BBC World Service Director to step down

19 April 2024

BBC World Service Director to step down

Liliane Landor, Senior Controller of BBC News International Services and BBC World Service Director, has decided to leave the BBC later this year.

BBC Director-General Tim Davie says: “The whole of the BBC owes Liliane a huge debt of gratitude. She is an exceptional journalist and editor. The BBC World Service is one of the jewels in the BBC’s crown, and has flourished under her leadership.

“Liliane has been a formidable champion of the BBC’s international services, and an inspirational leader to so many BBC News staff. I’m extremely sorry Liliane has decided to leave us, and wish her the very best for the future.”

BBC News CEO Deborah Turness says: “In a polarised world where truth is under attack, Liliane has led our BBC World Service teams with real courage. She has been a global ambassador for our powerful and important journalism, and has worked with great skill to modernise World Service output to reach digital audiences. Liliane is a person of great integrity and I will miss her wisdom very much. ”

Liliane Landor says: “Serving as Director of the BBC World Service has been an immense privilege. To have been entrusted with leading a global service relied upon by hundreds of millions worldwide is humbling and the greatest honour of my professional life.

“With media freedom under threat, the World Service is a force for good and the BBC needs to look after it.”

Liliane Landor rejoined the BBC in 2021, after a role as Head of Foreign News at Channel 4 News.

Liliane built a major part of her journalistic career at the BBC, where she began at the French Service.

She went on to manage, present, and edit key areas of the BBC World Service, including a role as head of News and Current Affairs in English, before becoming Controller of Languages, where she was editorially responsible for all non-English language services on radio, TV and online. She left this role in 2016.

Liliane also founded the BBC’s staff network, Global Women in News, which remains high-profile and active, and launched the popular 100 Women project in 2014, being named on the list herself in 2016.

Liliane will leave the BBC in July.

UN Under-Secretary-General calls on global media companies to collaborate

12 April 2024

UN Under-Secretary-General calls on global media companies to collaborate

Melissa Fleming recognises importance of the media industry in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

Opening a global webinar on media and sustainability organised by the Association for International Broadcasting, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, Melissa Fleming, called on all media companies to “join forces to be true changemakers”.

Addressing the audience of media leaders and sustainability experts, Melissa Fleming said: “today, I urge all of you to continue these kinds of collaborations to scale up your sustainable development initiatives to innovate on screen and off for the SDGs and to create content that engages your audiences with urgent global efforts to achieve them.”

The AIB is leading the development of the Global Media Sustainability Initiative (GMSI), a ground-breaking effort supported by the United Nations through the UN SDG Media Compact to leverage the global media industry in promoting and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

During a pivotal webinar hosted by the AIB on 11 April 2024, United Nations officials, along with media industry leaders, highlighted the critical role of the media in shaping a sustainable future.

The GMSI serves as a unique platform where media companies worldwide can collaborate, share innovative practices, and create impactful content that addresses urgent global issues such as climate change, gender equality, and health. The initiative, as part of the United Nations SDG Media Compact, has already attracted media organisations globally, ranging from broadcasters in Africa to publishers in Europe and multimedia companies across the Americas.

Simon Spanswick, CEO of the AIB, remarked on the initiative’s importance, “Today, we stand at a crucial juncture where the power of media to inform and motivate the public is more critical than ever. The GMSI not only aims to unite media companies in a shared mission but also to inspire action that contributes directly to a sustainable future.”

The webinar detailed the initiative’s structure, which will focus on four core areas: increasing public awareness of the SDGs, combating misinformation, training storytellers, commissioners and journalists, and making media companies more sustainable themselves. Notable contributions from media veterans and development experts, such as Georgia Arnold, co-founder and until recently Executive Director of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and Victor Olvera, Senior Economist at the World Bank, underscored the effectiveness of media in driving societal change and influencing policy at both local and international levels.

Chris Jackson, SVP US Public Affairs at global research company Ipsos, demonstrated public perception of the SDGs in multiple markets, and how citizens in different countries rank the importance of the 17 SDGs personally. The conclusion is that there is much work to be done to achieve awareness of the SDGs, let alone effect societal change on the issues the SDGs seek to address.

