Our colleagues at Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism have launched a welcome new prize, the Seymour Hersh Investigative Journalism Award for investigative reporting that makes a positive impact on Arab communities.
Reporters in 11 Middle Eastern and North African countries are eligible for the award, which is sponsored by ARIJ and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). Deadline is this October 31.
“We hope that the ARIJ-ICFJ prize will encourage a new generation of Arab investigative journalists working against all odds to improve the lot of their local communities by exposing injustices,” says ARIJ Executive Director Rana Sabbagh.
Eligible countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.
To apply, send a cover letter, CV and copies of your work to info@arij.net. Submissions must have been broadcast or published in the past year. Winners will be honored in Amman at a banquet during the third annual ARIJ conference for Arab investigative journalists on Nov. 26-28.
Kudos to ARIJ and ICFJ for hosting this important new award. The first nonprofit investigative journalism center in the Middle East, ARIJ has done groundbreaking work, training more than 380 Arab journalists, producing the first Arab manual for investigative journalists, and providing grants for some 80 investigations in eight countries. (And our pals at ICFJ are among the leaders in media development; their IJNet newsletter is must reading for those in the field.