CNN Press Release - CNN 's redesigned Arabic-language website www.CNNArabic.com reinforces CNN’s on-going commitment to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as well as bringing CNN news to Arab-speaking communities across the globe. It follows a year after the opening of CNN Abu Dhabi in November 2009, which made CNN the first Western news organization to have a permanent broadcast and production hub in the region.

The investment is the most substantial in the website’s history and means that CNNArabic.com will now be aligned with the look and feel of the brand’s award-winning CNN.com/international and CNN.com sites, at the same time as introducing a significantly enhanced content offering.

The refreshed website is a direct response to extensive audience feedback on what they looked for from CNN. It puts ease of navigation, regional stories, exclusive interviews and content, and more video and enhanced interactivity at the heart of the re-design, and has invested in additional stringers to deliver the increased local content.

“This is a fundamental re-imagining of CNNArabic.com as part of our ongoing engagement with the Arabic speaking world,” says Rani Raad, senior vice president and managing director of CNN International Ad Sales and Business Development and General Manager of CNNArabic.com. “The investment is a statement of the scope of our ambitions in this important part of the world.”

CNNArabic.com editor Caroline Faraj adds, “CNNArabic.com is your home for not just breaking news, but also human interest stories, expanded regional sports and business coverage and an aggregator for the best from the Arab blogosphere. We’ve put video content front and center to enrich the user experience, and we have made it easy for users to interact with the content and put their imprint on the site with their commentary and recommendations.”

About the new features
Connecting with the blogosphere and Facebook forums in the Arab world
Expanding on current activity with influential bloggers and Facebook forums in the Arab world, there are two dedicated segments for key social media influencers in the region to post their latest thoughts and ideas, and at the same time add their URL so users can easily access their pages. The site’s team will provide their weekly roundup of the most important and interesting Arab blogs and Facebook forums and invites users to recommend their own favorites.

Bringing the latest regional business, sports and entertainment news
CNN’s reporting takes on a more localized perspective to provide a daily roundup of the stories making the headlines across both Arab and international media. There are daily reports from the MENA markets as well as weekly roundup of financial news. Moving beyond the news headlines, it also throws the spotlight on the big sports names from the region with regular segments on Arab athletes and brings the latest news from the world of entertainment with recommended movies of the week. Each week a feature story tackles the hot topics from the region and users are encouraged to post their comments online.

Keeping users up-to-date on CNN’s local programming
Users can stay up to date on CNN’s most popular programming from the region, including Inside the Middle East, Inside Africa, Marketplace Middle East, and Marketplace Africa via locally edited programming pages.

Launched in 2002, CNNArabic.com is produced in Dubai. Follow CNNarabic.com on Twitter @cnnarabic and Facebook www.facebook.com/CNNArabic