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| Lebanon's
May Chidiac to Receive Courage in Journalism Award The International Women's Media Foundation's 2006 Courage in Journalism
Awards Honor Journalists from the United States, Lebanon and China. Award Ceremony to be
Held in Los Angeles on Novemb. Mexican Journalist and Author Elena Poniatowska Amor
to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award. Recipients are: Jill Carroll*, a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, May Chidiac, journalist with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation and Gao Yu, an economic and political reporter from China. "This year's Courage winners are committed to fair, honest reporting, even when it means taking risks or suffering dangerous consequences," said Judy Woodruff, chair of the Courage in Journalism Awards. "Their work makes them champions of a free press." Sherry Lansing, The Sherry Lansing Foundation and Anne Sweeny, Disney-ABC Television, are event co-chairs for the Los Angeles awards ceremony. Presenters include actress Sally Field, Mexican novelist and essayist Carlos Fuentes (The Old Gringo) George Stephanopoulos, anchor, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, ABC. Bank of America is the national presenting sponsor of the Courage in Journalism Awards. About the recipients: Jill Carroll, 28, The Christian Science Monitor. Carroll was abducted January 7 in Iraq after she was attacked along with a driver and an interpreter. Her interpreter, Alan Enwiya, was killed. Carroll was released March 30 after 82 days in captivity and returned to the U.S. on April 2. May Chidiac, 43, journalist for the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation. Chidiac, one of the best known faces on Lebanese television and a critic of Syria's involvement in Lebanon, every Sunday presented the program "Nharkom Said" (Good Day) every Sunday. In September 2005, she lost her left hand and left leg when a bomb exploded under the driver's seat of her car. She had just hosted a show addressing Syria's possible involvement in former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination. After recovering from her injuries, Chidiac resumed her broadcasting career in Lebanon in July. Gao Yu, 62, an economic and political reporter from China. Gao was sentenced in 1993 to six years in prison for "leaking state secrets," through a Hong Kong-based pro-Chinese government newspaper. Her writing and involvement in the 1989 pro-democracy movement and her willingness to jeopardize her safety and career in the service of freedom, democracy and human rights significantly contributed to the free press movement. Gao was released from prison on medical parole in March 1999. Elena Poniatowska Amor, 74, a renowned journalist and author from Mexico. The French-born Poniatowska spent the majority of her more than half-century career reporting for the newspaper Novedades, where she worked until 2000. She has spent much of her career reporting on the lives of poor Mexicans. Her book, La Noche de Tlatelolco (Massacre in Mexico) details the government's killing of some 250 people during student demonstrations in Mexico City on October 2, 1968. A collaborator and contributor to various Mexican media outlets throughout her career, Poniatowska was one of the founders of Cineteca Nacional (National Film Archives), La Jornada and Siglo XXI, one of Mexico's most prestigious publishing houses. In 1979, she was the first woman to receive Mexico's National Journalism Prize. Her work has been translated into numerous languages. About the IWMF The International Women's Media Foundation created the Courage in Journalism Awards in 1990 to honor women journalists who have shown extraordinary strength of character and integrity while reporting the news under dangerous or difficult circumstances. The IWMF Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a woman journalist who has a pioneering spirit and who determination has paved the way for future generations of women in the media. This year's awards will also be presented in New York on October 24th. The IWMF was launched in 1990; its mission is to strengthen the role of women in the news media worldwide. The IWMF network includes more than 1,500 women and men in the media in more than 130 countries worldwide. *Jill Carroll attendance to be confirmed. SOURCE : The International Women's Media Foundation |
