14 June 2017
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) has announced that Ambassador Alberto M. Fernandez will join the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. (MBN) as its new president on July 17, 2017. In this role, he will oversee MBN’s multimedia operations in the U.S. and across the Middle East, including its digital properties, Alhurra Television networks and Radio Sawa.
MBN is a private, not for profit, multimedia corporation funded by the BBG that provides news and information to the 22 Arabic speaking countries across the Middle East and North Africa. With a weekly audience of more than 27.5 million people, MBN supports democratic values by expanding the spectrum of ideas in the region and producing accurate, professional and independent news and information on all media platforms; and is a trailblazer in audience engagement.
Brian Conniff, BBG veteran and current MBN President, is leaving the company after 11 years. Under his leadership, MBN has grown to be a forward-looking, flexible organisation responding to the region’s evolving media environment and challenges. “It has been a pleasure to work with the professionals of MBN,” said Conniff. “This transition comes at a time of strategic importance as the organisation continues to focus its content and seek new ways to increase its impact. I am confident that Ambassador Fernandez will advance MBN’s important work and continue to increase its impact.”
In response to Conniff’s announcement, John Lansing, CEO and Director of the BBG said, “Brian has played a significant role in BBG’s growth throughout the years, and his expertise and counsel has been invaluable to me. He is an extraordinary leader and has worked very closely with other network leadership to streamline our collective and individual efforts, and to develop creative programming that demonstrates real impact. Ambassador Fernandez is inheriting a first class team with a portfolio of major initiatives.”
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Ambassador Fernandez, a fluent Arabic speaker, will join BBG from the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), where he served as Vice President from 2015 to 2017. During his Foreign Service career, he was widely regarded as one of the most knowledgeable and impactful US Foreign Service voices in the Arabic-language media. Ambassador Fernandez held numerous roles at the U.S. Department of State, including the Department’s Coordinator for the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Chief of Mission in Sudan, Director for Near East Public Diplomacy and Director for Iraq Public Diplomacy. He was a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor and was a recipient of a 2008 Presidential Meritorious Service Award, the 2006 Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy, and a 2003 Superior Honor Award for his work in Afghanistan, among other awards. He also served as a Foreign Service Officer in Iraq, Kuwait, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and the United Arab Emirates, and as USIA desk officer for Egypt, Yemen, and Sudan.
Ambassador Fernandez is a graduate of the University of Arizona and the Defense Language Institute. Ambassador Fernandez has also lectured and debated on U.S. foreign policy in numerous public venues, and has published in several publications, including Brookings Institution publications, the Foreign Service Journal, Journal of International Security Affairs, Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Cipher Brief, Providence, the Harvard Review of Latin America, Middle East Quarterly and the Journal of the Assyrian Academic Society (JAAS). He is also a Non-Resident Fellow in Middle East Media and Politics at the TRENDS Foundation in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Kenneth Weinstein, Chairman of the Board for the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, conveyed the Board’s support for the selection, “Ambassador Fernandez shares our values and focus on long-term growth,” he said. “He has the perfect combination of skill, experience, and regional expertise that we need to continue driving forward at MBN. We are pleased that he accepted this challenge and look forward to working with him. The Board and I are also very grateful to Brian Conniff for his passion and leadership, and thank him for his accomplishments over many years of dedicated service to the agency.”
“I am truly honored and humbled to join the Broadcasting Board of Governors as the President of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks,” said Fernandez. “I am delighted to have an opportunity to contribute to the impact the BBG’s networks have on millions of lives around the world. MBN is a media leader in the region, and I look forward to joining with its dedicated and accomplished staff to continue its growth momentum in new and creative ways.”
Source: MBN press release
25 May 2017
The BBC is reaching a record weekly audience of 372m around the world, a rise of 7 per cent year on year, new audience figures published on 25 May 2017 reveal.
These figures – the Global Audience Measure (GAM) – show how many individuals the BBC reached weekly with its news and entertainment content in the year 2016/17.
The data show the BBC’s weekly global news audience has risen by 8 per cent to 346m, with TV, audio and social media driving the increase.
The BBC World Service has seen an increase of 9 per cent since last year, taking its total audience to 269m.
Global News Ltd, which comprises BBC World News television and BBC.com, now has an audience of 121m, an increase of 12 per cent, with weekly BBC World News TV viewers rising to 99m.
World Service English has seen another significant rise, with an audience of 75m around the world, a 14 per cent increase. This has been driven both by syndication and by the growth of digital audio, including internet audio and podcasts. The number of listeners accessing World Service English through internet audio has shot up by 147 per cent to 21m.
The GAM figures show the BBC is on track to achieve the target set by the Director General of a 500m weekly audience by 2022, the BBC’s centenary year.
Francesca Unsworth, Director of the BBC World Service Group, says: “In a turbulent year for international news, with mounting concern about fake news and social media filter bubbles, more people than ever before are turning to the BBC for reliable, impartial information they can trust.
“We will shortly launch the first new language services in the biggest expansion of the World Service since the 1940s. Today’s audience figures show the need for the BBC is greater than ever.”
Tim Davie, Director of Global and CEO of BBC Worldwide, says: “It is encouraging to see that BBC branded services continue to be the trusted go-to platforms for audiences across the globe.”
- Facebook is by far the biggest source of the BBC’s social media reach globally, but there are regional variations – in Iran alone BBC reaches 1.4m people on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, from a total BBC audience of 12.6m in that country.
- The top ten markets for the BBC’s international news services are Nigeria (36m), USA (34m), India (28m), Bangladesh (16m), Egypt (15m), Pakistan (13m), Iran (13m), Tanzania (10m), Indonesia (7.6m), and Canada (7.5m), where the BBC significantly boosted its presence last year.