Melissa Fleming emphasised the importance of the media’s involvement: “Media organisations are essential partners in the fight against global challenges. Through the SDG Media Compact, we aim to catalyse actions within the industry, helping to drive advocacy, action, and progress towards the SDGs.”

The AIB invites media companies and professionals to become part of the GMSI and participate in forthcoming events, including a significant gathering at the UN General Assembly in September 2024.

For more information on how to engage with the Global Media Sustainability Initiative and make a difference through media, please visit https://aib.org.uk/GMSI/AIB-GSMI-intro-2024-01-15.pdf.

Watch the April 11 webinar at https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/933311138/rendition/1080p/file.mp4?loc=external&log_user=0&signature=989eea1c21e433609364b80fbe9de92ac7aba1083cccd50741fbd00de61c6472.

CNA’S 25th Anniversary: Mediacorp’s News Network Announces plans to scale up

25 March 2024

CNA’S 25th Anniversary: Mediacorp’s News Network Announces plans to scale up

Expansion strategy outlined at CNA’s Silver Jubilee includes the introduction of new editions in North America, UK and Indonesia, as well as plans for an increased presence in China

Mediacorp’s news and current affairs brand CNA will focus on reaching new audiences in regional and international markets like Indonesia, East Asia, US, and the UK, while continuing to serve Singaporeans by delivering trusted news and quality stories across its multiple platforms.

These plans were announced at CNA’s 25th Anniversary Gala Dinner, held on 19 March at Capella Singapore with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as Guest-of-Honour.

Addressing a celebratory gathering of 300 guests, Mediacorp Chairman Niam Chiang Meng affirmed CNA’s commitment to continue evolving to meet the demands of a changing global mediascape: “We aim to be present at every touchpoint in people’s lives, engaging them through a combination of our own platforms and third-party platforms. This multiplatform approach is anchored on our understanding of how people consume content today – across platforms and devices, languages, and genres.”

Since its launch in Singapore in March 1999, CNA has grown from a local news channel to a network consumed around the world, reaching more than 94 million homes and hotel rooms in Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Digitally, CNA content is consumed by an average of more than 10 million unique visitors every month [1]. On YouTube, CNA has a combined four million subscribers and over 27 million views per month for its CNA and CNA Insider channels. Its strong presence on YouTube has introduced the brand to a growing international audience, with the US being one of the top three markets in terms of watch time for its content [2]. The brand has also earned recognition on the global stage, having garnered more than 500 international awards and accolades in the past decade. Please refer to the Annex for a list of key milestones since CNA’s establishment in 1999.

Fresh initiatives to expand audiences and enhance offerings

With an eye towards fostering further growth, CNA has embarked on developments aimed at building its existing base, meeting new needs, and engaging untapped audiences beyond Singapore:

Making inroads in the US, Canada, and the UK: The CNA brand will be introduced in North America, Canada, and the United Kingdom across a combination of platforms: television streaming services, YouTube, and a curated edition of the CNA website. The roll out will be conducted in phases over this year. This undertaking will cater to people in these regions who are looking for breaking news and insightful documentaries about Asia – in particular China, Japan, and Korea.

Strengthening depth of coverage on China: As part of its expansion strategy and to deepen its on-ground understanding and reporting of China-related news, CNA plans to augment its mix of TV and digital bureaus, with plans to open a new bureau in Shenzhen, and potentially station more correspondents at its Beijing and Shanghai bureaus.

Introducing East Asia Tonight: Audiences can also look forward to a new one-hour bulletin, East Asia Tonight. Airing on CNA every weekday at 6pm from April. Through a combination of ground reporting of the latest developments, original in-depth features and expert analysis, CNA will seek to help audiences around the world to better “Understand Asia”.

Adopting AI to debut a Bahasa Indonesia website: Tapping on a large audience profile closer to home, CNA has launched cna.id, a website in Bahasa Indonesia. To achieve this milestone, CNA’s first digital foray beyond English, CNA signed a research collaboration agreement with Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) to build an English-to-Bahasa Indonesia AI translation tool. A dedicated team of Bahasa Indonesia editors then checks these translated as well as original news reports and features before publishing them.

Providing more engaging content experiences: Continuing to harness AI, CNA has introduced AI-generated summaries (FAST) for articles on the CNA app. Launched on 18 March, the FAST feature uses AI large language models to extract key sentences from stories. These are vetted by the CNA editorial team before publication, providing time-pressed readers with an option to sample content quickly and efficiently when on the go. This feature will be launched on the website soon.

