MBN Taps Award-Winning Journalist Larry Register to be Vice President of Network News for Alhurra and Radio Sawa

MBN Taps Award-Winning Journalist Larry Register to be Vice President of Network News for Alhurra and Radio Sawa

SPRINGFIELD, Va., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Larry Register has been named Vice President of Network News for the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. (MBN) the MBN Board announced today. Register will succeed Mouafac Harb, who is stepping down to pursue private media projects. MBN is the non-profit corporation that operates Alhurra television and Radio Sawa. Register will direct and manage the editorial content, and will oversee all news and current affairs programs on the Arabic-language television networks and Radio Sawa. His appointment is effective November 6, 2006.

Register has more than 25 years of broadcast news experience, including nine years as CNN's Vice President of Special Projects, during which he covered the Middle East, opened CNN bureaus in Amman and Havana, and produced live reports from North Korea. Register served three years as the Jerusalem Bureau Chief for CNN and was responsible for guiding CNN's coverage in the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and Egypt. Most recently Register contributed reports to NBC Nightly News and The Today Show. Last month, Register won an Emmy for Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast for his work on the NBC Nightly News during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Harb leaves after nearly five years, during which he was instrumental in the creation and development of Radio Sawa and the Alhurra television networks. He joined Radio Sawa in 2002, as News Director where he was responsible for all news and current affairs content. In 2003, Harb also became the News Director of Alhurra, the 24-hour Arabic-language news and information satellite television network broadcasting to the Middle East. Harb was subsequently named Executive Vice President of MBN and received the Broadcasting Board of Governors' Superior Accomplishment Award. In addition to recruiting the journalists for Alhurra, Harb was a key member of the team that developed the channel strategy, branding and identity. Harb will continue as a consultant to MBN as he pursues new media opportunities.

"Mouafac played a pivotal role in establishing Alhurra and Radio Sawa as sources of objective and accurate news and information in the Middle East. Alhurra and Radio Sawa would not be where they are today if it were not for Mouafac's dedication and leadership," the MBN Board said in its statement.

Register will assume Harb's responsibilities as Vice President of Network News. The MBN Board's announcement said, "Larry will be a great asset to Alhurra and Radio Sawa's world class news operation. His extensive broadcasting experience and energy will benefit MBN as it continues to grow as an international news organization. His knowledge of the Middle East and his work at CNN and NBC makes him a perfect choice for MBN."

Alhurra broadcasts to 22 countries in the Middle East via Arabsat and Nilesat and throughout Europe on the Hotbird satellite system. Radio Sawa broadcasts on FM in Morocco, Jordan, the Palestinian Territories, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, U.A.E., Lebanon, Iraq and Djibouti. Radio Sawa broadcasts on medium wave to Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Sudan. Alhurra television and Radio Sawa reach a total unduplicated audience of approximately 35 million adults (15 and over) per week according to surveys from research companies such as ACNielsen. Surveys have also reported that approximately 70 percent of the audience finds Alhurra and Radio Sawa's news to be reliable.

MBN is financed by the U.S. Government through a grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency. The BBG serves oversight and as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters.

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Source: MBN

CONTACT: Deirdre Kline of MBN, +1-703-852-9250

Web site: http://www.alhurra.com/

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