Al Sanousi named Media Personality of Year

Dubai Seventeen Arab media professionals were yesterday honoured at a gala ceremony on the concluding day of the Arab Media Forum 2012.

Kuwaiti media expert Nasser Mohammad Al Sanousi was named Media Personality of the Year.

The awards witnessed a few firsts. Dr Badriya Al Beshr, Assistant Professor at Al Jazeera University in the UAE, became the first woman to win the prestigious Arab Journalism Award (AJA) in the Newspaper Column category.

It was also the first time that distinguished media personalities and AJA board members honoured the winners.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, presented awards to four of the winners. Apart from Al Sanousi and Dr Badriah, they included Laila Rustom, a thought leader in culture and media, who has several incisive interviews to her credit and Rafiq Khoury, a prominent journalist in the Arab world.

High standards

Maryam Bin Fahd, Executive Director, Dubai Press Club, told Gulf News that the DPC has built the credibility of the Arab Journalism Awards during the past decade.

"We have had eminent judges who have been part of the selection committees over the years. The judges follow a strict selection procedure to evaluate submissions and select winners," she said.

The committee shortlisted 36 nominees from 4,000 entries and the 17 outstanding media professionals were chosen from this list. This year, 38 per cent of the entries were from women.

The highest number of entries (in total) came from Egypt, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.

The Arab Journalism Awards (AJA), organised by Dubai Press Club, are considered the region's foremost acknowledgement of excellence in the media.

Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai; Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture, were present at the awards ceremony.