AMMAN - The Jordan Press Foundation (JPF) board of directors on Tuesday appointed Samir Hiyari as chairman of the board and head of the editorial council at Al Rai, while Samih Maaytah became the editor-in-chief of the largest newspaper.
Hiyari succeeds Fahed Fanek who resigned earlier this year as chairman of the JPF, which publishes Al Rai Arabic daily, The Jordan Times and Hatem magazine.
Maaytah succeeds Abdul Wahab Zgheilat who quit his post on Tuesday.
Born in Amman in 1960, Hiyari received his bachelor's degree in media and communications from the King Abdul Aziz University in Saudi Arabia in 1984.
He worked as assistant chief editor of Al Rai from 2004 to 2011 and is the co-founder and editor of Ammonnews website.
He has been a member of the Jordan Press Association general assembly since 1984.
Born in 1965 in Karak, Maaytah, a renowned columnist, served as political adviser to former prime minister Samir Rifai and spokesperson for the 2010 parliamentary elections.
Maaytah worked for several local media outlets, including Jordan TV, Al Arab Al Yawm and Al Ghad Arabic dailies and the Islamist Al Sabeel weekly.
© Jordan Times 2011
