Sky News is opening a bureau, with three full-time staff, in Dubai – bringing its number of worldwide bureaux to eight.
The correspondent will be Ashish Joshi, who joined Sky News in 2004 after 10 years at Zee TV, the Asian broadcaster.
Joshi, from North London, will be joined by a cameraman and a producer in the bureau, based in Dubai’s Media City. It will open next month.
Sky News‘s other Middle East base is in Jerusalem.
Press Gazette revealed last year the channel was considering either Dubai or Doha, where Al Jazeera is based, for a new office.
To coincide with the new bureau launch, the world news section of the schedule will be extended by an hour, from 3am to 6am.
Sky’s head of foreign news Adrian Wells said: ‘Opening a bureau in Dubai will strengthen Sky News’ ability to report on this fascinating, and ever more influential area.
‘With the current financial crisis deepening every day amongst most of the world’s leading economies, the economy of the United Arab Emirates is one of very few examples of resilience.
‘This, coupled with current cultural shifts in the Middle East which have far reaching effects across the world, make it a compelling region to cover in more depth – this is a prefect time to cement our presence in the region.”
Joshi added: ‘I am delighted to be taking on this new challenge in a region I know very well from my previous role as head of news with Zee TV.
‘It is a fascinating, fast-paced, influential and sometimes fractious region of the world, where very different cultures live and work side by side, world business sits cheek by jowl with traditional fishing communities, and the rich and famous come to play without ever perhaps seeing the ‘real’ UAE.”
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