Amir Jahangir Represents Pakistan at the 5th AIB
Awards 2009 in London

The Association for International
Broadcasters (AIB) held its 5th award ceremony at a gala evening in
London. For the first time in the history of the awards, a
representative of the Pakistani media industry was part of the
exclusive international jury. Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer
of SAMAA TV, one of Pakistan’s leading Urdu news channels was among
the 20-jury members, which included leading international media and
business representatives from across the world.

The Association for International Broadcasters (AIB) Media Excellence
Awards is an annual award program to celebrate creativity and to
reward success. These awards are unique in the field of international
electronic media by offering independent assessment of quality, using
external and peer review by respected professionals from the
broadcasting and wider media industries.

The AIB Awards recognize the special skills and needs of the
international broadcasting industry – an industry that is constantly
evolving and increasing its reach through new delivery platforms. 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.

The annual AIB Awards for media excellence have honored BBC Persian
TV, France 24, Deutsche Welle and BBC World News, amongst others. The
winners were selected from a pool of 200 entries from 26 countries.

The recently established BBC Persian TV won the award for the
‘Clearest coverage of a single news event’ for the Iranian elections.
The winner of ‘Most innovative technology’ was France 24 for its
iPhone application, at launch the first such app to appear. BBC World
News anchor Zeinab Badawi was named ‘International personality of the
year’, the judges describing her as “a clear winner”.

This is the fifth consecutive year for the AIB International Media
Excellence Award. This year more than 300 entries from more than 30
different countries were received and a shortlist of entries was
compiled from which the judges made their final selections.

Speaking at the occasion Amir Jahangir said, “The independence of
media and its growing following and influence is not only bringing
about a socio-economic change but a complete re-engineering of the
entire political structure; with more research, development of
specific academic infrastructures, induction of technology and more
innovative forms of journalism.”

“Pakistan is standing at the crossroads of extremism and
globalization, which puts a great responsibility on the media in terms
of cultivating hope for the society to fight against extremism and
terrorism”, said Amir Jahangir.

Mr. Jahangir further said “Societies and countries of the future will
be successful not because their people work harder, but because they
work smarter. Creativity and innovation are essential capabilities for
working smarter.” He added, “The world needs to recognize the key role
which a free and independent media plays in providing citizens with
timely and accurate information and in giving them a voice in
society.”

AIB Chief Executive Simon Spanswick said, “The AIBs celebrate the best
in broadcasting worldwide and the winners highlight how professional
output is continuing to stand out and offer genuine value in an age of
user-generated content. The AIBs also demonstrate how broadcasters are
using new technology both to improve program making and to reach out
and involve their audiences more fully.”

Speaking about the inclusion in the jury, CEO SAMAA TV said” 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.” He expressed his
gratitude to AIB for providing him the opportunity to be in the
prestigious jury and congratulated all winning entries.

“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 and for a more informed and empowered Pakistan,”
said Jahangir.

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.

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.

HEC, SAMAA ‘Cultivating Hope’ against terrorism

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and SAMAA Television signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Wednesday for launching an educational program entitled “Cultivating Hope”, which aims to empower youth in creating, debating and finding solutions to the increasing extremism in Pakistan. One of the key activities of the program is an Inter-University Documentary Competition across Pakistan.

Prof. Dr. Sohail Naqvi, Executive Director, HEC and Mr. Amir Jahangir, CEO, SAMAA TV signed the MoU. Dr. Javaid R. Laghari, Chairman HEC, Syed Kamal Shah, Former Federal Secretary Interior, executive members of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and other senior officials of both the organizations were also present at the ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Javaid R. Laghari, the Chairman HEC congratulated SAMAA TV for launching a much-needed initiative for the youth of Pakistan. “This program will help eradicate the menace of extremism from society and hopefully other media organizations will follow suit.”

Dr. Sohail Naqvi said, “The entire nation, especially educated people, must join hands to take our country out of this worst crisis. It is high time to think about the factors that have led to extreme behavior. An educated youth will help address this crucial element which has become a serious challenge for the nation. This program will provide a platform to the university students to research the causes of extremism and put forward suggestions for solving the problem.”

Mr. Amir Jahangir said, “This partnership with HEC aims at engaging the Pakistani youth at a national level on a vital subject of “extremism in Pakistan”, which is now of crucial national importance. The current socio-political situation of Pakistan immediately calls for innovative measures to not only control the increasing extremism but to build an environment, where the awareness of such extreme acts, its impact on the life of the public and the development of the nation will play an eminent role in changing the mindsets of those who are unfortunate to be involved in such evil acts.”

