It takes courage to report the news in many parts of the world. Each year, the International Women’s Media Foundation honors that courage and promotes the importance of a free press with its Courage in Journalism Awards, the only international awards that recognize the bravery of women journalists.
2012 Award Winners
Reeyot Alemu, 31, a columnist for the Ethiopian newspaper Feteh, is in prison for 14 years after being convicted of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and participation in a terrorist organization. Asmaa al-Ghoul, 30, a Palestinian blogger and writer, regularly receives death threats and has been beaten by Hamas security forces while covering protests. Khadija Ismayilova, 35, a talk show host on RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service who covers corruption and abuse of power by the government elite, was threatened and had surveillance cameras planted in her apartment in an effort to silence her.
Pakistani media pioneer Zubeida Mustafa -- the first woman reporter at Dawn English-language newspaper who promoted women’s equality in the newsroom -- is the IWMF’s 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Mustafa, 70, worked for three decades as Pakistan’s oldest newspaper and enacted hiring policies to promote women. She continues to write columns for the newspaper.
>> 2012 Awardees
2012 Courage in Journalism Awards in Los Angeles
October 30, 2012 -- More than 300 media personalities gathered in Los Angeles yesterday for the Courage in Journalism Awards, hosted by Aisha Tyler (CBS) and First Amendment Attorney Ted Boutrous, and attended by many accomplished women of the U.S. media and entertainment world, including Maria Shriver, Olivia Munn, Annette Bening, Chelsea Handler, Jennifer Westfeldt, Mary Hart, Brooke Anderson and Louise Roe.
"This event which I come to just about every year, always humbles me deeply. And it always inspires me. These amazing women encourage me. Their stories uplift me. Their work astounds me and leaves me in awe. It's so good to know that these women and so many others like them are out there every day, risking their lives and their livelihoods in pursuit of the truth. All of us here tonight and around the world are beneficiaries of their courage, their voices and their noble struggle", Peabody-winning journalist Maria Shriver told the audience.
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2012 Courage in Journalism Awards in New York
October 25, 2012 -- More than 500 of the East Coast's leading news personalities gathered in New York yesterday for the Courage in Journalism Awards, a ceremony hosted by Christiane Amanpour (CNN/ABC News) and Cynthia McFadden (ABC News), and attended by many of the most accomplished women in the U.S. news media, including Ann Curry, Martha Raddatz, Lesley Stahl, Gayle King, Norah O'Donnell, Pat Mitchell, Katty Kay, Judy Woodruff and Cindi Leive.
The Award that honors women journalists for their courageous reporting were presented to Khadija Ismayilova, a radio reporter from Azerbaijan, Asmaa al-Ghoul, a freelance journalist from Gaza, and Reeyot Alemu, an imprisoned Ethiopian columnist.
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Imprisoned Award recipient Reeyot Alemu
Latest Updates
• Reeyot Alemu's Sentence Reduced.
November 7, 2012 -- The Ethiopian Federal High Court has postponed Reeyot Alemu's court date for her last appeal. The hearing was initially scheduled for this week, however, the High Court announced that it needed more time to review Alemu's files. A new court date has been set for December 11.
• Reeyot Alemu's Sentence Reduced.
August 3, 2012 -- The Ethiopian Supreme Court has acquitted 2012 Courage Award Winner Reeyot Alemu of planning and preparing acts of terrorism, as well as of possessing or using property for terrorist acts. However, the court upheld the claim that she participated in the communication of a terrorist act, and merely reduced her 14-year prison sentence to five years.
• Reeyot Alemu's Appeal Sentencing Hearing on Friday, August 3, 2012.
July 17, 2012 -- Reeyot Alemu, an Ethiopian columnist and winner of the 2012 Courage in Journalism Award, is currently imprisoned on charges of terrorism after writing critiques of her country’s government. Based on her articles alone, a judge sentenced Alemu to 14 years in prison.
Alemu whose case is drawing increased international attention, has appealed her conviction and is currently awaiting the court's decision. Her sentencing hearing was initially scheduled for July 17 and subsequently postponed until August 3, 2012. It is unlikely that she will be released in time to accept her award in person at the Courage Awards ceremony in October.