BAGHDAD: The parent company of US government-funded Arabic language broadcaster Alhurra has cut 160 jobs and is merging its Iraq channel after a 20 percent budget cut mandated by the US Congress, its CEO said in a note to staff.
“Today is a sad day. We’ve said goodbye today to 160 of our colleagues. We’ve reduced our workforce by 21 percent,” MBN Acting President and CEO Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin said in a note to staff on Monday.
“The moves we are making are obligatory. Congressionally mandated budget cuts have forced us to reduce company costs by nearly $20 million,” he said.
MBN comprises two satellite TV channels — Alhurra and Alhurra Iraq — as well as two radio stations and several websites.
Headquartered in the US state of Virginia, Alhurra began broadcasting in February 2004 as part of a US effort to connect with audiences in the Middle East amid rising anti-American sentiment following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
It aims to “accurately represent America, Americans, and American policies,” and engage in independent journalism, according to the MBN website.
MBN said it was merging Alhurra Iraq with Alhurra TV “to provide viewers with the best of both networks” and said “Iraq remains a priority — a vital part of the MBN region and ecosystem.”
A company spokesperson said 30 of the staff laid off were in Iraq and 130 were in other parts of the region and the US.
MBN said it was moving away from a costly brick-and-mortar presence and would instead prioritize multimedia journalism by employees while exploring new technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
US-funded broadcaster Alhurra lays off 160 staff, merges Iraq channel
https://arab.news/y7cyf
US-funded broadcaster Alhurra lays off 160 staff, merges Iraq channel
- “We’ve said goodbye today to 160 of our colleagues. We’ve reduced our workforce by 21 percent,” MBN Acting President and CEO Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin said
- “Congressionally mandated budget cuts have forced us to reduce company costs by nearly $20 million”
Dubai crown prince, CNN CEO discuss 2 decades of partnership
- Sheikh Hamdan says ‘strong collaboration’ key to mutual growth
- CNN established its regional headquarters in Dubai back in 2004
LONDON: Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, crown prince of Dubai and deputy prime minister and minister of defense of the UAE, met with CNN International CEO Mark Thompson on Monday to reaffirm their 20-year partnership and commitment to the growth of the media sector.
“Dubai has set an example for the world in turning opportunities into achievements,” Sheikh Hamdan reportedly said, emphasizing the city’s focus on innovation and sustainable development.
“We are confident that we will continue to make significant strides in diverse sectors including media, ensuring that Dubai remains a frontrunner in innovation and sustainable development.”
The crown prince highlighted the city’s longstanding relationship with CNN, which in 2004 established its regional headquarters in Dubai.
“As part of this strategy, we recognize the vital role of the media sector in sustainable growth and its immense potential to drive future progress,” Sheikh Hamdan added, underlining Dubai's commitment to fostering a supportive environment for media companies.
During the meeting, Sheikh Hamdan reiterated the city’s efforts to enhance its infrastructure and create conditions that enable media organizations to thrive.
World’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer, for sale: UK owner
- “The Guardian’s parent company has announced that it is in formal negotiations with Tortoise Media over the potential sale of The Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper,” a statement said Tuesday
LONDON: The world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer, could be sold to an online startup media group, its owner of more than 30 years announced Tuesday.
The Guardian Media Group said in a statement that it is in talks to offload the weekly publication for an undisclosed amount to Tortoise Media, launched in 2019.
GMG added that a sale would see The Guardian, its flagship title, remain a 24/7 online offering but with greater global reach and funding by its readers.
“The Guardian’s parent company has announced that it is in formal negotiations with Tortoise Media over the potential sale of The Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper,” a statement said Tuesday.
GMG said the offer “was significant enough to look at in more detail.”
GMG chief executive Anna Bateson said a sale “provides a chance to build The Observer’s future position with a significant investment and allow The Guardian to focus on its growth strategy to be more global, more digital and more reader-funded.”
Founded in 1791, The Observer was bought by GMG in 1993.