“This program focus on empowering the youth to look into the measures, impact and results of extremism, which will only strengthen their minds to not only take distance to such thinking and behavior but to also play a role in educating their peers and surroundings on the horror of terrorism. The Cultivating Hope initiative will also promote the visual and liberal arts in the country’s education sphere as a form of creative expression and ideas”, said CEO, SAMAA TV.

Mr. Jahangir said that the program also includes outreach activities with the universities across Pakistan, where SAMAA TV will arrange lecturers on extremism by prominent scholars and youth role models. He specially acknowledged Mr. Syed Kamal Shah, Former Federal Secretary Interior for encouraging SAMAA TV to develop this concept and empower the youth.

The event was witnessed by universities across Pakistan through the facility of video conferencing. This initiative will provide over 600,000 students from 128 universities from all over Pakistan the opportunity to participate in the competition.

According to the partnership, the top three winners of the documentary competition will be awarded prizes amounting to Rs. 1,000,000, Rs. 500,000 and Rs. 300,000. They will also be offered a one-year job contract with SAMAA TV after completing their academic degrees.

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 bureaus across Pakistan along with international stringers in the Middle East, Europe and North America. SAMAA

New Business Guide Highlights Business Performance in Pakistan and Calls out for Creating more Business Opportunities

The Financial Daily (TFD) today launched a book on KSE 100 Index Fundamental Guide at a special event held under the presence of leading business executives from across Pakistan. The book is the 2nd of “investors’ awareness program series” of publications carried out by TFD which showcases a compilation of companies listed in the KSE-100 and also highlights their performance over the last five years (FY04-FY09).

The report highlighted that although many businesses were doing well despite the current socio-political situation in Pakistan, the importance of an enabling environment played a key role in increasing investments and business opportunities. The financial institutions were identified as one of the key players in developing business feasibility. The event was also held to applaud leading business executives for sustaining successful businesses in challenging times.

Mr. Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer, SAMAA TV, also the Chief Guest was presented a special memento for his remarkable services for Pakistani Media. He was also acknowledged for representing Pakistan at international forums such as the International Media Excellence Awards 2009 by The Association for International Broadcasting where Mr. Jahangir has been selected as the only Pakistani member of the international jury panel.

Speaking on occasion Amir Jahangir said, “Innovation and technology are the stimulator for the economic growth of the country. Pakistan being among the developing economies of the world has the benefit of holding the status of emerging markets, with the abundance of young resource available; Pakistan could become as successful as the other countries around the world.”

“The country is like what Malaysia was in the 1960s: short on infrastructure and production technology, lots of security challenges but with loads of natural resources and commodities just waiting for the right companies to come in and develop” said Jahangir.

The event also highlighted the initiatives carried out by the Government of Pakistan, which has already established 64 honorary investment counselors all over the world for the promotion of trade and investment; out of which positive results have started showing in terms of business partnerships and investments.

While presenting the book, a representative of the TFD said that the government in collaboration with private sector is working on finding sustainable and economically viable solutions to the challenges being faced by the business community.

Speaking at the concluding event, the Chief Guest, Ms. Shazia Marri, Sindh Minister for Information said that “a number of foreign investors were ready to come to Pakistan only because of the huge undiscovered potential it has and for having a unique food basket”. Ms. Marri futher said that the business community needs to understand that economic issues being faced by the country were not going to stay for long and hopefully the situation would take a positive turn in next eight to nine months.

She further added that “special attention was being given to law and order and supply of electricity. The restoration of confidence of the business community is another area, which is on the priority list of the government; economic zones were being carved out to attract direct foreign investment.”

She ended her note by saying that “Pakistan is committed to providing an optimum investment climate for both local and foreign investors, and the government is in the process of implementing measures to ensure the protection of all investments – and investors – in the country”.

Those present on the occasion also included Mr. Tariq Iqbal Khan Chairman, National Investment Trust, Mr. Nasir Ali Shah, Chairman, KASB Group and Mr. Arif. Habib, Chairman, Arif Habib Group.

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.

The Story of Samaa TV Presented by Amir Jahangir at

4th Regional Conference on Innovation Journalism Stanford after Stanford 2009

Story of SamaaTV

Amir Jahangir, Violeta Bulc

The Association for International Broadcasting selects Pakistani Media to judge at the International Media Excellence Awards 2009.

Association for International Broadcasting

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.

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 in 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.

SAMAA TV Pakistan’s Constructive Innovation Journalism Initiatives

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj1BkuX6AwE

Fatima Akhar, Senior Manager Interactive Platforms of SAMAA TV made a special presentation at the 6th International Conference on Innovation Journalism at the Stanford University, CA. The IJ6 conference was held between 18-20 May 2009. The conference was organized by the VINNOVA-Stanford Research Center for Innovation Journalism, Stanford University, CA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNYT90HqmuI