), will serve as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director of USAGM on an interim basis until the President appoints a Senate-confirmed CEO.
“We are confident he will provide strong leadership during this time of transition,” said Board Chairman Kenneth Weinstein. “Grant’s strong management and process-driven background is exactly what we need to continue building on our achievements, increasing our impact and advancing our strategic plan.”
“Grant has earned the respect of our Board, senior management team and employees since joining the agency and has the Board’s full confidence as he takes on the role of CEO,” said current CEO John F. Lansing.
Prior to joining USAGM as CFO in February 2016, Turner served as the Budget Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, and as the Budget Director for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Washington, D.C. Turner also worked for six years at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) where he was assigned to the National Security Division and the Office of the Deputy Director for Management. He is a 1989 graduate of Brigham Young University-Hawaii, and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Chaminade University of Honolulu and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Turner succeeds outgoing CEO and Director John F. Lansing, who previously announced his departure from the agency at the end of September to become CEO of National Public Radio (NPR). John Barkhamer, currently USAGM’s Deputy CFO, will serve as Acting CFO.
While serving as CEO during this interim period, Turner will work closely with Steve Capus, Senior Advisor to the CEO with extensive knowledge and proficiency in journalism and production, and Matt Walsh, Deputy Director for Operations, as well as USAGM’s network leadership and senior management.
(Source: USAGM press release)
16 September 2019
In line with its five-year growth plan to provide first-rate content tailored to audiences around the world, MBC Group announces the launch of MBC5, a brand-new satellite channel promising the very best in family entertainment dedicated to the Maghreb.
Referred to as ‘MBC Cinq’ in French, the free-to-air channel will televise content that remains faithful to – as well as further enrich – the North African region’s cultural and historical heritage.
MBC Group’s relationship with the great Maghreb public is one that is not new; for its current channels already broadcast across the region. This launch is only set to cement MBC’s dedication to broadcasting more targeted content, whilst also promising to increase the distribution of localised content to wider territories. This will reinforce the mutual benefits for television producers and directors, whilst improving the quality of skills already present in the field.
Furthermore, the launch of MBC5 is expected to benefit the target countries’ economic development and employment, through new investments in the region’s media sector, as well as the creation of new jobs, especially for first-time employees/the youth market.
This ambitious project will provide a platform to encourage the exchange of diverse experiences and dialogue between local, regional and even global media sectors, encouraging growth and improvement in line with international standards.
LAUNCH DATE
MBC5 launches on the evening of Saturday 21 September, marked by the exclusive broadcast of the first episode of ‘The Voice’ Season 5.
(Source: MBC press release)
12 September 2019
Peter Limbourg, director general of Deutsche Welle (DW), and Marie-Christine Saragosse, CEO and chairwoman of France Médias Monde (FMM), met at the DW headquarters in Bonn for their third annual seminar to discuss new ways of strengthening their editorial cooperation regarding European media projects.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, DW, RFI (Radio France Internationale) and France 24 are planning multilingual digital co-productions for social media aimed at young people. Other events such as the second edition of the Paris Peace Forum in November or the Munich Security Conference in February next year, will be used to explore new ways of collaborating, for instance by sharing editorial teams on the ground.
DW Director General Peter Limbourg: “We like to deepen our successful collaboration because together we can reach even more people around the globe with high quality journalism from Europe.”
France Médias Monde CEO and Chairwoman of Marie-Christine Saragosse: “Because our role as international media is increasingly important in a global context of tensions, because on European news France Médias Monde and Deutsche Welle have expertise and multilingual editorial forces that no one can match, this cooperation between our two groups is essential.”
Cooperation at the heart of the public service missions
One successful joint project was the coverage of the latest European elections in May, including several TV debates co-produced by France 24 and DW in Brussels and in Berlin, as well as a major investigative report “European elections: when Russia interferes” and a series of videos about first-time voters from every European country. These videos were tailored for social networks and were all co-produced by DW, France 24 and RFI.
This cooperation at the heart of the public service missions of the two international media groups in the EU, led FMM and DW to continue developing a key project temporarily named “Enter!” which seeks to deliver multilingual digital information to European youth. This project, which meets one of the objectives set out in the Franco-German Treaty of Aachen (Aix La Chapelle), could be preceded by a pilot tested and running in 2020. The idea has already been positively assessed by the European Commission which deemed it feasible and praised its innovative strength.
These projects come on the heels of the success of “InfoMigrants.” Launched in March 2017 by FMM, DW and Italian news agency Ansa, with the support of the European Commission, “InfoMigrants” delivers reliable information to migrants wherever they are, in five languages (Arabic, English, French, Pashtoun and Dari) on all online platforms they may use (mobile site, Facebook, Viber etc). 37 million users were reached last year. This accomplishment has led the European Commission to renew its trust in “InfoMigrants” and to commit to funding it for one more year.
Another shared effort is “+90”, a Turkish-language YouTube launched in April by the international broadcasters DW, Voice of America, BBC and FMM. France 24 provides stories which are then adapted in Turkish by DW. Just five months after its launch in the Turkish-speaking market, the “+90” content was viewed more than 500,000 hours in total and the channel has close to 140.000 subscribers.
France Médias Monde and Deutsche Welle reaffirmed their ambitions to continue achieving success on these different fronts and joint projects aimed at European citizens and the rest of the world. In a context of widespread competition and the global information battle, the two groups are more than ever determined to join forces to fight the spread of fake news and all forms of manipulation by providing free, independent and balanced information for the benefit of every generation.
To watch the video on joint media projects of DW and FMM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LP8FsLab6c&feature=youtu.be
(Source: DW press release)
6 September 2019
The Chairman of the Board of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) issued the following statement:
After four years serving as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), John F. Lansing will be leaving USAGM–an independent federal agency providing accurate, objective, and professional news and information worldwide–at the end of this month to start the next chapter of his career as the President and CEO of National Public Radio (NPR).
John joined USAGM at a pivotal time in the history of U.S. international media. He provided the vision and collaborative spirit needed to drive growth and innovation during some of the most trying times for global press freedom. The Board is very grateful for, and deeply impressed by, the results achieved during his tenure, including:
- USAGM’s dramatic audience increase to 345 million people weekly and the high level of trust they have in USAGM’s programming;
- Shift to a digital-first content creation and enhancements to the agency’s internet freedom efforts, resulting in notable online audience growth;
- Advancement of a global language-based content strategy, rather than a country-based strategy, to reach key audiences and diaspora communities in Russian with Current Time, Persian with VOA 365, and in the coming months, Mandarin;
- Establishment of the International Coordinating Committee (ICC), made up of USAGM’s five network heads and the CEO, to break apart silos and work collaboratively as force multiplier; and
- Honoring brave journalists by dedicating a memorial wall to the fallen and launching the USAGM Employee Association to support slain and injured journalists and their families.
John has put USAGM on solid footing to advance our mission to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. Our networks’ game-changing news and information programming, shared across one of the widest media distribution portfolios in the world, resonates with policy makers, stakeholders, other media outlets, and most important, our audience.
It is the Board’s top priority to find the best individual to run USAGM upon John’s departure, and we will update you on next steps. In the meantime, I would like to say how much I have enjoyed working with John and how I value his vision, commitment, and enthusiasm. I know that my colleagues on the Board and across USAGM share that sentiment. We offer heartfelt thanks to John for his transformative leadership and wish him all the best.
(Source: USAGM press release)
