Journalists from the five Broadcast Board of Governors radio and television networks were named to receive the David Burke Distinguished Journalism Award. “These are outstanding journalists that represent the BGG out in the field,” CEO John Lansing said.
The winners:
Ayesha Tanzeem, Voice of America’s Islamabad bureau chief, joined VOA in 2015; she received the award for her reports from Afghanistan on the terrorist group ISIS and for her courage to enter hostile areas.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s special Crimea Unit formed two months after Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian territory. BBG said it is known as “Crimea Reality” to local Ukrainians. The 40-member team of journalists, editors and engineers produce two weekly, 30-minute television programs running on Ukraine’s national news channel.
The Office of Cuba Broadcasting’s Tomas Cardoso, a radio host on Radio Martí, is honored for a career in journalism about current events in Cuba and for his extensive networks of news contacts in that country.
Radio Free Asia’s Vuthy Khin Huot, a journalist for the Khmer Service in Cambodia, is honored for a career as an anchor, producer and staff trainer. The organization said he has faced danger as a journalist in Cambodia and expanded BBG’s reach into delivery platforms like Facebook Live and a daily television program.
Middle East Broadcasting Networks salutes a team of three correspondents reporting out of Yemen. Arafat Mudabesh, Abdul Kareem Shaibany, and Mokhtar El-Sharafi are resources for MBN’s coverage of the conflict in that country, filing stories from hot spots.
Award namesake David Burke was founding chairman and leader of the BBG for three years as well as president of CBS News. The award includes a $2,500 prize.
