2 January 2019
In a statement released on 1 January 2019, Waleed Al-Ibrahim announced the establishment of an Editorial Board for Al Arabiya and Al Hadath News Channels, headed by AbdulRahman Alrashed and including members: Mazen Turki Al-Sudairi, Ali Hedeithy, Salman Al-Dossary and Faisal J. Abbas. Al-Ibrahim also announced the appointment of veteran journalist Dr. Nabil Khatib as the new General Manager of Al Arabiya and Al Hadath. Dr. Khatib succeeds Turki Al-Dakhil, who held the position since January 29, 2015.
In the same context, Al-Ibrahim said: “The main objective behind the establishment of the Editorial Board is to provide both channels with the best available human capital and expertise, while noting that it enjoys the kind of independence that’s necessary to secure the highest levels of professionalism, editorial integrity and credibility”. The Editorial Board will support the management of Al Arabiya and Al Hadath while helping streamline the business, across multi-platforms and touchpoints.
Al-Ibrahim further added: “Whilst welcoming Dr. Nabil “back home” to his family – where he spent nearly 13 years as one of Al Arabiya’s key pillars – I’d like to praise his academic accomplishments, skill-set and proven track-record. His appointment falls in line with the on-going commitment to propel Al Arabiya and Al Hadath to new heights – thus benchmarking with international standards”.
Al-Ibrahim concluded: “I’d like to thank our colleague Turki Al-Dakhil for managing Al Arabiya and Al Hadath over the last couple of years”.
It’s worth noting that Dr. Nabil Khatib enjoys a wealth of experience in Broadcast journalism, with a primary emphasis on News, coupled with an academic record in teaching and training – both students and professionals – in Journalism, Mass Media and Communication.
(Source: Al Arabiya press release)
5 November 2018
International news network TRT World has unveiled its new studios in Washington, D.C. The network will be broadcasting live news coverage and current affairs programmes from the heart of the US capital.
The channel will offer special coverage of the 2018 US Midterm elections on November 6-7. TRT World correspondents will be stationed across the country in key voting areas including Georgia, Florida and Texas. They will amplify human stories including from minority and first-time-voters, and key issues like immigration and the ‘year of the woman’. The election special will be anchored by Alican Ayanlar and feature top guest contributers.
TRT World’s Washington broadcast centre will also be launching its weekly flagship programme, Bigger Than Five. Hosted by international broadcast journalist Ghida Fakhry, Bigger Than Five will rethink the global world order, challenging the consolidation of power among superpowers and rethinking conventional approaches to international issues. It will elevate the voices of people impacted by policymakers, and feature hardhitting interviews with major political players in Washington and around the globe.
“The Washington Broadcast Centre is the first in a series of upgrades that TRT World is undertaking for all of its international locations,” said Ibrahim Eren, Director General and Chairman of TRT.
“We have always had a broadcast centre in Washington, but the new facility is bigger and technically more advanced. It has simplified the processes for correspondents and editors. We can proudly say that our new facility is now equipped to handle news as a regional hub.”
A team of 30-plus operates from the Washington office, including correspondents, video editors, engineers and operational staff. The new facility hosts four fully fitted edit rooms with voice-over capabilities, a media storage, DTL positions, a fully fitted control room and large studio.
TRT World is available across all major digital platforms in the U.S. including Roku, Amazon Fire tv, Apple TV reaching over 25 million devices. TRT World is also available on all American social media outlets with native content and dedicated apps. (Source: TRT press release)
16 October 2018
On November 1, 2018, Erkan Arikan will take over as head of Deutsche Welle’s Turkish language service. One of Arikan’s new responsibilities will be the development of a Turkish-language TV service which will initially go on the air as a Youtube channel.
The 49-year-old Arikan is leaving his position at WDR to move to Germany’s international broadcaster. He currently oversees the Turkish-language offerings of the international and intercultural radio program Cosmo, formerly Funkhaus Europa. Arikan also held this position from 2003 to 2008 before moving to a position as senior editor and moderator at ARD-aktuell in Hamburg. He worked as a reporter for NDR aktuell and for WDR Lokalzeit in Düsseldorf starting in 2013 before returning to manage the Turkish editorial team at Cosmo in 2016.
Gerda Meuer, DW’s Director of Programming: “Erkan Arikan is a seasoned journalist, a passionate reporter and a longtime chief editor. He is a proven expert in Turkish issues and is a doer with an innovative mind. He is the right man at the right time for DW. Much of his focus will be on the development of our new Turkish channel.”
Erkan Arikan: “During a period of rapid political change in Turkey, I am looking forward to taking up this journalistically engaging and challenging position at DW. Taking into account the currently strained relationship between Germany and Turkey, it will be a <noteworthy endeavor> to launch a Turkish-language video channel with the goal of building bridges between the two countries.”
Arikan came to Berlin as the son of Turkish guest workers, where he studied law and journalism at the Free University. Arikan interned at the TV news channel n-tv where he later worked as an editor and moderator until 2003. Arikan has both German and Turkish citizenship. He is married and is the father of two daughters.
DW currently offers comprehensive online news and information in Turkish with an editorial portfolio that includes an extensive social media presence. Individual articles are also distributed through partner portals. Fearing reactive measures by Turkish authorities, potential new partners are increasingly rejecting cooperation with independent Western news providers. This makes DW’s in-house efforts to strengthen its own platforms – along with the further expansion of social media channels – increasingly important.
(Source: DW press release)
6 October 2018
At the ABU General Assembly convened in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat, Mr Ueda was elected to a term until the end of 2021. He is the ABU’s sixth President from NHK. He will continue to lead the ABU for the next three years from January 2019.
On his election he stated: “Our industry is now facing a historic transformation. We are seeing the emergence of new media brought about by the digitalization of broadcasting and widespread use of the internet. We in the broadcast media will not be able to survive unless we adapt to this change in the environment and evolve.”
Mr Ebrahimi Eren of TRT Turkey is the newly elected Co-Vice President who will work alongside Mrs Supriya Sahu, Director General of Doordrashan India, and Mr Sun Yusheng, Vice President CCTV & Executive VP CGTN, China who will both continue to serve the ABU as Vice Presidents.
(Source: ABU press release)
