Al Jazeera wins ‘Broadcaster of Year’

Al Jazeera English was named ‘Broadcaster of the Year’ for the secondyear running at the 2018 New York Festivals International Television& Film Gala that took place in Las Vegas on April 10. The award is considered the most prestigious by the organisers, Al Jazeera Media Network said in a statement yesterday. Overall, the network was honoured with more than 40 prizes at the event, including 15 gold and 15 silver medals.Among the honours, five gold medals went to the 101 East documentaryseries, along with three silver medals. The documentary seriespresenter, Steve Chao, also won a gold medal in the Best News Reporter category. The Cut, a documentary exploring the dangerous and painful practice offemale genital mutilation across the world, won two gold medals. Another documentary, The Boy Who Started the Syrian War, tells the storyof Mouawiya Syasneh, whose graffiti against President Bashar al-Assadlit the spark that engulfed Syria, and ‘Spy Merchant’ from Al Jazeera’sInvestigative Unit were both awarded gold medals. In addition, the Demand Press Freedom Campaign and News Promotion onHundred Days of Trump Administration both won gold medals, while ‘InThis Life’ - a depiction of the ‘journalism is not a crime’ campaign -won a bronze medal for editing. Giles Trendle, managing director of Al Jazeera English, said winning theawards at the New York Festivals event is a “wonderful honour from ourindustry peers of the quality of our journalism and the talent of ourteams”. “In the current global media and political climate, it is all the moreimportant for independent media and journalists around the globe to makethemselves heard through quality journalism and imaginativestorytelling,” Trendle noted. “We are humbled and honoured to besurrounded by colleagues and friends from media organisations thatcourageously continue to tell the truth and refuse to be silent.”