Earlier this year, CNA also introduced a text-to-speech conversion to enable readers to listen to digital stories; and improved its personalised experiences with MyFeed, a feature which allows readers to select and receive more stories on topics of interest to them.

Mediacorp Editor-in-Chief & Chief Sustainability Officer Walter Fernandez said: “CNA’s Silver Jubilee marks a significant milestone in our journey as CNA goes global.”

Added Mr Fernandez: “In the past decade, CNA has won more than 500 international awards for its outstanding content; CNA was named ‘Channel of the Year’ by the London-based Association for International Broadcasting in November 2020; and two years later CNA was named the global winner of the ‘Best News Website or Mobile Service’ by the World Association of News Publishers. Building on this track record of high-quality content and engaging programming, CNA has set its sights on being the global news source to ‘Understand Asia’. The next leg of CNA’s growth will focus on expanding our coverage and sharpening the nuance of our reporting about China; while growing our global audience particularly in North America and Europe.”

[1] Source: Adobe Analytics, April 2023 – February 2024
[2] Source: YouTube Studio

BBC relaunches global apps

21 March 2024

BBC relaunches global apps

Redesigned website and app offer a new contemporary look and more BBC content for digital audiences outside of the UK, alongside enhanced advertising capabilities.

BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC, and BBC News has announced the global launch of the all-new BBC.com and BBC app, transforming the way digital audiences read, watch, and find the BBC’s renowned journalism and storytelling outside of the UK. Available to users worldwide, the new website and app boast an updated design and navigation along with more of the trusted, impartial journalism that consumers rely on the BBC for across the world. The new BBC.com and BBC app also allow for a more premium and sustainable commercial offering with ad tech enhancements that unlock new opportunities for advertisers.

The BBC app, which replaces the International BBC News app, brings together content from across the BBC, for the first time ever. The app mirrors the refreshed BBC.com experience, offering stories and videos across Business, Innovation, Culture, Travel, Earth and more, alongside News, Sport, and live coverage. The BBC app is available for download today in the App Store for Apple users and for Android devices via Google Play.

Tara Maitra, Chief Commercial Officer, BBC Global Media & Streaming, BBC Studios, said: “We are excited to bring the new website and brand-new BBC app to audiences and partners around the globe, following a successful first introduction to consumers in North America,” said “These new digital products deliver an experience as premium as our news and storytelling and offers us the opportunity for future growth as we remain focused on finding new and innovative ways to make BBC content more easily accessible across the globe.”

Naja Nielsen, Digital Director for BBC News, said: “We know there is huge appetite for impartial BBC News journalism as we report – without an agenda – on the burning issues of our time. Thanks to our independent journalism, the BBC is the world’s most trusted international news media organisation, reaching more than 400 million people each week. As we expand and develop our global digital newsroom, I am thrilled our new global app and website will provide an excellent experience and much better showcase our world-beating journalism”.

BBC.com, which re-launched in North America last December, and the BBC app allow users to engage with the BBC’s content in a more cohesive experience. Some of the changes to the website and app include:

New Homepage: The new BBC.com homepage and home screen now include a mix of the biggest global news stories of the moment plus a selection of timely and relevant features, curated by BBC editors.
New Look, Same Trusted News: Visitors looking to dig deeper into what’s happening around the globe can navigate to News to find articles, videos, and live coverage. Those looking for news from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East can find it in the World section under News.
New Sections: BBC’s arts and entertainment coverage in Culture, technology, health and science in Innovation, and sustainability and environment in Earth. Sport, Business and Travel continue to offer agenda-setting stories from around the world, as well as the thought-provoking features readers have come to love from the BBC.
More BBC Videos: New Video section offers an extensive library of BBC videos and multimedia storytelling featuring content ranging from news and sport updates to captivating stories on climate, sustainability, science, health, entertainment, and history.
More Live Coverage: New Live section makes it easier to find live news updates and live global sport coverage as they unfold.
Up-to-the-Minute Breaking News Alerts: Audiences can sign up to receive the same breaking news notifications they always have.
The BBC Direct to your Inbox: Discover our newsletters, including The News Briefing, US Election Unspun, Tech Decoded, Future Earth, The Essential List and the brand-new In History

The new website and app, together, create a streamlined digital ecosystem that makes it easier than ever for audiences worldwide to discover a wider array of BBC content. The consistent, unified layout across web and app results not only in an improved user experience, but the unified, single product suite also allows for more opportunities and flexibility for advertising and sponsorship across both web and app.

