France Médias Monde kicks off the road to the European elections 2024

France Médias Monde kicks off the road to the European elections 2024

France Médias Monde kicks off the road to the European elections 2024

Special programmes aire on RFI, France 24, MCD and ENTR

In the run-up to the European elections, and as Belgium takes over the rotating presidency of the European Council, RFI, France 24, MCD and ENTR are launching a major editorial programme to give more space to European issues, institutions, and the daily lives of Europeans, against a complicated geopolitical backdrop of war on the Union’s borders. Entirely devoted to Europe throughout the year, and recognised for this work, the channels place Europe at the forefront of their on-air and digital coverage, debating with those who are building Europe in Brussels and in Strasbourg. It will also be an opportunity to speak with those who live in Europe, through more than 30 hours of programming every week in some 20 languages. New programmes will be added in the run-up to the European election campaign and the vote, highlighting the expectations of Europeans, especially young people, to fight disinformation and to debate Europe’s place in the world, with reactivity and perspective.

From January 16 until the European elections in June, « Talking Europe » (En) and « Ici l’Europe »  magazine teams on France 24, (the leading 24-hour international news channel in terms of its coverage of European issues according to the Foundation Jean Jaurès) are focusing on these crucial elections for the future of Europe, with a series of exclusive and special programmes. All of them will be aired on France 24 in English and in French and can be found in dedicated online specials and on social media. France 24 in Arabic and in Spanish also offers daily coverage of European news, electoral issues, and the upcoming June elections.

600th edition of the show “Talking Europe” on France 24

To be aired on Saturday January 20th at 1.15pm * on France 24 in English

In a special show presented by Armen Georgian, Talking Europe heads to the European Parliament for an exclusive interview with Slovakian Maros Sefcovic, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission.

As part of the campaign for the European elections, Armen Georgian (En) and Caroline de Camaret (Fr) are offering a series of debates on two Saturdays a month until June in « Talking Europe » and  « Ici l’Europe »  to analyse the main topics of the 2024 European elections. In partnership with Public Senat, a focus on a member state or group of states will be proposed.

To be followed until the European elections on France 24 :

> Saturday February 24th 24 at 1.10 pm* : To mark the 2nd year of the war in Ukraine, « Talking Europe » and « Ici l’Europe »  teams travel to Ukraine to meet the ministers in charge of the country’s accession into the European Union, and talk to leading figures and Ukrainians.

> Saturday May 4rd at 1.10 pm*: On the occasion of Europe Day in Paris, in partnership with France 24 and RFI, Caroline de Camaret will be live from the forecourt of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris, offering debates with numerous guests. This edition will focus on the Paris Olympic Games, and the personalities will be on hand to answer questions from the public.

> From May 27th: daily column at 1.15 and 7.10 pm*: Each day, Armen Georgian (Ang) and Caroline de Camaret (Fr) offer twelve minutes of news on the European election campaign. The programme includes reports from across Europe by France 24’s special reporters, portraits, and exclusive content.

> Sunday June 9th: European election night on France 24 and RFI.

Every day, European issues are part of RFI’s programme schedule, giving listeners a view of current events on the continent. From 12:00 to 12:30 pm*, the news edition “L’Europe à midi” (Europe at noon) offers listeners daily content on European issues, as well as the news magazine « Accents d’Europe » presented by Juliette Gheerbrandt, Frédérique Lebel and Juliette Rengeval.

Throughout the European election campaign, RFI’s Europe journalists (Anastasia Becchio, Julien Chavanne, Romain Lemaresquier and Daniel Vallot) are mobilising to offer reports, interviews and analysis on the major debates driving the continent’s societies today.

In collaboration with France 24, RFI also hosts a weekly show « Ici l’Europe » at 8.40 pm* on Friday evenings. Reports, exclusive content and guests on European issues can also be found throughout the day, especially in “Reportage international”, “Reportage France” and « Ici l’Europe » .

To be found throughout the 2024 European election campaign:

> A major debate in Brussels in April, jointly organized with France 24, with the heads of the European lists.

> A weekly international guest: « Grand invité international » ” (7.20 am*) with a leading figure in European current affairs.

> A regular report: « Grand reportage » (8.40 pm*) to bring topics about European societies to air on RFI.

To speak to all audiences, in French and in foreign languages, France Médias Monde has also set up a Central and Eastern Europe regional centre in the heart of the continent, in Romania. This includes its subsidiary RFI Romania, RFI’s Ukrainian-language newsroom, and ENTR’s Romanian-language newsroom, all of which offer a variety of programmes and content as close to the ground as possible.

The 14 foreign-language newsrooms (English, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Spanish, Fulfulde, Hausa, Khmer, Kiswahili, Mandenkan, Persian, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian and Vietnamese) are also dedicated to providing their listeners and web users with expert daily coverage of European news, including the elections and polls in June 2024.

The 100% digital offering dedicated to young Europeans in eight languages, will provide social network coverage of the highlights of the European campaign. The ENTR team will explain the issues of the major European themes in connection with the daily lives of young people, by airing a new podcast format on the YouTube channel. In collaboration with France 24 and the programme « Ici l’Europe » as well as RFI and the programme « Accents d’Europe », it will also produce a series of testimonies posted on Instagram to give a voice to first-time voters on major European issues.

Since 2021, ENTR has been developed by France Médias Monde and Deutsche Welle in partnership with a dozen media outlets and civil society organisations in Europe. It is available in eight languages (French, German, English, Bulgarian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, and Romanian) on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), and offers content on all the issues that interest young people and make them react. ENTR recorded over 100 million views between January and October 2023.

