It’s always nice to get a pat on the back, but nothing cheers RFE/RL journalists more than when they’re honored for successes in new media. Radio Free Europe has
come a long way since its days of gravelly shortwave broadcasts and helium
balloon air drops to audiences behind the Iron Curtain. Today’s RFE/RL, by necessity, is a thoroughly modern operation that reaches its global audience in the places they consume news, whether it’s on
radio, television, or online.
Last week, RFE/RL’s website was recognized as an
official honoree in the radio/podcasts category at the annual Webby Awards, the leading international awards honoring the world’s best internet content and design. Out of 10,000 entries from the United States and 60 other countries, only the top 15 percent are awarded the "official honoree" title.
The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a group of 1,000 web experts, celebrities, and internet professionals -- including Huffington Post chief Arianna Huffington and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone -- has handed out the awards every year since 1996, when the Internet was in its relative infancy. The awards recognize the world’s best websites, advertising, multimedia content, and mobile apps.
Powered By Pangea
Behind RFE/RL’s web interface lies the the company’s unique Pangea content-management system, a robust application created by RFE/RL’s technology team of five over five years ago, providing
RFE/RL’s 19 language services with an efficient and visually attractive technology platform.
“We spent quite some time on usability. Pangea is customized for journalists. That’s the beauty of it,” Aladin Telalagic, head of RFE/RL’s Internet team, told “Off Mic.”
Pangea has proven so useful that it’s become the template for the rest of the United States’ international broadcasting services: Pangea is
currently being adopted as the content management system for
Voice of America,
Radio and TV Marti,
Radio Sawa, and
Alhurra television.
“For years, RFE/RL broadcasters have been producing content across all kinds of media,” RFE/RL president Steve Korn says. “It’s great to see that the web community appreciates the dedicated work of our intrepid internet team, whose efforts stand at the core of this company’s mission. This recognition is just further encouragement to build on their successes.”
--Comms Team