As discussed in an earlier post the EU Commission in Jordan has instituted a yearly price for excellent journalism in Jordan. The awards are ment to encourage and raise the standard of investigative journalism in Jordan – which in my humble opinion is very much needed. 49 articles was submitted for the awards of which 8 was presented to the jury.
Tonight, at the award ceremony three journalists received a price. Their pieces were very different.
Third price went to Salah Abbadi for a traditional investigative reporting on bad management of medical waste. It was originally published in Al Rai last year and I remember it create some debate at that time.
Second price was – what some probably would consider controversial - a opinion about power in Jordan and how the higher public positions tend to go to particular families and business circles and how this creates a divide between the average Jordanian and those in power. The column or op-ed like piece was written by Rania al-Hindi in Arabic in/on Minbar al Umma al Hurr (I am sorry to say I don’t know this media).
First price went to a report on the way the Jordanian society treats former inmates from Israeli prisons. It was a short article, very well written by Mohammad al-Fudeilat, which exposed the difference between words and deeds, when it comes to reintegration of prisoners back into society. The news website Al Bawaba published this early last year.
The three articles will be (re)published in English and Arabic on the EU Press awards site soon.
