UAE. Two of the Arab world’s most influential and inspirational caricaturists have begun showcasing their take on regional developments through daily cartoons on Sky News Arabia’s website.

Syrian Ali Ferzat and Jordanian Emad Hajjaj create exclusive artwork for the channel, shedding light on socio-political and economic issues affecting the Arab world in what is a first among regional news channels which usually rely on sourcing cartoons from third parties.

The award-winning artists regularly address social, policital and economic issues through satirical cartoons that resonate with both domestic and international audiences due to their universal appeal. Sky News Arabia’s partnership with Ferzat and Hajjaj sees the artists providing daily caricatures that are exclusively published on the channel’s website and do not appear in any media other than the artists personal blogs and websites.

Syrian born Ferzat has established himself not only as one of the region’s most distinguished artists, but also as one of Time Magazine’s top 100 most influential people in 2012. Ali currently serves as the head of the Arab Cartoons Association and has had more than 15,000 caricatures published to date.

Remarking on the agreement with Sky News Arabia, Ali Ferzat said: “I am delighted to be working with Sky News Arabia alongside Emad Hajjajj. It was the channel’s advanced multimedia platforms and its new method of news reporting in region that encouraged me to enter such an agreement with the channel. I believe that Sky News Arabia’s website and channel will set a new standard of news reporting that other media outlets will follow.”

Jordanian cartoonist Emad Hajjaj, a member of the top 100 most influential Arab figures according to Arabian Business in 2012, has displayed his work exhibitions around the region including in Jordan, Lebanon and the UAE. Creator of the ‘Abu Mahjoub’ character who depicts the daily life of an average Jordanian, Emad is well known for his subtle depiction of social and political affairs.

“The agreement with Sky News Arabia provides me with an exciting new opportunity to showcase my work across and to collaborate with an esteemed cartoonists such as Ali Ferzat. The 24-hour news channel has already distinguished itself in the region by realizing the importance of cartoons and the role they can play in news reporting through their efforts to secure  exclusive material.”

Nart Bouran, head of Sky News Arabia, said: “Sky News Arabia is proud to have entered into a partnership with artists of this caliber who are admired by audiences across the Arab World. We are proud to take part in celebrating this talent which people across the region can enjoy and relate to.”
Viewers can enjoy daily caricatures by the two artists by visiting the Sky News Arabia website at  www.skynewsarabia.com or the channel’s Facebook page and Twitter account at www.facebook.com/SkyNewsArabia and @skynewsarabia respectively.

Sky News Arabia broadcasts free-to-air on Nilesat 201, Transponder 14 and on ArabsatBadr 4, Transponder 15. The channel is also available on OSN channel 122 in HD and 123 in SD, Etisalat eLife channel 234, du channel 16 and the Abu Dhabi TV Network. The channel’s mobile applications are available on iPad, iPhone, Blackberry and Android devices.

About Sky News Arabia
Sky News Arabia  is a free-to-air 24-hour Arabic rolling news channel reporting the news as it happens in HD. Set up as a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (ADMIC) and British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), Sky News Arabia is based in Abu Dhabi and will broadcast to over 50 million homes in the region. It aims to deliver fresh, fast and independent news from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The channel delivers the news across multiple platforms including online and mobile devices to provide fast news on the go.

Servicing the tech-savvy generation, the Sky News Arabia mobile apps are available on the iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, and Android devices. Key features include: live streaming, news photo galleries, interactive maps as well as the ability to share stories via social media.

The website, www.skynewsarabia.com, is fully functional with features including blogs from journalists & correspondents, live twitter reporting feeds and the ability for users to engage and comment on the topics of the day.

Sky News Arabia is an Arabic channel for Arab viewers, delivering politics, economics, business, sport, lifestyle, technology and cultural news with 23 presenters from across the Arab world. Sky News Arabia has 10 bureaus across the region as well as in London and Washington, and will draw upon Sky News’ network of bureaus around the world for additional international coverage.

The channel, which promises “a new horizon” for news reporting across the Arab world, is available on Transponder 15 on Arabsat Badr 4, Transponder 14 on Nilesat 201, on du IPTV and Etisalat e-Life platforms in SD plus in high definition on the OSN pay-TV platform as well as the Abu Dhabi TV network, in addition to EUROSTAR for hotel distribution and Livestation for live internet streaming.

MIDDLE EAST BUSINESS COMMENT & ANALYSIS

• Top news
• Business News
• Company News