Nasser Al Othman Media Personality of the Year

Shaikh Mohammed honoured the winners of the Arab Journalism Awards (AJA) 2011 in a glittering ceremony that concluded the tenth edition of the two-day Arab Media Forum.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday honoured the winners of the Arab Journalism Awards (AJA) 2011 in a glittering ceremony that concluded the tenth edition of the two-day Arab Media Forum.

Shaikh Mohammed honoured the family of Egyptian journalist Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud of Al-Ahram newspaper who died on February 3 after a sniper bullet hit him on January 29. He also honoured the family of Qatari cameraman Ali Hassan Al Jaber, head of the photography department at Al Jazeera, who died on March 2 in an ambush in the Hawari region near Benghazi in Yemen and the family of Iraqi journalist Sabah al-Bazi, reporter at Al Arabiya TV in Baghdad, who passed away in the Salahuddin province of Iraq on March 29, were also honoured.

The ‘2010 Media Personality of the Year’ was presented to Nasser Mohammed Al-Othman, Dean of Qatari Press and Secretary-General of the Gulf Press Association. Al-Othman was recognised for his efforts in developing the Arab and the Gulf media, particularly the Qatari media landscape. He is also credited with creating the first radio station in Qatar. In 1970, he supervised the first international books exhibition in Doha and conceptualised the idea of setting up a Gulf Press
Association in collaboration with his colleagues.

The ‘Best Newspaper Column’ award was presented to Saudi author Turki Al-Sediri, editor of Al-Riyadh newspaper, chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Journalists Association and president of the Gulf Press Union. His daily column ‘Meet’ continues
to command high readership in the region.

Ayman Al Sisi of Al Ahram, Egyptian newspaper, received the ‘Investigative Reporting’ award from Dr Ahmed Abdul Malik, journalist, author and a member of the AJA Board of Directors.

Majdy Obaid from Al Bayan, UAE-based newspaper, received the ‘Economic Journalism’ award from Jamil Matar, member of the editorial board of the Al Shorooq Egyptian newspaper and member of the AJA Board of Directors.

Dhaen Shaheen, Executive Director of Media Affairs at Dubai Media Incorporated and a member of the AJA Board of Directors, gave away the ‘Political Journalism’ award to Mohammad Amin Al Masry of Al Ahram.

Dr Abdul Ilah Balkeziz, member of the AJA Board of Directors, preseneted the ‘Cultural Criticism Award’ to Khalil Sweleh of Syrian newspaper Tishreen.

Ahmad Atiya Ibrahim of Egyptian newspaper Al Shurooq received the ‘Specialized Journalism Award’ from Mohammad Yousuf, President of the UAE Journalists Association and a member of the AJA Board of Directors.

Hussein Hasan of Al Faisal magazine in Saudi Arabia received the award in the ‘Press Interviews’ category. He was awarded by Dr Mohiuddin Omemor, former Algerian Minister of Culture and Communication and a member of the AJA Board of Directors.

Themed ‘Arab Media: Riding out the Storms of Change’, Arab Media Forum 2011 witnessed the participation of over 2,500 Arab and international journalists, including speakers and attendees. — news@khaleejtimes.com