Independent global panel of judges for 2012 international media awards – press release

26 June 2012

Respected and independent media executives from 22 countries across the globe make up the panel of judges for the 2012 AIBs, annual media awards run by the Association for International Broadcasting to celebrate the best in factual radio and television broadcasting.

CRANBROOK, UK 26 JUNE 2012 – The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) is proud to announce a panel of independent media experts representing 22 countries and every continent as judges for the 2012 AIBs, its annual international media awards.  The AIBs, which celebrate the best in factual broadcasting from across the world, are unique in being judged by an independent panel of eminent professionals drawn from the broadcasting and wider media industries.  Their expertise covers radio, TV, online, mobile and trans-media broadcasting, terrestrial and satellite transmission as well as media marketing and technology.

“Once again the AIB is privileged to have attracted such a well-known and respected group who are volunteering their time to judge the entries.” said Simon Spanswick, CEO of the Association for International Broadcasting. “Their diverse talent and expertise will be more evident than ever this year as broadcasting employs increasingly sophisticated technologies to involve the audience more.  At the same time ever higher standards are being set for delivering news fast, providing broader context and deeper analysis, and building increased levels of audience engagement through reliable and trusted reporting.”

“Our two new categories for 2012 in particular will allow entrants to demonstrate these trends – firstly, for ‘Best coverage of London 2012’, which is anticipated to be ground-breaking in terms of technology and audience engagement; and secondly for ‘Best short documentary or report’, which will attract entries from companies new to broadcasting, such as online media and newspapers, as well as from established broadcasters.”

This year’s judges are:

• Steve Ahern, CEO, IMBA, Australia
• Mohamed Ali Harrath, CEO, Islam Channel, UK
• Robert Bell, Executive Director, WTA, USA
• Wayne Borg, Deputy CEO and COO, twofour54, UAE
• Nicolas Bourdon, Marketing & Communications Director, EVS, Belgium
• Ivo Burum, Executive Producer, Burum Media, Australia
• Donovan Castillo-Mohlman, VP Programming & Promotions, Channel NewsAsia Network, Singapore
• Puruesh Chaudhary, President, AGAHI Foundation, Pakistan
• Linden Clark, Manager, Radio New Zealand International, New Zealand
• Annabel Croft, Presenter, UK
• John Dunlop, Market Development Specialist Broadcast & Media, Arqiva, UK
• Mark Errington, CEO, OASYS, UK
• Adelheid Feilcke-Tiemann, Director International Relations, Deutsche Welle, Germany
• Eduardo François, Executive Director, Illuminati Films, Brazil
• Malcolm Fried, Head of Bloomberg Television EMEA, Bloomberg, UK
• Jeffrey Gedmin, CEO, Legatum Institute, UK
• Mihai Gîdea, CEO & General Manager, Antena 3 TV, Romania
• Rut Gomez Sobrino, Communications for Development Professional, RNE, Spain
• Flora Gregory, Editor, Witness, Al Jazeera English, UK
• Lorelei Harris, Editor, RTÉ Radio, Ireland
• David Hochner, CEO, SatLink, Israel
• Barry Houlihan, General Manager, Mobile Interactive Group (MIG), UK
• Carlson Huang, Vice Manager and English Programme Host, Radio Taiwan International, Taiwan
• Amir Jahangir, CEO, Mishal Pvt. Ltd, Pakistan
• Abubakar Jijiwa, Director General, Voice of Nigeria
• Richard Kastelein, Partner, Agora Media, UK
• Oleg Kupriyanov, Deputy Chairman International Relations, Voice of Russia, Russia
• John Maguire, Director of International Development, Audiovisuel de la France, France
• Vivien Marles, MD InterMedia Africa, Kenya
• Michael McCluskey, CEO, ABC Radio Australia, Australia
• Michael McEwen, Director General, NABA, USA
• Marcus Metzner, Head Marketing & Communications, arvato Systems, Germany
• Nicky Ness, Controller BFBS Radio & CSE Forces Entertainment, SSVC, UK
• Alexey Nikolov, Deputy Editor in Chief, RT Channel, Russia
• John Ogden, Network Director, The Spectrum Radio Network, UK
• Alpesh Patel, Founder & CEO, Mi-Fone, UAE
• Julia Ragona, Vice President, RFE/RL, Czech Republic
• Lior Rival, VP Sales & Marketing, RRsat, Israel
• Paul Robinson, President, International, A Squared Elxsi Entertainment, UK
• Philippe Rouxel, Chief Marketing Officer, GlobeCast, France
• Simon Spanswick, CEO, AIB, UK
• Helen Stehli Pfister, Producer, SRF, Switzerland
• Fedor Strizhkov, CEO, RTG TV, Russia
• Amir Tajik, Production Manager, Press TV, Iran
• Jeff Trimble, Executive Director, Broadcasting Board of Governors, USA
• Nigel Wilkes, Group Manager, Panasonic Systems Network Company, UK
• Tom Wragg, Global Broadcast Summit, UK

Biographies of the judges, together with the full list of the award categories, entry details and information on the awards ceremony can be found on theaibs.tv website.

The AIBs are in their eighth year and are independent of commercial interest.  They attract entries from throughout the world, representing the best of international factual broadcasting.  The 18 different categories to be judged cover radio, television and trans-media across the broad spectrum from single news events to long-term investigation with special categories for children’s programmes, for sport and for coverage of science.  The categories also include awards for most innovative production technology and for radio and television personalities of the year.

Entries for the awards are due by 2 July 2012, except for “Best coverage of London 2012” for which the closing date is 20 September 2012.  The winners of the AIBs will be announced at the AIB awards gala on Wednesday 7th November 2012 which will be held in the stunning visual and acoustic space of LSO St Luke’s in London.

The currently announced sponsors for the 2012 AIBs are Eurosport and Russian Travel Guide (RTG) TV.

Media Contact

For further information please contact:
Roger Stone, AIB
roger.stone@aib.org.uk
T +44 (0)20 7993 2557
AIB, PO Box 141, Cranbrook TN17 9AJ, UK

About the AIB 
Established in 1993, the AIB is the international industry association and global knowledge network for the international broadcasting industry – cross-media, cross-border, cross-cultural. With a reach of over 25,000 communicators and media professionals, AIB is a unique centre of information about international broadcasting, covering TV, radio, online and mobile. AIB researches regular market intelligence briefings for its members and provides client-specific consultancy and project support. Members receive an extensive package of services throughout the year. AIB publishes the comprehensive Global Broadcasting Sourcebook and the international media magazine, The Channel. AIB hosts the annual AIB International Media Excellence Awards – the “AIBs”. For more information, visit www.aib.org.uk and theaibs.tv or call +44 (0) 20 7993 2557