Frank Melloul

Melloul studied law but is not a lawyer, and obtained a degree in International relations at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva in 1999. He later acquired a Master's degree in international relations at the Écoles des hautes études internationales et politiques (EHEI) in 2000, a Masters in Negotiation at Paris XI (2001); auditor Joint Defense College. Professional Background

Upon completing his studies, Melloul joined France's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in 2001 as a special assistant to the Director of Strategic Affairs, Security and Disarmament. He worked as an editor on the "Crisis Management and European Security and Defense Politics" portfolio. He was then appointed director of communications and press relations at the Ministry of European Affairs, under Noelle Lenoir's leadership (2002–2003).[1] He later worked as Deputy Spokesperson at Quai d'Orsay from 2003–2004 and was responsible for strategic affairs, security, disarmament, terrorism, the Middle East, North Africa and the United Nations during the Iraq crisis. In April 2004, Melloul was appointed Press and Communications Advisor to Dominique de Villepin's Ministry of Interior, Internal Security and Local Freedoms, with a special focus on international issues and the war against terrorism. Afterwards, he was named Advisor to the Prime Minister and was put in charge of Communications and Media Relations from 2005 to 2007.[2] From March 2009 to June 2009, Melloul participated in the AfPak (Afghanistan-Pakistan) negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs as an Advisor to Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Pierre Lellouche. He was then named Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State for European Affairs from June to August 2009 in order to implement the committee’s roadmap.[3] In June 2010, Melloul was tasked by UMP party Secretary-General Xavier Bertrand with the mission of broadening France's influence on the international scene. In a report he submitted on October 12, 2010,[4] Melloul proposed a number of recommendations to improve the country's diplomatic stance.[5]

Melloul held the position of Director of Strategic and International Development at the international news channel France 24 from May 2007 to June 2008, before becoming Director of Strategy, Development and Public Affairs at the France Médias Monde holding company in July 2008 [6] and then being appointed in February 2012 to head the Strategy, Research and International Business Development division. He continued contributing to the latter regarding strategic thinking on the influence of international French media with Alain de Pouzilhac, France Médias Monde's former CEO. Melloul also spearheaded the creation of a network of "strategists" - international media personalities who regularly meet with the BBC, Deutsche Welle, the Broadcasting Board of Governors and Radio Netherland Worldwide's strategists.[7]

On August 22, 2012, he was a candidate for the presidency position at France Médias Monde[8] with the CSA after Alain de Pouzilhac retired, but Marie-Christine Saragosse’s candidacy was ultimately approved.

Melloul was subsequently appointed CEO of the international Israeli news channel i24news [9] (of which he owns 15% in holdings), which began broadcasting in July 2013 in English, French and Arabic. Through the launch of i24NEWS, Melloul's aim was to show the world that there’s a place for new journalism from the one democracy in the region. Moreover, Melloul hired a hundred and sixty journalists, many of whom are bilingual Israelis, with others hailing from countries such as South Africa, France, Belgium, Egypt, and the United States.[10]

One year after the launch of i24NEWS, Melloul comments the very optimistic figures of the channel: the i24NEWS viewer watches the channel for one hour a day on average, which is an outstanding figure.[11] According to a controversial 2015 investigative report by magazine L'Obs, the i24 news channel, although intended to compete with heavyweight broadcasters, failed to achieve their expected success.

Throughout the years, Melloul's aim was to expand the international news channel as a global network media.[12] i24NEWS was launched in the United States in 2017 and started to broadcast from Times Square on February 13, 2017, through Optimum, Suddenlink and Spectrum operators, meaning a broadcasting in 4.5 million households. Melloul has always been convinced that the American audience is deeply interested by the Middle East news and much larger, which opens perspectives of development [13]

Melloul appointed Robert Wheelock (ex-Al Jazeera) and David Shuster (ex-Al Jazeera America), or Dan Raviv (ex-CBS) as part of this new American team.[14] In 2017, the channel has been nominated in the news category of Global Prizes such Emmy International award [15] and EutelSat TV Awards [16]

Four years after the launch of i24NEWS, Melloul i24NEWS CEO fought for the channel to be broadcast in Israel. According to the Israeli law, news broadcasts can be aired on cable or satellite, but only by an independent news producer. Thus, the owners of the broadcast medium cannot also own the news media. For Melloul, there was a paradox that i24NEWS was not broadcast in Israel, and there was a fundamental misunderstanding in this designation, and it is possible that its source is in the fact that this channel is a new hybrid which had yet to be seen in the industry on one hand, most of the journalists are broadcasting from Israel; on the other hand, the channel’s content is directed to a global audience. In absurd fashion, as things stand today, the channel broadcasts to many countries all over the world, to more than one billion households, and the only place in which it cannot be aired is Israel. [17]

The Israeli legislation finally approved Melloul's request in May 2017. Melloul says it is a double satisfaction. First this law project had a consensus among the Knesset and received the support of the whole political spectrum. Second, the legislation acknowledged the professionalism of the channel and its influence on a global scale.[18]

MK Nachman Shai, the initiator of the law, said once the bill was passed: "Today, we have bridged a gap that has been particularly prominent for foreign-language speakers with regard to Israeli television broadcasts, most of which deal with Israeli affairs. Channel i24news has proven over the years that it meets professional standards, serving a wide audience outside the borders of Israel and now also within Israel [19]

In 2018, i24NEWS gathers 370 employees (among them 150 journalists) from 35 different nationalities and broadcasts from four studios (Tel Aviv, Paris, New York, Washington) towards 1 billion households. Robert Wheelock is head of information of the channel.