April 25, 2007
Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, presented the Media Personality of the Year award to Othman Al Omeir for his contribution to the industry in the Arab world.
Four UAE-based journalists were among the 12 winners of the Arab Journalism Awards (AJA) 2006, who were rewarded during a glittering ceremony at Madinat Jumeirah yesterday.
Among the four winners, two journalists are from Al Khaleej newspaper, a caricaturist from Akhbar Al Arab newspaper and Super, a sports magazine.
"It is a prestigious award which a journalist cannot easily achieve due to the high competition among the contenders. It has [helped to] develop the standard of Arab media industry," Jordanian national, Ayman Khalil Rummaneh, of the UAE's Al Khaleej Arabic daily, told Gulf News yesterday. He won the Best Environmental Journalism Award.
Judges
His Egyptian colleague, Yousuf Sa’ad, won the Best Investigative Journalism Award. He said: "I thank God for being in a place that enjoys press freedom which has enabled me to work on a bold and sensitive investigation," added Sa’ad.
The awards were presented on the concluding day of the Arab Media Forum 2007.
Mona Al Merri, Secretary General of the Arab Journalism Award, said a distinguished panel of judges evaluated the nominees on the criteria of objective and unbiased reporting.
This year, the AJA posthumously honoured the late Joseph Samaha for his pioneering role in the Arab media. Samaha’s daughter, Ameenah Samaha, received the award from Talal Salman, Editor-in Chief and writer for Al Safir newspaper, Lebanon.
Newspaper
Othman Al Omeir was born in Najd, Saudi Arabia, in 1950. He started working as a sports journalist in a number or Saudi newspapers and magazines such as Al Yamama, Al Madina, Al Riyadh and Al Nadwa.
In the early 1970s, he worked for Al Jazeera newspaper before heading its sports section. He then left for London where he studied English and reported for Al Jazeera from there until 1983.
Between 1984 and 1987 he was the editor-in-chief of Al Majalla magazine before he became the editor-in-chief of Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper for ten years. In 2001 he launched the e-newspaper elaph.
Winners are:
Best Column in an Arabic daily or weekly publication: Musa’ed Al Saleh, Al Qabas, Kuwait. Best Business
Reporting: Abdul Aziz Al Hindi from Magazine.
Best Sports Publication: Super Magazine. Best Environmental
Journalism: Ayman Khalil Rummaneh, Al Khaleej, UAE.
Best Interview: Suheir Hilmy, Al Ahram, Egypt. Best Cultural
Journalism: Akel Al Oweit, Al Nahar, Lebanon.
Best Photo Journalism: Mahmoud Ebrahim, Agence France Press.
Best IT Technology Report: Abu Al Hajjaj Bashir, Modern
Language, Egypt. Best Political Journalism: Gassan Al Shahbani, Al Waqt, Bahrain.
Best Caricature: Amer Al Zughby, Akhbar Al Arab, UAE.
Best Investigative Journalism: Youssef Sa’ad, Al Khaleej, UAE.
Best Child Journalism: May Malhas, Al Jazirah, Saudi Arabia.
Gulf News |
