Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Egyptian Blogger, Burmese Reporter Named 2007 Knight International Journalism Award Winners
The International Center for Journalists, a non-profit, professional organization, promotes quality journalism worldwide in the belief that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition. (PRNewsFoto/International Center for Journalists)
WASHINGTON, DC UNITED STATES
Along with Tom Brokaw, they will be honored at the International Center for
Journalists Awards Dinner on Nov. 13
WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Center
for Journalists (ICFJ) has named Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas and Burmese
investigative reporter May Thingyan Hein as the 2007 Knight International
Journalism Award winners.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070824/DCF007LOGO )
They will be honored along with Founders Award recipient Tom Brokaw at
the 10th annual ICFJ Awards Dinner at the Ronald Reagan Building and
International Trade Center in Washington, DC, on November 13. The dinner
also will feature Keynote Speaker Bob Woodruff and Master of Ceremonies
George Stephanopoulos.
Abbas is the first blogger to win the award. His blog, Misr Digital
(Egyptian Awareness,) regularly breaks stories on subjects generally
avoided by local media, such as protests, corruption, and police brutality.
His vivid first-hand reports, videos and photographs have attracted
thousands of readers and the attention of mainstream news outlets, which
have begun to pick up his hard-hitting stories.
Abbas, 32, has been arrested, interrogated, and beaten, but remains
undaunted. "The bloggers in Egypt are the last independent voice," he
recently wrote. "If we are silenced, no protests will be heard in Egypt ...
And so the choice to blog is not only serious, but necessary."
Burma's May Thingyan Hein, 33, stands out for her coverage of
controversial topics such as corruption, HIV/AIDS and poverty. A freelance
journalist for several publications, she specializes in investigative
stories in a country where journalists must submit their reports in advance
to officials.
Her breaking coverage of the spread of the bird flu into
Burma, for example, forced officials to acknowledge the epidemic.
"Wael Abbas and May Thingyan Hein are blazing the path in their
countries with extremely bold coverage," says ICFJ President Joyce
Barnathan. "We want to honor them for exposing issues no one else will
cover and encourage others to follow their example."
More: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-24-2007/0004650961&EDATE=
The International Center for Journalists, a non-profit, professional organization, promotes quality journalism worldwide in the belief that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition. (PRNewsFoto/International Center for Journalists)
WASHINGTON, DC UNITED STATES
Along with Tom Brokaw, they will be honored at the International Center for
Journalists Awards Dinner on Nov. 13
WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Center
for Journalists (ICFJ) has named Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas and Burmese
investigative reporter May Thingyan Hein as the 2007 Knight International
Journalism Award winners.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070824/DCF007LOGO )
They will be honored along with Founders Award recipient Tom Brokaw at
the 10th annual ICFJ Awards Dinner at the Ronald Reagan Building and
International Trade Center in Washington, DC, on November 13. The dinner
also will feature Keynote Speaker Bob Woodruff and Master of Ceremonies
George Stephanopoulos.
Abbas is the first blogger to win the award. His blog, Misr Digital
(Egyptian Awareness,) regularly breaks stories on subjects generally
avoided by local media, such as protests, corruption, and police brutality.
His vivid first-hand reports, videos and photographs have attracted
thousands of readers and the attention of mainstream news outlets, which
have begun to pick up his hard-hitting stories.
Abbas, 32, has been arrested, interrogated, and beaten, but remains
undaunted. "The bloggers in Egypt are the last independent voice," he
recently wrote. "If we are silenced, no protests will be heard in Egypt ...
And so the choice to blog is not only serious, but necessary."
Burma's May Thingyan Hein, 33, stands out for her coverage of
controversial topics such as corruption, HIV/AIDS and poverty. A freelance
journalist for several publications, she specializes in investigative
stories in a country where journalists must submit their reports in advance
to officials.
Her breaking coverage of the spread of the bird flu into
Burma, for example, forced officials to acknowledge the epidemic.
"Wael Abbas and May Thingyan Hein are blazing the path in their
countries with extremely bold coverage," says ICFJ President Joyce
Barnathan. "We want to honor them for exposing issues no one else will
cover and encourage others to follow their example."
More: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-24-2007/0004650961&EDATE=