BBG Marks Anniversary of Disappearance of Bashar Fahmi

The Broadcasting Board of Governors Monday marked the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Alhurra TV correspondent Bashar Fahmi in Syria with a new call for his release and information on his whereabouts.

"We call for his immediate release in the name of media freedom in Syria and everywhere," said BBG chairman Jeff Shell.

The BBG oversees Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), which manages Alhurra.

"It is unimaginable that one year later we are still at a loss for information regarding the whereabouts or well-being of Bashar," said Michael Meehan, chairman of the board overseeing MBN.

Fahmi was reporting from Aleppo along with cameraman Cuneyt Unal when both went missing Aug. 20, 2012, after a firefight in which Japan Press' Mika Yamamoto was killed. Unal was captured and later released, but Fahmi remains missing.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.