BBG: Reach of Radio Sawa Expands in Libya

The Broadcasting Board of Governors has just launched a transmitter in Misrata, providing Radio Sawa’s latest news and information to citizens in the northwestern Libyan city.  The Misrata FM channel marks the third transmitter launched in Libya since the fall of former leader Moammar Gadhafi.

“Getting a clear signal into Libya is critical,” said André Mendes, the BBG’s Chief Information Officer and Chief Technology Officer.  “We’re delighted that we’ve been able to complete the installation despite this period of uncertainty in Libya and now can reach a larger audience than ever before in this pivotal country.”

“Radio Sawa is the most popular radio network in the region and we expect that success to continue as the network grows in Libya. Listeners tune into Radio Sawa to hear all sides to the most important news stories of the day,” stated MBN President Brian Conniff. MBN manages and operates Radio Sawa.

The Radio Sawa network can now be heard in the three largest Libyan cities—99.1 FM in Misrata joins 106.6 FM in Tripoli and 88.1 FM in Benghazi.

Radio Sawa’s coverage of the clashes in Libya won a Silver Radio Award in the 2012 New York Festivals Radio Program & Promotion Awards®.  The award-winning report covered the violence in Misrata during the fighting that led to the fall of Gadhafi, highlighting the courage and resilience of the city’s inhabitants who continued their fight for democracy in the face of death and destruction.

Recent surveys by international research companies such as ACNielsen show that Radio Sawa has a weekly reach of more than 13 million adults across the Middle East and North Africa. Radio Sawa is 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, an independent federal agency. The BBG provides oversight and serves as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters.

 

(Source : Broadcasting Board of Governors)