2 July 2015
This week, RFE/RL marked its 20th anniversary in the Czech Republic in an event convened under the auspices of Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and attended by dignitaries from over 22 countries.
In his keynote remarks, Prime Minister Sobotka recalled listening to RFE/RL as a student in Czechoslovakia.
“I want to thank RFE/RL not only for the last 20 years, but…for the indispensable help in difficult times of oppression, for being a fixed point in space of objectivity in a universe of disinformation, for providing a sense of direction for so many listeners, and for disseminating the voices of freedom,” he said.
Sobotka announced the award of two Karel Kramar medals for national service to former RFE/RL Czechoslovak Service Director Pavel Pechacek and former RFE/RL President Kevin Klose. Pechacek was the only independent journalist to report to audiences in their native Czech language directly from Wenceslas Square during the 1989 Velvet Revolution. Klose led RFE/RL during the move to Prague in 1995. The medals will be presented to the recipients during the Prime Minister’s visit to the U.S. this fall.
Representing the Broadcasting Board of Governors at the event, Ambassador Ryan Crocker paid tribute to the importance of informed media in conflict zones, and the courage of RFE/RL journalists working on the front lines in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic Andrew Schapiro expressed the United States’ deep appreciation for the U.S.-Czech bilateral relationship and their partnership in supporting RFE/RL.
RFE/RL began broadcasting from Munich to the former Soviet Union and eastern and central Europe in 1950, moving its operations to Prague in 1995 at the invitation of then Czech President Vaclav Havel. Sixty-five years after its first broadcast, RFE/RL is a leading innovator in international media, reaching an audience of 23.3 million people in 24 countries and 28 languages on TV, web, social networks, and mobile platforms.
About RFE/RL
RFE/RL is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, Internet, television, and mobile — reach influential audiences in 21 countries, including Russia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
1 July 2015
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s multimedia expansion and rapid growth was the focus of today’s Broadcasting Board of Governors meeting held in Prague, Czech Republic. The Board traveled to the RFE/RL headquarters to tour the facilities, meet the staff and learn more about the network’s operations.
With 18 bureaus and more than 1,000 journalists on the ground, RFE/RL continues to expand its traditional media outlets while also creating new, innovative ways to distribute the news to more than 23.3 million people a week – a 13 percent increase since the previous fiscal year.
“It’s been a demanding and exciting year for RFE/RL,” said Nenad Pejic, Editor-in-Chief and co-interim manager. “Our top priority was launching new Russian-language programming providing fair and balanced independent reporting on Russia and the region; We did this.”
He went on to detail the growth of Current Time, a popular news and information program jointly produced with Voice of America. Launched in October, Current Time now airs on 15 private and public television channels throughout the Russian periphery. In May, RFE/RL and VOA began producing weekend editions, and next month a Central Asian version of the program is expected to launch.
Governor Ken Weinstein noted the pace of change at the network, adding that the “energy level is impressive.”
Many of the changes outlined in the network’s presentation included a new video production capability fueled by extensive training and the construction of television studios, as well as a robust television affiliate outreach effort. A revamped digital strategy to engage audiences on multiple platforms was also discussed in detail. RFE/RL’s Russian Service, for example, operates on four key platforms: its website (average around 6 million visits per month), Facebook page (340,000 followers), Twitter (more than 120,000 followers) and YouTube (more than 1.6 million views monthly).
Governor Michael Kempner opened the meeting by reporting on the numerous threats journalists in the BBG networks have faced. He echoed the State Department’s urging for the release of Radio Free Asia Uyghur Service reporter Shohret Hoshur’s brothers who have been arrested by Chinese authorities in retaliation for Hoshur’s reporting. Additionally, Kempner called for the release of imprisoned RFE/RL contributor Khadija Ismayilova, who has been detained since December 2014. Kempner also noted the dangerous situation for VOA stringers in Burundi, one of whom had a grenade thrown at her house, and for independent Cuban journalists who contribute to the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, three of whom were arrested on World Press Freedom Day.
“It’s been an honor to be able to meet with the motivated and dedicated team here at RFE/RL,” said Kempner. “We’ve been incredibly impressed with the work we’ve seen. Your work is critical to democratic success.” (BBG press release)
19 May 2015
Current Time, a TV news program for Russian-speaking audiences in countries bordering Russia, launched its new weekend edition with shows affording viewers a fresh alternative to Russian-controlled TV.
Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) share the mic on Current Time’s daily show Monday through Friday, and now will serve up weekend programs, with VOA hosting Current Time Week In Review (Настоящее время. Итоги) on Saturdays and RFE/RL taking charge of the Sunday program, Current Time This Week (Настоящее время. Неделя).
“We are expanding our efforts to bring independent, factual and compelling reporting to audiences that have little alternative to official Russian media,” said Nenad Pejic, RFE/RL Editor-in-Chief.
