Alhurra wins AIB people’s accolade for Arab spring reports
Rebecca Hawkes ©RapidTVNews | 13-11-2011
US news broadcaster Alhurra has won the Association of International Broadcasting's (AIB) People's Choice Award for its coverage of the Egyptian revolution, in a contest which was run online in conjunction with Yahoo! Maktoob.
The other finalists in a section which concentrated on international broadcast coverage of the Arab uprisings comprised Al Jazeera English, Deutsche Welle, Iran's Press TV, India's NDTV and France 24.
"We are very excited about winning the AIB's People's Choice Award, especially for Alhurra's coverage of the Egyptian Revolution. This award highlights the excellent work of Alhurra's dedicated team in Egypt, as well as the tireless and professional efforts of everyone who worked behind the scenes," said Brian Conniff, president of Middle East Broadcasting Networks, which runs the station.
Alhurra, which is funded by the US government, broadcasts free to air in Arabic across the Middle East and North Africa via Nilesat and Arabsat. During the Egyptian revolution, Alhurra reported from Cairo's Tahrir Square, as well as providing behind the scenes coverage depicting, for example, the Christians and Muslims in Alexandria working together to protect each other's places of worship during the demonstrations. It also provided a US perspective on the momentous events unfolding across the Arab world.
Following the Egyptian Revolution, Alhurra's weekly audience in Egypt jumped to nearly eight million viewers according to the international research firm AC Nielsen following the North African country's revolution earlier this year. The network's viewership in Egypt rose from 3.9 million (7.5%) in 2010 to 7.7 million (14.7%) in 2011.