Advertising partners can now take advantage of more premium high impact ad units that live seamlessly alongside the BBC’s content, making for a more effective consumer journey. Marketers will also benefit from advanced targeting capabilities featuring more sophisticated audience intelligence, segmentation, and attribution that connects campaigns across web and app products, delivering enhanced measurable results for partners.

These new digital platforms and features, coupled with research that shows advertising within news can drive business results, together bolster the opportunity for marketers to reach the coveted BBC.com audience of engaged and informed news consumers. In fact, according to the IAB1, advertising in news creates a halo effect, with consumers more likely to consider making a purchase after being exposed to a brand’s advertisement within their preferred news sources. Findings show that 90% of consumers have either a positive or neutral response to brands that advertise within news, while nearly half of consumers find brands that advertise in the news to be more customer-focused and engaging, more innovative, and relevant to them. The study from the IAB reinforces internal findings into the aggregated performance of advertising on BBC.com, which show an 80%+ average lift in likelihood to recommend and consideration across key categories.2

BBC.com and the BBC app are the latest step in the company’s ongoing digital transformation, and is supported by its investment in North America, which includes an expanded newsroom that facilitates deeper analysis and local expertise of the regional stories affecting the world. Recently, the company also launched the BBC News FAST channel in the U.S. across leading services, more than doubling the channel’s reach in the region. Ranked as the most trusted news broadcaster in the world, the BBC is driven by its public service mission and editorial guidelines and standards for which the organization is known.

The development and operation of BBC.com and the BBC app is driven by BBC Studios Global Media & Streaming division, which leverages the power of the BBC to reach and engage audiences worldwide. GM&S is responsible for the distribution and advertising of BBC News globally outside of the U.K. GM&S is a division of BBC Studios, the BBC Group’s commercial arm that helps to fund innovation, internationally recognized programming, and the organization’s public service mission.

RFE/RL declared “undesirable organisation” by Russian government

22 February 2024

RFE/RL declared “undesirable organisation” by Russian government

The Russian government has designated Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty an “undesirable organisation,” according to a registry maintained by the country’s Justice Ministry.

The label effectively bans RFE/RL from working in Russia and exposes anyone who cooperates with the outlet to potential prosecution.

RFE/RL President Stephen Capus said the move shows that Moscow considers independent reporting to be “an existential threat.”

The move comes just days after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Image: Adobe Stock

France 24 launches on Freeview UK

22 February 2024

France 24 launches on Freeview UK

France 24, the renowned international news channel launched on Freeview UK channel 266. This strategic expansion allows Freeview users across the UK to access France 24’s diverse and comprehensive coverage of global news, culture, and current affairs in French, English, Spanish and Arabic languages.

Freeview viewers can now enjoy France 24’s high-quality journalism, bringing a unique perspective on international events directly to their screens. With this launch, France 24 aims to further strengthen its presence in the UK market and provide Freeview audiences with a broader spectrum of global news content.

“We are excited to bring France 24 to Freeview users in the UK, offering a valuable addition to the UK news landscape,” said Tanya Kronfli, managing director of Global Distribution Services and France 24 distribution partner, “This expansion reflects our commitment to delivering engaging and diverse news coverage to the UK audiences using cutting-edge technology”.

“We are delighted that France 24 has joined the Freeview line-up. To have all 4 language feeds available on a single channel, on such a widely available platform, is great news and we are confident that UK viewers will appreciate our offer, whether in English, French, Spanish or Arabic.” said Serge Schick, Director of International Development and Commercial Resources.

France 24 is known for its 24/7 news programming, featuring in-depth analysis, interviews, and reports from correspondents around the globe. The channel covers a wide range of topics, including politics, business, culture, and sports, catering to a diverse and international audience.

The launch of France 24 on Freeview utilises the cutting-edge FAST SSAI & CDN, compatible with modern HbbTV-based TVs as well as older Freeview devices. This ensures maximum accessibility across the Freeview network.