“The balanced and responsible discussion on Current Time is in marked contrast to the Kremlin’s aggressive media empire that denies an outlet for opposition alternatives and public debate,” added VOA Director David Ensor.
“For Moscow it is very important now to keep the victorious posture,” Dmitry Oreshkin told VOA’s Yulia Savchenko, host of the Saturday edition of Current Time. Oreshkin heads an independent Moscow-based political research group. “The Russian propaganda narrative is that America got scared of us,” he said. Other highlights from the inaugural Saturday program included coverage of the Kerry-Lavrov talks in Sochi, the issue of Ukraine’s future in NATO, and the latest diplomatic moves between Russia and China.
The first Sunday program, anchored by RFE/RL’s Sergey Dorofeyev, looked at Boris Nemtsov’s posthumously published report on Russian military involvement in Ukraine, the tenth anniversary of the Andijon massacre in Uzbekistan, and the trial of Nadya Savchenko in Moscow. The program included an exclusive interview with the Deputy Chief of Staff Colonel Valentin Fedichev of Ukraine’s Anti-Terrorist Operation, who noted that, “Ukraine is facing well-organized Russian military aggression in the East.”
“With Current Time, our networks are offering audiences professional, independent journalism that they cannot get elsewhere. This includes reporting from the front lines, but also regional and global issues that receive little coverage on official channels,” said BBG Interim CEO and Director André Mendes.
Current Time is carried by more than 10 public and private affiliate channels in Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, and Ukraine, and is available to Russian speakers everywhere on digital platforms, including social media. Drawing on a network of reporters in the region, across Russia, and in European capitals and the U.S., it presents a daily, 30-minute mix of live news coverage, interviews, original features, and political satire. The show is one part of the U.S. government’s efforts to respond to Russian propaganda in the region. (Source: BBG press release)
30 March 2015
Muhammad Bdaiwi, who was shot dead in March 2014
One year after its Baghdad bureau chief was slain, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) has launched the Muhammad Bdaiwi Memorial Journalism Prize to pay tribute to his career by recognizing the best examples of radio journalism in Iraq.
“In this way, our colleague’s contribution to journalism will be remembered, and his life-long commitment to strengthening Iraq’s independent media and building a more democratic society will continue,” said Nenad Pejic, RFE/RL editor in chief.
The prize will recognize distinguished local radio reporting that supports the values of pluralism and human rights in Iraq. It will be administered in cooperation with the College of Mass Communication at the University of Baghdad, where Bdaiwi was an associate professor of journalism.
The prize was announced during a March 23 ceremony on the anniversary of Bdaiwi’s death
The new prize was announced during a March 23 ceremony at the University of Baghdad marking the first anniversary of Bdaiwi’s death.
Recalling Bdaiwi, whom he knew as a graduate student and with whom he worked at several media outlets after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Dean of the College of Mass Communication, Dr. Hashim Hassan Al-Tamimi, said, “[Bdaiwi] devoted his whole life to his work…His life was a constant struggle on a professional and humanitarian level.” During the ceremony, he announced that an auditorium at the College would be renamed in Bdaiwi’s honor.
Hadi Marae, who directs Iraq’s Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, a Baghdad-based media monitoring group, said that establishing a press competition in Bdaiwi’s name demonstrates the importance and perseverance of Iraqi journalists, and expressed the hope that other news organizations would follow RFE/RL’s example.
On March 22, 2014, Dr. Muhammad Bdaiwi Owaid Al-Shammari, who was known on the air as Hasan Rashid, was shot and killed at a checkpoint in the Jadriyah neighborhood of Baghdad while on his way to work at the Baghdad bureau of Radio Free Iraq, RFE/RL’s Iraq Service. His killer, a member of the Iraqi presidential guard, was tried and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Source: Press release, RFE/RL
29 January 2015
An Azeri court has extended the pre-trial detention of independent journalist and RFE/RL contributor Khadija Ismayilova for an additional two months.
“We are devastated by this decision, which lacks any factual basis and violates the basic requirements of due process,” said Nenad Pejic, editor in chief and co-CEO of US state broadcaster RFE/RL. “The extension of her sentence can only be interpreted as an act of revenge by Azeri authorities against the country’s leading investigative reporter.”
RFE/RL’s Baku bureau was raided and sealed shut on December 26 by agents of the state’s “grave crimes investigations committee” in connection with a new law on so-called “foreign agents.” The same law was invoked to force the National Democratic Institute, IREX, and other organizations supporting civil society development to suspend their local operations.
RFE/RL sent a letter to Azeri authorities earlier this week requesting that the Baku bureau be reopened and employees resume their work without fear for their security and safety.
Ismayilova, who has reported extensively on the financial activities of family members of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, was arrested and jailed for two months on December 5 on charges of inciting a former colleague to attempt suicide.
Azerbaijan’s crackdown on foreign journalists has been widely condemned, including by the Association for International Broadcasting.
