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)
20 December 2018
On 18 December, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) announced that it would investigate Qatar’s allegations of intellectual property breaches against Saudi Arabia. A WTO official said that the organisation had agreed “to establish a panel to rule on Saudi Arabia’s alleged failure to provide adequate protection of intellectual property rights.”
As reported by the AIB last June the Qatari pay-tv operator beIN, which owned exclusive rights to the FIFA World Cup 2018, had been the target of what it said was a widespread Saudi-backed piracy operation carried out through the beoutQ TV platform, an operation aimed at harming its services, commercial interests and Qatar’s reputation.
All signs point to the fact that beoutQ, which is broadcast from Arabsat, was started soon after Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States (and Egypt) cut off diplomatic and economic relations with Qatar in June 2017.
In August 2017 beIN, together with leading sporting organisations and broadcasters, called for beoutQ to be shut down. Broadcasters, such as the BBC and Sky highlighting the threat from pirated content broadcast on beoutQ piracy called on the European Union to take action.
Qatari request for consultation rejected by Saudi Arabia
An October request by Qatar for consultations with Saudi Arabia to resolve this matter concerning the protection of intellectual property rights, was turned down by the Saudis, who claimed that the matter had no legitimate connection to the WTO or to compliance with WTO rules, but was the result of national security concern.
Qatar is seeking one billion dollars in compensation from Saudi Arabia.
WTO agreed to the Qatari request, sets up a panel
Following the Saudi refusal to engage in talks to resolve this dispute, Qatar sent a communication to the WTO, asking for a panel to be established to consider the issue.
On 18 December the WTO announced that it would establish a panel to look into the matter.
The Geneva-based WTO deals with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.
However, arbitration procedures may take a long time to reach conclusions that are not always accepted by the party found to be in breach of WTO rules.
12 December 2018
The AIB has published the latest edition of its regular Industry Briefing that reaches well over 27,000 people in media and related industries worldwide. Offering an insight both into the work of the Association for International Broadcasting and developments at AIB Members, the industry briefing is a useful tool for anyone who wants to gain a rapid overview of interesting news from across the media industry, ranging from new appointments to strategy.
If you’re interested in harnessing the power of the AIB’s global reach into media companies large and small, talk to us about the opportunity for advertising within the briefings. And we’re always happy to discuss how Membership of the Association can help your business. Contact the AIB head office on +44 20 7993 2557 and ask for Tom Wragg. He – and any one in the AIB Secretariat – will be pleased to talk with you about the opportunities!
Sign up to receive the AIB Industry Briefing straight to your inbox at http://cfb.d5c.myftpupload.com/sign-up-to-the-aib-industry-briefing/.
12 December 2018
News organisations across the world have marked the one-year anniversary of the jailing of two Reuters journalists in Myanmar.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were convicted of breaching the country’s official secrets act, despite a lack of credible evidence against them and in the face of international condemnations from governments and civil society organisations.
On 12 December, fellow journalists and others working in the international news industry came together to demonstrate their solidarity with Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo as our selection of images shows.
At the AIB, we too have marked the anniversary. We have raised the issue with the Myanmar Ambassador in London – although we have yet to receive any acknowledgement or response from the Embassy. Along with other organisations involved in media freedom, we will continue to seek the release of the Reuters journalists, as well as pressing home the need for media freedom through a new collaborative venture that the AIB is developing with its Members across the world.
7 December 2018
Directors of the British Broadcasting Corporation, ABC (Australia), Deutsche Welle, France Médias Monde, NHK (Japan) and United States Agency for Global Media today said public service broadcasting faces ‘increasing threats’ and expressed concern about ‘troubling attacks‘ on journalists around the world.
In a joint communique the broadcasters said: “Public service broadcasters are among the most trusted sources of news and information. The role of public service broadcasters has never been so important but we face increasing threats. Media organisations are subject to widespread censorship and jamming of services. Furthermore, we have seen deeply troubling attacks on journalists around the world and the recent killing of Jamal Khashoggi sent a chilling message to all of us who believe in freedom of expression. Journalists should have the right to work without fear of intimidation and violence and we call on all countries to respect media freedom and safety. We are committed to working together to do everything in our power to help protect journalists around the world.”
The annual meeting of the world’s leading public service broadcasters convened at the BBC in London on 3-4 December to discuss a variety of issues facing international public service broadcasters including trust in journalism, media freedom, interference with broadcasts and current diversity initiatives in the media industry.
