Al Jazeera English’s website wins top awards in the Breaking News, News Series and Feature Reports categories.
In a breakout year for global recognition, the Al Jazeera English website has emerged with three wins at the prestigious US-based Edward R Murrow Awards.
Competing against media heavyweights The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN International and many others, Al Jazeera English Online won the top awards in the Breaking News, News Series and Feature Reporting categories of the annual awards which carry the name of the maverick and pioneer of CBS News. of 60-minute documentaries.
The awards, sponsored by the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), were announced on 11 August.
AJ Digital’s website and social teams won in the Breaking News category for its 24-hour coverage of the events leading up to and following the fall of the Afghan capital, Kabul, to the Taliban. Al Jazeera digital and broadcast correspondents were the first on the scene when the Taliban entered the presidential palace in Kabul on August 15, 2021. AJ Digital’s minute-by-minute coordination with reporters and contacts on the ground produced timely coverage of events in the days leading up to and following the takeover. Al Jazeera’s social platforms garnered about 22.8 million views of videos and reports on the palace siege posted on its YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels.
“I am immensely proud of our world-class team of multi-platform journalists,” said Soraya Salam, Al Jazeera English Online Manager. “This honor is a testament to how we’ve grown as a competitive force in digital news, powered by our mission to put the human story first. I hope this recognition brings more awareness to the struggles of those who have bravely shared their stories with us.”
AJ Digital’s interactive team, AJ Labs, won in the News Series category for its 10-part set of data visualizations, Afghanistan: Visualizing the Impact of 20 Years of War. The series uses interactive maps, graphics and data to examine the impact of the last 20 years of war in Afghanistan, giving context to the decades-long acceleration in the chaotic withdrawal of US troops.
The Slow Journalism/Features unit rounded out the trio of awards with a win in the feature category for its six-part series on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The series of long reads, embedded with rich graphic, photographic and video testimonies, follows those who try to find the remains of their loved ones and try to reconcile the loss of those known to have died along a snowy stretch of highway and infamous in British Columbia, Canada. About 80 women and girls, most of them indigenous, have gone missing and been murdered on Canada’s “Highway of Tears” since the early 1970s.
“With all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, it’s been a tough couple of years for our journalists,” said Carlos van Meek, Director of Innovation and Programs at Al Jazeera Digital. “But our teams never wavered. They worked incredibly hard to adjust every step of the way. It’s wonderful to see them recognized for their diligence and tenacity.”
Winners will be recognized at a gala dinner hosted by the Edward R Murrow Awards and RTDNA in New York City on October 10.
