|
|
Press ReleasePioneering Reporters Honored at Internews Media Leadership AwardsJournalism is ‘a service industry, and we are the servants,’photojournalist James Nachtwey tells audience
Washington, D.C.— (June 4, 2009) To applause from a standing-room-only crowd, four media leaders from around the world were honored this week for their courage and commitment to journalism at the Internews Media Leadership Awards in Washington, D.C. Honorees for the third annual awards were: renowned photojournalist James Nachtwey; Tasneem Ahmar, an activist and journalist promoting the positive image of women in Pakistan’s media; Thepchai Yong, managing director of Thailand’s first independent public service broadcaster; and RAMAK, a network of 41 community radio stations in Haiti. In opening remarks at the ceremony, Internews board member Carlos Pascual, who is currently Vice President and Director of the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution, spoke of the right to freedom of expression and the dissemination of ideas enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “We believe in a celebration of these values at a time when there is conflict and struggle in the world, and where the rights of people to express themselves really does make a difference,” Pascual said. Accepting his award, James Nachtwey, whose photos for TIME magazine and other venues provide a window into some of the world’s most difficult and dangerous situations, said: “Journalism is more than a business. It’s a service industry, and we are the servants. The service we provide is awareness.” Nachtwey continued by thanking those who have helped him in his work, from humanitarian NGOs to fixers and drivers, and especially those who have allowed him to take their photographs: “Their stories and their faces hold policy makers accountable, and we are the messengers.” Internews board chair Kathy Bushkin Calvin, Executive Vice-President and COO of the United Nations Foundation, presented the award to Nachtwey “for his courage and visual eloquence in bearing witness to the human cost of war, humanitarian disasters, and other critical social issues around the world.”
The evening also featured veteran radio journalist Bob Edwards, host of “The Bob Edwards Show” on Sirius XM radio and former host of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” as the master of ceremonies. Internews President David Hoffman introduced a moving short video on Internews’ Emergency Media Fund. Business leader and documentary filmmaker Ted Leonsis and journalist and author Mariane Pearl, who were recipients of last year’s awards from Internews, served as honorary co-chairs for this year’s event. Among the guests were H.E. Raymond A. Joseph, Haitian Ambassador to the US; environmentalist Sarah DuPont; Internews board member Tara Sonenshine, Executive Vice President of the US Institute for Peace; Dr. Nabil Al Khatib, Managing Director of the Al Arabiya network; and Internews board member Greg Carr, whose Carr Foundation is restoring Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. The 2009 Internews Media Leadership Awards were made possible by its major sponsors, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Open Society Institute and DLA Piper, among other champions for local, independent media worldwide. |
||
