Shkumbin Ahmetxhekaj has been elected the DG of the Kosovan public broadcaster RTK on a permanent basis.
According to the EBU, of which RTK is a member, this follows a five-month period as acting director, with Ahmetxhekaj’s appointment coming into effect on June 20.
The vote by the RTK Supervisory Board resulted in eight votes in favour and one abstention. There were nine candidates shortlisted for the position. Ahmetxhekaj election has been commended as a positive step for the public broadcaster by a number of international organisations, including the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
He is an award-winning journalist with broad experience working across Kosovo’s media landscape, including as an editor and reporter for more than 15 years on current affairs and international news at RTK and a solid track record cooperating with international media, including BBC, PBS and Al Jazeera.
Commenting on his appointment, Ahmetxhekaj said, “My vision is that RTK will be a source of factual and verified information, independent of political and special interest group influence, while satisfying our audiences with high quality diverse programming. I genuinely believe that this is essential for RTK to increase audience trust and evolve into a truly independent public broadcaster. I would also like to see RTK become a full member of the EBU”.