“Since then it has coexisted with the Guardian, which will remain a seven-day-a-week digital operation regardless of the outcome of the negotiations,” the parent group added Tuesday.
X drops out of global media brands ranking
- Twitter’s brand value dropped from $5.7bn in 2022 to $673.3m in 2024
- Instagram is the fastest-growing media brand
DUBAI: Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has dropped out of a ranking of global media brands by UK-based brand valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance.
The consultancy valued Twitter at $5.7 billion in 2022, falling to almost $3.9 billion in 2023 and further declining to $673.3 million in 2024.
Richard Haigh, managing director of Brand Finance, said the rebrand from Twitter to X was a “gamble” that had the potential to provide a “rebirth and propel it (the company) to new heights,” but now “the strategy seems to have been misguided.”
He told Arab News: “It is now evident that Elon Musk’s rebranding of Twitter, and abandonment of a globally recognized name, has resulted in a dramatic and abrupt decline in brand value and strength.”
Moreover, he added, Musk’s strategy to open up a free speech mandate lacked guardrails that would give advertisers confidence that their content would not appear alongside other content that did not match their brand values.
Haigh said: “These two decisions, intended to accelerate growth, ultimately resulted in a substantial loss of advertisers with ad revenue decreasing from over $1 billion per quarter in 2022 to around $600 million per quarter in 2023 — a steep decline for a brand where ad sales represent about three-quarters of total revenue.”
The report also found that X’s Brand Strength Index score, which measures the relative strength of brands based on factors such as marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance, fell by 12.7 points from last year.
This drop is a reflection of the brand’s “weaker performance in familiarity, reputation, and recommendation metrics, underscoring a major reputational crisis,” Haigh said.
Although he is not optimistic about X’s rebound as a brand, he added: “X continues to be a relevant platform relied upon by millions, thanks to the long-term benefits of a user base and the critical mass it already has.”
He believes that “with careful management and a clear strategy, there remains potential for the X brand to recover and regain its strength.”
One such strategy could be rethinking the name because Twitter had a “distinctiveness that a single letter will struggle to match,” he said.
Secondly, he advised: “X is a business that requires consumers to use it, but also requires businesses to fund it. Trust is a key issue that needs to be addressed.”
Haigh explained that if brands are not confident that bullying, harassment and abuse will not be attached to their messaging, they will not have enough trust in the site to want to advertise.
The ranking saw Google maintain its No. 1 spot as the most valuable media brand for the fourth consecutive year, followed by TikTok in second place, Facebook and Instagram in third and fourth, and Disney in fifth place.
Instagram was the fastest-growing media brand, with an increase of nearly 50 percent in brand value, while Disney’s brand value dropped by 6 percent, compared to 2023.
Hollywood actors and screenwriters went on strike last year to protest about pay and working conditions which resulted in delays of several productions and loss of revenues for production companies.
Haigh said the strike “significantly impacted Disney’s revenue streams, contributing to its decline in brand value, but Disney+ (its streaming platform) has helped sustain its brand amid a rapidly evolving media landscape.”
The transformation of this landscape is evident in the ranking with Disney being the only traditional media company in the top 10.
The first Brand Finance ranking, which was published in 2015, was dominated by American broadcast media networks with Walt Disney ranking first, ahead of Fox, NBC, TimeWarner and CBS.
However, this year, “there has been a significant shift, with nine of the top 10 brands focusing on platforms other than traditional broadcasting, reflecting a growing trend toward media consumption through social media,” Haigh said.
He added that the media industry had evolved “from a broadcasting model to one centered around narrowcasting, where content is tailored to individual preferences.”
This has been accelerated by the rise of social media platforms that allow users to create and share content on a global scale, as well as technological advancements that enable platforms to provide “highly personalized and targeted media experiences,” he added.
Content that was once the domain of traditional TV channels — such as major sporting events and news — is now easily available online through social media or streaming.
Haigh said: “Despite widespread misinformation, more people are turning to social media for news as it provides diverse perspectives, short-form content, and allows for independent evaluation, unlike traditional media, which often offers a single, agenda-driven narrative.”
