Springfield, VA — Alhurra Television and Radio Sawa launched two new websites to create a better experience for the audience. The new and improved Alhurra and Radio Sawa sites are easier to navigate with a cleaner, more user-friendly design. Alhurra.com and RadioSawa.com also promotes audience interaction, by allowing readers to easily post comments on stories and share reports. The websites are using a new content management system, Pangea, to give more flexibility to the journalists and web designers working on the sites.
“The new designs will elevate the online experience by providing more interactive features; allowing even greater engagement and connection with the audience,” stated MBN President Brian Conniff. “Alhurra and Radio Sawa have always been multimedia news outlets and the new websites are the next step in Alhurra and Radio Sawa’s robust online presence. They will continue to grow through added features and enhancements.”
In addition to the latest news and information, Alhurra and Radio Sawa’s Arabic-language websites also provide live streaming of the television and radio networks. The sites will also have links to video reports, Alhurra and Radio Sawa social media properties and on-demand videos of Alhurra’s programs.
Recent surveys by research companies such as ACNielsen show that together Alhurra and Radio Sawa have an unduplicated weekly reach of an estimated 35 million adults. Alhurra and Radio Sawa are operated by the non-profit corporation “The Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.” (MBN). MBN is financed by the U.S. Government through a grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency. The BBG provides oversight and serves as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters.
The Pangea content management system being used by the two websites was created by MBN’s sister station Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Internet team. It was developed in 2007 and used by RFE/RL’s 19 language services. Pangea allows all U.S.-funded broadcasters to work on the same system, therefore reducing duplication and costs by migrating MBN and the other U.S. international broadcasters to the same platform. In addition to RFE/RL and MBN, Voice of America and Radio and TV Marti also use Pangea.
Contact:
Deirdre Kline
Director of Communications
Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.
703-852-9250
dkline@alhurra.com
