Geneva, 4 October 2011 – The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has appointed Annika Nyberg Frankenhaeuser as its first Media Director, starting in February 2012. Ms Nyberg Frankenhaeuser will lead the newly formed Media Department, which consolidates the activities of the Television and Radio Departments, as well as News Services.

EBU Director General, Ingrid Deltenre said: “Ms Nyberg Frankenhaeuser's numerous leadership roles in European media organizations make her ideal to lead our Media Department and provide the visionary thinking it needs. The Media Department will be a hub of inspirational creativity and expertise in new media trends and multiplatform opportunities for public service broadcasters. I am looking forward to working with Ms Nyberg Frankenhaeuser on making this idea a reality."

Since 2006 Ms Nyberg Frankenhaeuser, who is also an accomplished artist and linguist, has been the Director of Programmes, (TV, Radio and Internet) for the Swedish Language Services at Finnish EBU Member, YLE.

She said: "I’m looking forward to taking up this new position. I’m very dedicated to public service and I see the values both the EBU and its Member organizations adhere to as more important in today’s world than perhaps ever before. At the EBU, I will strive to construct a Media Department that drives forward the development of key EBU services while helping Members to achieve their goals and explore new multiplatform possibilities."

Throughout her career, Ms Nyberg Frankenhaeuser has been a journalist, an art teacher and an art critic. Among her numerous supplementary functions, she has also sat on the Finnish Red Cross Board for Youth Emergency Shelters and was the President of the World DAB Forum between 2002 and 2006. She has lived in Tanzania and Egypt, and travelled extensively during the 1980s and 1990s as a reporter for YLE.

Note to editors:

*Biography of Annika Nyberg Frankenhaeuser
After qualifying as an art teacher at the University of Industrial Arts in Helsinki, Annika Nyberg Frankenhaeuser began an enduring relationship with the Swedish Language Services of YLE. Several years as a radio reporter were followed by a move into print, when she became managing editor of a cultural magazine. In 1986 Ms Nyberg Frankenhaeuser returned to YLE, this time as a TV reporter for the Swedish Language Services, where she climbed through the television ranks to become Head of TV News & Current Affairs. She was appointed Director of Programmes for Radio in 1997, adding the TV and internet portfolios to her responsibilities in 2006. Ms Nyberg Frankenhaeuser is bilingual in Swedish and Finnish, and fluent in English and German. She is competent in Danish and Norwegian and has a working knowledge of French and Italian.

About the EBU
The EBU serves 85 national media organizations in 56 countries in and around Europe. It represents its Members and promotes the values and distinctiveness of public service media in Europe and around the world. The Eurovision and Euroradio networks deliver news, sports, events and music to EBU Members and other media organizations. Services to Members range from legal advice, technical standardization and development to coproduction and exchange of quality European content.  For more information about the EBU: www.ebu.ch