- BBC radio saw a 12 per cent uplift in audience figures in the USA during an eventful election year – taking weekly reach to 14.6m people
24 May 2017
The Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) launched the Maghreb Voices website to inform and engage with the people of the Maghreb region in North Africa. The website targets nearly 100 million people and focuses on issues that resonate with them, such as countering ISIS, the rights of women, human rights, corruption, human trafficking, slavery, minorities’ rights and illegal immigration.
“Maghreb Voices will provide its audience an unmatched opportunity to participate in important discussions and share their ideas, issues and concerns openly and freely,” stated Brian Conniff, President of MBN (pictured right). MBN manages and oversees Maghreb Voices. “Maghreb Voices will meet the tremendous need for an uncensored interactive platform in this underserved part of the world.”
The launch of Maghreb Voices comes after the success of Raise Your Voice-Iraq, which communicates with Iraqis about the future of their country. Similarly, engagement is Maghreb Voices main feature, using Community Managers to facilitate dialogue and interact with its audience. It goes to the streets of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania to interview ordinary citizens and get their views on important topics that matter to them. The website also covers the news of the Maghreb community in the United States, Netherlands, France and Spain.
Maghreb Voices also utilises social media properties to facilitate the two-way conversation. It provides a 24/7 discussion forum for all voices on topics of concern through Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and WhatsApp.
There are several unique sections to Maghreb Voices. One of them is dedicated to defectors’ stories. This section includes interviews and first-hand accounts of people who joined and then left extremist groups such as ISIS after they became disillusioned. Another section of the website invites readers to ask any question they have about the U.S., to be answered by the Maghreb Voices staff, or outside experts. Audiences will also find video content, polls, question of the day, citizen journalist content and articles.
Maghreb Voices incorporates VOA’s Learning English into its website, so that its audience will have access to their videos and English language tools. More information about Maghreb Voices can be found on its website and Facebook page.
Maghreb Voices is operated by the non-profit corporation (MBN). MBN is financed by the U.S. Government through a grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency. The BBG serves as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the journalists.
(Source: MBN press release)
23 May 2017
Germany’s international broadcaster DW demanded the immediate release of its correspondent Antediteste Niragira, arrested by members of the Congolese intelligence service (ANR) while reporting on Burundian refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo .
In a statement issued on 21 May, DW said Congolese authorities were refusing to provide further information on accusations of espionage against Niragira.
‘Baseless accusations’
“The accusation that our correspondent is a spy is outrageous and baseless,” said DW spokesman Christoph Jumpelt. “We demand that the authorities in the DR Congo release Antediteste Niragira immediately and provide for his safe return to Burundi.”
Niragira had been preparing to file a report on Burundian refugees living in desolate conditions in a camp near the town of Kavimvira when he was arrested by ANR members and transferred to a prison in Uvira.
A lawyer commissioned by DW has been able to establish that Niragira has not been physically harmed.
Update – 23 May
Since news of his disappearance came through, DW has been working through all available channels to secure his release. On Tuesday 23 May, it was announced that Antediteste had been released and had returned to Burundi.
10 May 2017
Euronews invests to become the world’s first Global news brand, which means the first Global media that adapts itself to the expectations of its multiple local audiences.
To succeed, Euronews reinvents its broadcast and digital offer whilst strengthening its core editorial positioning. To go even further in delivering on its ‘All Views’ mission, the organisation has embarked upon an innovative new strategy to stay ahead of consumer needs in today’s news landscape by customizing its offer for audiences, operators and advertisers.
In May, 2017, Euronews starts a key phase of implementation of its NEXT strategic plan, after a one year-development, investing in its digital transformation and delivering its new daily news offer by rethinking its journalism and production workflow, while reshaping its distribution model.
From May 10 to 24, this new strategy will see the end of the multiplex (one video signal in several languages) that has been at the core of the Euronews offer since its inception in 1993. This multiplex will be replaced by the launch of 12 distinct premium cross platform editions to meet the rapidly changing demand of consumers.
3 May 2017
Newly-launched international news channel set to work with colleagues globally through industry trade association
London, 3 May 2017
The Association for International Broadcasting, the trade association for television, radio and online, is pleased to announce that TRT World has become its newest member. TRT World is also the first broadcaster in Turkey to join the Association.
TRT World launched in October 2015 as Turkey’s first English-language international television and digital news service. Operated by the country’s public broadcaster, TRT [Turkish Radio and Television Corporation], TRT World broadcasts from its main studio complex in Istanbul and from studios that the channel has established in London and Washington DC.
“We are pleased to welcome TRT World, the newest international news channel, as a Member of the Association for International Broadcasting,” said Simon Spanswick, AIB chief executive. “The AIB’s Members across the world look forward to working with TRT World, its executives and its journalists as the channel develops its global reach. As part of the AIB ‘family’, TRT World will benefit from the expertise and knowledge that the Association has developed over the past quarter century.”
“Becoming a Member of the Association for International Broadcasting is a step on our journey to be among the world’s top international news channels,” commented Ibrahim Eren, deputy director general of TRT and CEO of TRT World. “It is important for us to collaborate with colleagues from across the international media industry and to share ideas and experiences. The AIB provides the perfect platform to help us share and learn as we develop the channel. We are looking forward to working closely with the AIB and its members across the world.”
TRT World’s membership of the Association for international Broadcasting provides access to the full range of the AIB’s work. This includes regular market intelligence briefings and participation in working groups that focus on important areas including cyber security, sustainability, emerging technology and audience measurement. The AIB also supports its Members on key issues that affect their business through the Association’s international lobbying work.
The Association for International Broadcasting is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation that works for the benefit of its Members and of the wider media industry. Governance rests with an elected six-person Executive Committee that includes executives from Bloomberg, the BBC, DW, France Médias Monde, Radio Taiwan International and RT.
