Association for International Broadcasting selects SAMAA TV to judge the International Media Awards

Oct. 1, 2009 - PRLog -- Islamabad, October 01: The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) today announced the judges for the AIB’s International Media Excellence Awards 2009. The selection of judges, which consists of 20 leading international media and business representatives from across the world also include a leading Pakistani media professional, Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer SAMAA TV.

This is the first time that a Pakistani media professional has been selected as part of a judge panel by the Association for International Broadcasting.

The International Media Excellence Awards (IMEA) will be presented at a gala evening on Wednesday 4th November 2009 in London, UK. The event is held each year by the AIB, who are renowned for their independent assessment of quality, using external and peer review by respected professionals from the broadcasting and wider media industries.
This year, more than 200 entries have come from more than 30 different countries and a shortlist of entries has been compiled from which the judges will make their final selections.

The judges have a vast range of experience in different aspects of broadcasting and are drawn from all over the world.

The full list of the selected judges is: Amir Jahangir, CEO, SAMAA TV, Pakistan; Danforth Austin, Director, Voice of America and Acting Director, International Broadcasting Bureau, US; Michael Joseph, CEO, Safaricom, Kenya; Billy Wright, Global Head Media & Games Partnerships, Nokia, UK; Hanh Tran, Chief Executive, Radio Australia, Australia; Nahida Nakad, Deputy Director, Arabic Service, France 24, France; Darby Sanchez, CEO, Globecast Asia, Singapore; Matteo Berlucchi, CEO, Livestation, UK; Alla Salehian, Director, Global Media Services – Associated Press Television, UK; Torsti Tenhunen, CEO, Hasan & Partners Oy, Finland; Dirk Beusch, Senior Project Manager, Deutsche Welle TV, Germany; Dr Nabil Khatib, Executive Editor, Alarabiya News Channel, UAE; Natasha Elkington, AlertNet Correspondent/Humanitarian Crisis Reporter & Online Editor, Thomson Reuters, London; Russell Grute, Director of Marketing, Pharos, UK; Marcus Metzner, Head of Marketing & Communications, S4M, Germany; William Bird, Director, Media Monitoring Africa, South Africa; Corne Bouman, Managing Director, ProSkope, The Netherlands; Lem van Eupen, Head of Strategy, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep, The Netherlands; Julian Clover, Editorial Director, Broadband TV News, UK; Samuel Attah-Mensah, General Manager, CitiFM, Ghana; Simon Spanswick, CEO, AIB, UK.

The AIBs are independent and attract entries from throughout the world, representing the best of international radio and TV. The fourteen different categories cover the broad spectrum from single news events to long-term investigation and from traditional terrestrial broadcasting to innovative use of multi-platform formats.

Speaking about the inclusion in the judge panel, Amir Jahangir said that “being part of this elite judge panel is a great milestone for the Pakistani media industry, as it not only manifests the dynamics behind the emergence and development of media in Pakistan but also highlights the important role the industry is playing in the socio-political development of the South Asian region. The selection gives a great sense of achievement; however our achievement lies more in the fact that we will be representing Pakistan on an international forum and positioning our country and industry among the top media and business people in the world.”

Amir Jahangir also said that “No doubt that given the popularity, coverage and effectiveness of SAMAA News, our support in bringing innovation to the reporting mechanisms in Pakistan, has played a crucial element in the selection, however, this is just the beginning. SAMAA TV will continue to strive towards our target, which is a responsible Pakistani media working as a partner for the education on sustainable development of Pakistan. ”

In April 2009, the VINNOVA-Stanford Research Center of Innovation Journalism honored Mr. Amir Jahangir as the Program Advisor to the Research Center on Global Media Development and Journalism. Mr. Jahangir has also played a crucial role in improving health reporting from Pakistan in this regard as well.

The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) provides information, networking and insight for the international broadcasting industry - cross media, cross border, cross-cultural.

Its membership brings together international TV and radio stations, news agencies, satellite operators, regulators, research institutes and providers of technology. It covers TV, radio, online and mobile and its publications reach over 25,000 people in broadcasting and related sectors.

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SAMAA TV is one of Pakistan’s leading private satellite television channels, which takes pride in its fair, factual and independent news coverage through its on-the-hour bulletins, breaking stories, incisive political analysis and current affairs programs. The channel is the first media channel is Pakistan to have established a well-integrated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program as part of it business activities. SAMAA TV’s CSR program carries various initiatives within health, education, environment and outreach programs focusing on improving the socio-economic situation of Pakistan.

The channel has also made a niche for itself through its programs on women and youth issues besides infotainment and sports. SAMAA TV, launched in December 2007 has network of district correspondents and five (5) bureaus across Pakistan along with international stringers in the Middle East, Europe and North America.