Brian Conniff, MBN President

From the President

For the past two years, MBN has covered the fight against ISIS through its newscasts, current affairs programming, websites and social media properties. In particular, the Raise Your Voice campaign is aimed at addressing this critical story, by countering the themes ISIS uses to recruit fighters and destabilize the governments and societies throughout the region.

In 2016, MBN aggressively expanded its use of digital media, especially social media, as a key element to the network’s overall strategy. Digital is a growing priority because it allows us to reach a broader audience, target specific issues and increase impact through engagement.

MBN is uniquely positioned to explain U.S. foreign policies and American values not found on other Arabic-language networks. This was never more apparent than MBN’s coverage of the U.S. elections.

Above all, I am incredibly proud of the work of our dedicated and professional journalists around the world.

Brian T. Conniff is President of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. (MBN). MBN provides news and information in Arabic to the Middle East and North Africa. As President of MBN, Conniff oversees and manages two television networks (Alhurra and Alhurra-Iraq); Radio Sawa; Afia Darfur radio; and their corresponding websites and social media properties.

According to international research firms such as Gallup, Alhurra and Radio Sawa have an unduplicated weekly reach of more than 28 million people in the Middle East. Sponsored by the U.S. Government, MBN’s mission is to broadcast accurate, timely and relevant news and information about the region, the world and the United States to a broad, Arabic-speaking audience.

MBN most recent initiative under Conniff’s leadership is “Raise Your Voice.” It is a multi-media campaign that extends across all of MBN’s properties (TV, radio and digital) specifically aimed at addressing the themes used by ISIL to recruit fighters and destabilize governments and societies throughout the region, especially Iraq and Syria.

Prior to joining MBN, Conniff was the Executive Director of the BBG. He directed the agency’s strategic planning, budget formulation and allocation process, and provided oversight and coordination of all U.S.-funded international broadcasting entities — Voice of America, Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio/TV Martí), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, MBN, and the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB).

From 1999 to 2002 Conniff served as the acting director of the IBB. In this capacity, Conniff was responsible for the day-to-day management of bureau activities, including the operations of the Voice of America, Radio and TV Martí, and a worldwide engineering and transmission network. During his tenure, IBB made the transition from a radio-based organization to a multi-media enterprise, significantly expanding the use of the internet and television. This modernization of the BBG’s delivery systems resulted in significantly increased audiences for U.S. international broadcasting.

Before joining the BBG, Conniff was the Inspector General for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty from 1989 to 1995. Conniff previously worked for the U.S. Information Agency and the U.S. General Accountability Office.