Al Jazeera wins Broadcaster of the year award at New York Festivals
Al Jazeera Media Network is celebrating winning a total of five Gold World Medals, fourteen Silver World Medals and seven Bronze Medals at the prestigious New York Film Festivals awards.
A special award of Broadcaster of the Year was also awarded to Al Jazeera English, as the channel took home three Gold, twelve Silver, five Bronze and 10 Finalist Certificates for various content on news, programmes and online. Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit picked up two Gold, two Silver, two Bronze and one Finalist Certificate for a variety of investigations broadcast across the network.
101 East was awarded one Gold World Medal for Good Morning Pakistan in the Best Public Affairs Programme category. Afghanistan: Medics Under Fire and Too Young to Wed both won Silver World Medals, while Guns, Goons and the Presidency, Hong Kong: Aged and Abandoned and India’s Miracle Babies were awarded Bronze World Medals. South Korean Hangover and The Orangutan Whisperer picked up Finalist Certificates.
Foundation, an episode in The Caliph series received a Gold World Award in the Religious Programs category, while the episode Division from the Caliph series won a Silver World Medal. ISIL and the Taliban won a Gold World Medal for the Best Television-Documentary on Social Issues category and a Bronze World Medal in the Television-Documentary/ National/International Affairs category.
People and Power picked up two Silver World Medals for Syria: Under Russia’s Fist and Borderless: Undercover with the People Smugglers was also awarded a Bronze World Medal.Witness was awarded two Silver World Medals for Syria’s White Helmets and Kisulu: The Climate Diaries. Syria’s White Helmets along with China’s Fake Boyfriends were also awarded Finalist Certificates.
Al Jazeera English also received three more Silver World Medals, awarded to the The Stream, My Nigeria - Sandra Aguebo: Lady Mechanic and the People’s Health: Thailand’s Remote Lifesavers. Upfront’s episode on -Islam and Democracy: What’s the Problem? Women Make Change - Going Places: Girls’ Education in Ghana and Al Jazeera Correspondent - Off the Rails - A Journey Through Japan all picked up Finalist Certificates.
Al Jazeera English news was awarded a Silver World Medal and a Finalist Certificate in the Breaking News Story category for its coverage of the attempted coup in Turkey. Senegal:
The Continuous Cycle of FGM picked up a Silver World Award Medal and a Finalist Certificate which gave Al Jazeera English a total of three Gold World Medals, Twelve Silver World Medals, five Bronze World Medals and ten Finalist Certificates.
Commenting on the success of the awards, Giles Trendle, the Acting Managing Director of Al Jazeera English said: “Al Jazeera English is delighted be named Broadcaster of the Year at the New York Festivals awards and to win a batch of gold, silver and bronze awards for our content. It’s a great honour to have our bold and unique journalism recognised on the global stage by our peers. In a world seemingly beset by rising bigotry and extremism, Al Jazeera English continues its mission in providing a wider scope of information, insight and understanding. These awards are a testament to the quality of our journalism and the value of our goal to tell important stories from around the world. Behind every award is a multi-talented and multi-cultural team of dedicated individuals whose creativity and commitment come together in the shared aim of listening to, and telling people’s stories.”
Al Jazeera’s Investigation Unit, which provide groundbreaking investigative programmes for the channels and platforms of Al Jazeera Media Network, picked up two Gold World Medals, two Silver, one Bronze and one Finalist Certificate. Its investigation,
"The Dark Side: Secrets of the Sports Dopers”, won two Gold World Medals in the Current Affairs Television - Documentary/Information Program and Sports & Recreation Television - Documentary/Information Program categories. Genocide Agenda, which exposed the inner workings of the Myanmar regime, providing "strong evidence” of a genocide against the Rohingya minority was awarded a Silver World Medal and one Bronze World Medal. Stealing Paradise, which uncovered large scale corruption at the top of the political elite in the Maldives was awarded a Silver World Medal, while Britain’s Modern Slave Trade won a Bronze World Medal in the Social Affairs category and was also awarded Finalist Certificate.
Commenting on the two Gold World Medals, two Silver, one Bronze and on Finalist Certificate for the Investigative Unit, the Unit’s manager, Phil Rees said: “I welcome the recognition that the New York Television Festivals has given to original, hard-hitting investigative work. The Dark Side: Secrets of the Sports’ Dopers revealed the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs by some of the biggest stars in American sport. Its two Gold Awards are testimony to the meticulous and bold journalism that led to one of the most talked about sports stories of the year in the United States”.
The Investigative Unit gained further recognition in the US at the Headliner Awards. Stealing Paradise, revealing corruption in the Maldives, won first place in the Investigative report category. The Poacher’s Pipeline, on the illegal trade in rhino horn, won second place in the documentary section.This year’s tally of 27 World Medals from the New York Festivals awards are significantly higher than the total of 19 which the network won in 2016.
The New York Film Festival’s World honours programming in all lengths and forms from over fifty countries. To date, this year’s powerhouse Grand Jury of prominent international broadcast and film industry executives represents 34 countries on 6 continents. The sixty plus women on the jury are directors, producers, journalists, writers, and filmmakers who are passionate about excellence and innovation. The Grand Jury panel’s stellar reputation and diverse areas of expertise across all platforms ensure that this peer-judging process provides each entry with the attention it deserves.
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