Sky News Arabia has appointed Yasser Thabet as Director of Output, and Pierre Kesserwani as Director of Newsgathering for the new 24-hour Arabic language rolling news channel set to launch in 2012 across the Middle East and North Africa.
“We take our approach to recruitment very seriously and we have spared no effort in seeking out the very best talent in the region. Both Sky News and the Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation have demonstrated their continued commitment while our organization starts to take shape. We are very confident in the senior editorial team’s ability to fulfil their role and help us deliver an Arabic News channel designed for an Arabic audience,’ said Nart Bouran, Director of News, Sky News Arabia.
Thabet will undertake the day-to-day responsibility for running the output team while ensuring coordination and coherence across Sky News Arabia’s multimedia output. Kesserwani will oversee the newsgathering desk and guide the team with an in-depth understanding of news and current affairs, as well as the evolving Arabic news agenda.
Thabet and Kesserwani will jointly play a critical role in maintaining Sky News Arabia’s goal of delivering independent, impartial breaking news. They bring a wealth of knowledge and have demonstrated the highest journalistic standards at their previous positions.
Thabet joins Sky News Arabia from Al Arabiya, where he worked for the past four years as Program Editor. Prior to Al Arabiya, he worked for Al-Hurra Channel in the USA and Al-Jazeera in Qatar. He holds a PhD in Journalism from the US, and is the author of around twenty books on history, media and literature in the Middle East.
Kesserwani joins Sky News Arabia from BBC Arabic UK, where he ran the Newsgathering desk and worked with the planning and interview departments for the past four years. He has a strong understanding of the Arabic media accumulated from his previous positions with Arab News Network UK as Output Editor and various Arabic Newspapers in the UK, where he worked as a journalist.