Monte Carlo Doualiya (MCD) brings Europe to life in the Arabic language, through its daily news editions on major European issues, and will be stepping up its coverage in the run-up to the European elections. MCD is one of the few Arabic-language radio stations to offer comprehensive coverage of the highlights of European news, thanks to its correspondents in the capitals of Europe.

BBC News Urdu live on TikTok

BBC News Urdu live on TikTok

BBC News Urdu live on TikTok

BBC News Urdu has added TikTok to the social-media platforms delivering its content. The @bbcurdu feed on TikTok brings fast-paced, easy-to-understand videos, offering perspective and insights into news stories and issues of relevance to Urdu-speaking audiences.

Venturing into TikTok, BBC News Urdu further expands its major presence on the Urdu-language social media scene where millions of subscribers connect with the BBC on Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube.

BBC News Urdu Editor, Asif Farooqui, says: “BBC Urdu is known for its unbiased and trusted news coverage, investigations, documentaries and explanatory content. As we expand into TikTok, we will deliver the same journalism that we know our audiences will engage with, accessing BBC News in dynamic, concise formats tailored for them.”

Launched ahead of Pakistan’s general elections, the BBC News Urdu feed on TikTok will also bring election-specific content aimed to help audiences make informed decisions. As with all other platforms, tackling disinformation and misinformation will be an integral element of the BBC News Urdu content on TikTok.

The website bbc.com/urdu is one of the world’s largest Urdu-language news websites, offering rich, high-impact content.

BBC News Urdu is part of the BBC World Service.

France 24 gains ground in Kenya

France 24 gains ground in Kenya

France 24 gains ground in Kenya

In Kenya, where the channel is broadcast on DTT, France 24 is known by more than a third of residents (34%) in Nairobi, the capital. 11% of them follow the channel per week, mainly in English. In addition to its DTT broadcast, three local channels which carry part of the France 24 programmes (KTN10, Y25411 and Kirk TV12) contribute significantly to its audience in the country.

In terms of its audience, France 24 has risen to the rank of the leading international news channel in Kenya.

On a qualitative level, this study carried out by Kantar makes it possible to measure the impression of France 24 among its viewers, 53% of whom say they know its programming very well. According to them, France 24 provides relevant and reliable information on many subjects, and 71% say they recommend it to those around them.

France 24 is available in 9.3 million TV households in Kenya, or 85% of all equipped Kenyan households. The English channel is received in 9.2 million households (almost all), the French channel is received by 0.5 million households and the Arabic channel by 0.2 million households.

*Source: Kantar, survey carried out from May 15 to 28, 2023, among a representative sample of the population aged 15 and over in the country’s capital: Nairobi

RFI strongly condemns attack on correspondent in the DRC

RFI strongly condemns attack on correspondent in the DRC

RFI strongly condemns attack on correspondent in the DRC

While covering voting operations in Kinshasa, RFI correspondent Pascal Mulegwa was attacked and brutalised on Wednesday December 20 by supporters of a candidate in the presidential election.

In a statement, the management of RFI strongly condemned the attack on its journalist in the exercise of his profession, and said that is providing him with all possible support and assistance.

RFI reaffirms its commitment to free, independent information and will continue to cover the general elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the professionalism and balance that characterise the work of its journalists.

Image: © Pascal Mulegwa/RFI

RNZ Pacific cyclone watch service is operating

RNZ Pacific cyclone watch service is operating

RNZ Pacific cyclone watch service is operating

RNZ Pacific has updated the on-air frequencies for its cyclone watch service for the 2023-2024 cyclone season.

The cyclone watch service was activated early this year due to tropical cyclone Lola which devastated parts of Vanuatu in October 2023.

Once cyclone alerts are issued, RNZ Pacific will broadcast hourly updates of these bulletins if necessary, and whenever the situation changes. These will be heard either just before the top of each hour or following news bulletins at the top of each hour.

The broadcaster says it will do its best to keep people informed of all-weather updates on-air and online, with the information supplied by the Fiji Meteorological Service and the New Zealand MetService.

In addition, RNZ can access weather bulletins from the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Samoa, and Tonga Meteorological Offices.

The Wellington-based broadcaster says that it will also strive to obtain damage reports from local authorities, non-governmental agencies active in the field and people affected by the weather events.

You can also follow RNZ on X – formerly Twitter – @RNZPacific and on @RNZPacific Facebook.

​Image: Chief Ben Lovo and his family of Bongkil Village on Erromango, Vanuatu. He says shortwave broadcasts from RNZ Pacific’s cyclone watch service during Cyclone Pam allowed him to warn four villages. 

Photo: RNZI/Koroi Hawkins

RNZ Pacific’s transmitter 1 replacement project underway

RNZ Pacific’s transmitter 1 replacement project underway

RNZ Pacific’s transmitter 1 replacement project underway

Work has started to decommission RNZ Pacific‘s shortwave transmitter 1 at its site on New Zealand’s North Island.

This 100-kilo-watt transmitter was installed at Rangitaiki, Taupo in 1989.

In 2022, RNZ received funding to construct a new transmitter for RNZ Pacific, to ensure the service’s future.

Until the new transmitter project is completed, RNZ Pacific will continue to broadcast through its transmitter 2 at the Rangitaiki site.

The installation of the new Ampegon transmitter will begin in late January 2024.

RNZ Pacific has apologised for any inconvenience this transition may cause to our on-air listeners around the world. The broadcaster is aiming to minimise service disruptions to its on-air audiences, and partner stations in the Pacific region.

RNZ Pacific can still be heard via satellite, and its content will still be available to download or livestream through its website http://rnzi.com.

​Image: RNZ’s Transmission Engineer Specialist, Stephen White, standing next to RNZ’s transmitter 1. Mr White is leading the project to decommission transmitter 1. Work to install the new transmitter will start in January 2024 

Image courtesy: RNZ