Magda Abu-Fadil on AJA Judges Panel

Posted on April 20, 2013 by magda

Media Unlimited Director Magda Abu-Fadil joined experts on the Arab Journalism Award’s (AJA) judging panels that evaluated entries nominated for coveted prizes to be presented in May 2013.

She attended a meeting in Dubai of committee representatives for 12 of the 14 prize categories. It grouped noted Arab journalists, academics and researchers and was chaired by AJA director Muna Busamra.

AJA Director Muna Busamra chairs judges’ committee meeting in Dubai

The Dubai Press Club, which oversees the AJA process, announced the names of the 60 judges in April.

It was the first time in the AJA’s 12-year history that judges’ names were made public ahead of the awards ceremony.

AJA logo

The awards will be handed out at the end of Arab Media Forum scheduled for May 14-15.

There were a record 4,146 entries in this year’s lineup with 33 finalists vying for top place in their respective categories.

Abu-Fadil evaluated articles in the investigative journalism category.

Magda Abu-Fadil discusses investigative journalism entries

Judges scrutinize anonymous articles according to strict rules and submit their evaluations online.

The committees’ recommendations are reviewed and approved by the AJA board, which also selects the best annual column and media personality of the year.

Some 600 jury members have served on panels since the prize’s inception in 1999, AJA deputy director Jasim Al Shemsi said.

Dubai Press Club Google Hangout Reviews Arab Journalism Award

Posted on January 2, 2013 by magda

Seven journalism aficionados rounded up 2012 events with a Google Hangout session to review the Arab Journalism Award’s (AJA) development and impact.

AJA judges and recipients discussed the Arabic language as a standard for evaluating published materials, the importance of keeping up with technological advances, and the evolution of social and digital media as inseparable parts of journalism ahead of the award’s 12^th run in May 2013.

The virtual meeting dubbed “Journey to Honor Creativity” was chaired December 30 by the AJA’s manager Muna Busamra to feature the award’s growing importance in the Arab world and its effect on the region’s journalists.

Arab Journalism Award manager Muna Busamra

Participants included Saudi media researcher Fahed Al Harithi, Saudi journalist Nahed Bashatah (one of the first women to be honored), Egyptian journalist/recipient Ali Zalat, Egyptian journalist/recipient Walaa Nabil, Emirati journalist/recipient Mohammad Aljoker, and Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil.

Abu-Fadil, a former board member and panel judge of the AJA, was instrumental in introducing investigative and online journalism categories to the award.

MU director reviews AJA merits

She also stressed the importance of regular training for journalists to ensure their skills remain up to par in a fast-changing media landscape.

The Arab Journalism Award is administered by the Dubai Press Club under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashed Al Maktoum. Prizes are traditionally awarded at the end of the annual Arab Media Forum in Dubai.

MU Speaks Out on Need for Better Journalism Teaching/Training at Dubai’s 11th Arab Media Forum

Posted on May 24, 2012 by magda

Media Unlimited director Magda Abu-Fadil told participants at an Arab Media Forum (AMF) 2012 workshop that academics must get up to speed and not deride the importance of social media.

Some panelists and members of the audience said online media users could not be described as journalists since they don’t have the requisite academic and professional qualifications.

Magda Abu-Fadil (second from right) during AMF2012 workshop on instinctive online journalists (Courtesy of DPC)

But, Abu-Fadil argued, many Arab journalism schools lacked resources and because of their poor curricula were turning out functional illiterates by not providing students with the knowledge base and skills for today’s exploding media market.

Additionally, faculty members were often below par and incapable of keeping up with the times, hence their aversion to digital advances, social media, and inability to incorporate them in their programs.

Media Unlimited featured at Arab Media Forum 2012 in Dubai (Courtesy of DPC)

The workshop — which preceded the two-day event’s official opening — focused on whether social and online media users had become journalists by instinct.

Talk show host Zeina Yazigi (Twitter @zyazigi) of Dubai TV interviewed Abu-Fadil on her show “Al Shari’ Al Arabi” (The Arab Street) to discuss the impact of online and social media on Arabs in the wake of revolutions gripping the region and whether citizen journalists posed serious competition to traditional media.

Read details of the 11th Arab Media Forum organized by the Dubai Press Club May 8-9, 2012.