3 October 2019
TRT World Forum 2019 will be taking place on October 21st and 22nd in Istanbul. The theme of this year’s Forum is “Globalisation in Retreat: Risks and Opportunities”.
TRT World Forum will bring together politicians, policy makers, academics, journalists, and leading experts. The forum will highlight the most pressing global issues of our time.
The murder of Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi will be discussed in detail at TRT World Forum on 21 – 22 October. The session will explore the geopolitics of the Middle East in light of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
On the second day of TRT World Forum, Arab intellectual, writer and activist based in Norway, Iyad Al-Baghdadi, former member of the Egyptian Parliament and founder and chairman of the Ghad el-Thawrah Party, Ayman Nour, advisor to the chairman of AK Party, Yasin Aktay, editor in chief of Middle East Eye, David Hearst, human rights activist, journalist, politician and President of Women Journalists without Chains organization, Tawakkoul Karman, Saudi Arabian human rights defender and founder and director of ALQST, Yahya Ýbrahim Assiri will seek answers to questions concerning the murder on Tuesday, October 22.
Among the participants of this year’s Forum, which will include international opinion leaders as well as distinguished figures in global politics, are María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, president of the United Nations Parliament Assembly for the 73rd session, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dilma Vana Rousseff, former President of Brazil, Anwar Ibrahim, The People’s Justice Party Leader in Malaysia, Yanis Varoufakis, the main opposition leader in Greece, George Ciamba, Romanian Delegate-Minister for European affairs, Christian Kern, former Chancellor of Austria, Esko Aho, former Finnish Prime Minister and Riyad Farid Hijab, former Syrian Prime Minister.
[Source: TRT press release]
2 October 2019
A new trainee scheme for journalists with disabilities in Kenya – Aim High – has been announced by BBC Director-General Tony Hall. The scheme is coming after development initiatives to train the next generation of African journalists and producers to world class standards.
Tony Hall, who is visiting the BBC bureau in Kenya, says the new initiative will offer three-month placements to three aspiring journalists with disabilities, starting from next April (2020). During the placement, they will spend their time at the Nairobi bureau working with news teams in different African languages and working on television programmes as well as digital production.
The placements will be open to anyone with a disability, hidden or visible, who is interested or experienced in journalism.
Tony Hall says: “The BBC has a long-standing commitment to Africa and telling African stories, reaching more than 100 million people every week. We want to develop independent journalism on the continent, and to support those whose voices often don’t get heard. We know it’s hard for people with disabilities to get opportunities in journalism. Aim High will give aspiring journalists with disabilities hands on experience, bespoke training and mentoring, and I urge people to apply.”
Further details of how to apply will be announced shortly.
Tony Hall is in Kenya to celebrate the BBC’s success in Africa. The broadcaster operates in 13 languages across the continent and has launched more than 20 new television programmes over the last 18 months, from sport to business to the award-winning investigative programme Africa Eye. The BBC’s bureau in Nairobi is now its biggest outside the UK.
Tony Hall will announce the launch of BBC’s first co-production in Kenya. Kenya Connects, produced in partnership with KTN, is a current affairs programme aimed at young people.
He will also celebrate the winner of the Komla Dumor award, announced earlier this week. Solomon Serwanjja, from Uganda, will spend time at the BBC HQ in London before producing a special report on a subject of his choice from Africa.
(Source: BBC press release)
2 October 2019
The Association for International Broadcasting has made a submission to the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications Inquiry into Press Freedom.
This Inquiry, running in parallel with the Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security inquiry into the impact of the exercise of law enforcement and intelligence powers on the freedom of the press, is gathering submissions from key stakeholders in the media industry and others with an interest in the highly topical issue of media freedom in Australia.
“We have been pleased to be able to submit evidence to this important inquiry in Australia,” commented Simon Spanswick, Chief Executive of the Association for International Broadcasting. “The AIB was appalled by the raids undertaken by the Australian Federal Police on the ABC and on the home of a News Corp journalist earlier this year. The raids marked a low point in media freedom in Australia and had a chilling effect on the robust journalism of which Australians have been rightly proud. We are looking forward to helping the Senate Committee and the Parliamentary Committee in their work on this vitally important area in which Australia should be leading the Indo-Pacific region.”
The two submissions have been prepared in conjunction with London-based Doughty Street Chambers, a set of internationally-renowned barristers with a reputation for excellence, specialising in areas of law across multiple jurisdictions, often in cases which have a strong emphasis on human rights and civil liberties. Barristers Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC and Jennifer Robinson are acting for the AIB.
Lead barrister Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC said: “The heavy-handed way in which the Australian authorities targeted major media companies is almost unprecedented in a major democracy. The evidence that we’ve made on behalf of the AIB to the Australian Senate provides global perspective on the issue of Australia’s media freedom. The submission includes recommendations on best practice drawn from our extensive experience of media law in other jurisdictions that could be usefully applied in the Australian context, protecting journalism and journalists, as well as state security. We urge the Senate to make use of the AIB submission as it works to safeguard freedom of the media.”
The AIB has also made a submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security inquiry which can be read here: http://cfb.d5c.myftpupload.com/Media-Freedom/AIB-submission-PJCIS-260719.pdf.
On 7 November, the AIB will hold its second media freedom conference in London at Doughty Street Chambers with the support of Al Jazeera Media Network. This one-day event will bring together AIB Members and the wider media industry to hear evidence from broadcasters on how their operations are being impacted by restrictions on media freedom, and will explore ways to expand the AIB’s international work programme on media freedom. To register for this event, go to: https://forms.gle/wY26Kv37zLc4rfX9A.
30 September 2019
Sudan‘s newly appointed Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, has told a meeting at the United Nations that international broadcasters are welcome back in the country to help build a democratic and free society.
At a UK-organised ministerial meeting on media freedom held at the UN headquarters in New York on 25 September, Hamdok said that he “grew up in Sudan in the 60s and 70s, where the BBC radio was probably the only source of international information for people. And the paradox, years after that, [is that the] BBC was prohibited from broadcasting from Sudan and people were not having access to it.”
He confirmed that the BBC was now allowed back onto FM in the country after an absence of a number of years. He also said that Monte Carlo Doualiya has been restored and that Al Jazeera which had also been banned was now back in the country. Not only were the broadcasters back on the air, but the country’s government is “very determined to create an environment that is open and allow journalists unfettered access to information but also to reporting, anywhere.
“This is actually not giving them any kind of privilege. It is good for our people. Free society, free people can only be productive, can be useful in their own lives but also for society. So I’m doing it precisely because of that.”
“The announcement by Sudan’s Prime Minister confirming the opening up of the country’s airwaves is highly positive,” said AIB Chief Executive Simon Spanswick. “It is good that AIB Members including the BBC, Al Jazeera and Monte Carlo Doualiya are now permitted to broadcast across the nation. The additional commitment to allowing journalists to report from the entire country is an immense step forward for the country and we look forward to supporting the Sudanese government and the international media community to develop Sudan’s media industry.”
The UN meeting, chaired by the UK’s special envoy on media freedom, Amal Clooney, also heard from Lord Ahmad, Foreign Office Minister, and Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, all of whom spoke about the increasing need for media freedom globally and the Media Freedom Coalition to which 32 governments have agreed to join.
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)