The 2023 Hollywood strike further accelerated the shift in the industry, causing a sharp decline in brand values for major US TV networks like CBS (28 percent) and Fox (26 percent), as well as UK networks Sky and ITV, he added.
Netflix, however, remained among the top 10 brands, ranking ninth, despite its brand value declining by 6 percent.
Haigh said: “To stay relevant, traditional media outlets must adapt to this new landscape, where engagement is driven by interactive and algorithm-driven content rather than broad, one-size-fits-all programming.”
German news media demand access to war-torn Gaza
- ‘Anyone who prohibits us from working in the Gaza Strip is creating the conditions for human rights to be violated. We know the risk. We are prepared to take it. Grant us access to Gaza’
- Signatories included editors and reporters from Der Spiegel, Die Welt, public broadcasters ARD and ZDF and the German Journalists Association
BERLIN: German news media outlets on Tuesday called on Israel to grant them access to war-torn Gaza, charging that the “almost complete exclusion of international media... is unprecedented in recent history.”
“After almost a year of war, we call on the Israeli government: allow us to enter the Gaza Strip,” a group of newspapers, agencies and broadcasters wrote in an open letter.
They also urged Egypt to permit them entry to the widely devastated Palestinian territory via the Rafah border crossing in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has been at war with Hamas since the October 7 attack launched by the Palestinian militant group in a conflict that has brought mass casualties and destroyed swathes of the coastal strip.
The media organizations wrote that “anyone who makes independent reporting on this war impossible is damaging their own credibility.
“Anyone who prohibits us from working in the Gaza Strip is creating the conditions for human rights to be violated.”
The open letter was addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and had been delivered on Monday, they said.
Signatories included editors and reporters from Der Spiegel, Die Welt, public broadcasters ARD and ZDF and the German Journalists Association.
They said they have decades of experience in conflict reporting and wrote: “We know the risk. We are prepared to take it. Grant us access to the Gaza Strip. Let us work, in the interest of everyone.”
The October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,226 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not provide a breakdown of civilian and militant deaths.
Israeli parliament to debate controversial bill on incitement to terrorism investigations
- Proposed bill would make it illegal to praise an individual who committed a terrorist act, not just the act itself
- Legislation to suppress free speech, target Arab citizens for political reasons, rights groups say
LONDON: A controversial bill that would allow Israeli police to investigate alleged incitement to terrorism without prior approval from the Office of the State Attorney is advancing through the Knesset.
Civil rights groups and opposition members of the Knesset have voiced concerns over the proposed legislation, warning that it could lead to abuses of power and restrictions on freedom of speech.
Currently, police must seek approval from the state attorney to investigate such cases, a safeguard intended to prevent broad interpretations of the law that could suppress free expression.
In July, State Attorney Amit Aisman revealed that police had initiated several investigations into incitement or speech-related offenses without proper authorization, accusing officers of “deliberately circumventing” his office’s directives.
The bill, introduced by far-right MK Limor Son Har Melech of the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, passed its first reading in the Knesset in July.
Melech has since added a clause tightening the law, making it illegal to praise an individual who committed a terrorist act, rather than just the act itself.
If the bill is enacted, police could launch investigations based on formal complaints “or in any other manner,” expanding their ability to probe incitement to terrorism.
A scheduled hearing on the bill in the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee was postponed to accommodate scheduling conflicts, with a new date set for later this week.
Criticism of the bill has come from across Israeli society, with many arguing it could be exploited for political purposes.
MK Gilad Kariv of the Labor Party described the legislation as a “powerful takeover” of police powers by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, an ultranationalist settler leader.
Kariv warned that the bill could lead to “endless investigations” aimed at intimidating political opponents.
Civil rights organizations have echoed these concerns. In April, the Adalah organization, which advocates for the rights of Arab Israelis and Palestinians, urged the attorney general and state attorney to block the bill, warning that it could be used to target Arab citizens for political reasons.
