United States Agency for Global Media

10/24/2024 | Press release | Archived content

MBN Names Jeff Gedmin President/CEO

Springfield, Va - The Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. (MBN) Board of Directors has named Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin President and CEO, effective immediately. Dr. Gedmin joined as interim head of the organization in mid-April 2024.

"We are incredibly fortunate to have someone of Jeff's accomplishment and stature to lead the organization. In a few short months, he's overseen a major restructure and started a far-reaching transformation of the company," stated MBN Interim Board Chairman Ambassador Ryan Crocker. "The digital transformation and deep content audit Jeff is currently leading is vital to the future of the organization."

"It is an honor to take the company into this next chapter," said Gedmin; "Our journalists work under exceptionally challenging circumstances, including in Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, Sudan, Yemen, Egypt, and Iraq. A good number risk their freedom - and lives - to provide news and information our audiences depend on. I plan to be in the region before the end of the calendar year."

Gedmin was co-founder and editor-in-chief of "American Purpose." He is a former president/CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) based in Prague, the Aspen Institute in Berlin, and the Legatum Institute in London. Before posts abroad, he was resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. and executive director of the New Atlantic Initiative.

Gedmin is the author/editor of several books and co-executive producer for two major PBS documentaries. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on advisory boards for the Justice for Journalists Foundation (London) and the Tocqueville Conversations (Paris). He is a member of the board of the Institute for Current World Affairs and RFE/RL. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2023 as a member of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board (IBAB).

About MBN

MBN is non-profit corporate media outlet financed by the U.S. government through a grant from U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), an independent federal agency. The USAGM serves as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters.