The liberal media are increasingly bold in trying to “mainstream” al-Jazeera English by offering them journalism awards. Fox News is excluded from these honors -- because they're owned by an Australian-American? But networks owned by an Arab monarch like Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer al-Thani are included. The “nationally renowned George Polk awards in journalism” – that’s what they call it themselves – have followed the duPont-Columbia awards in honoring AJE.
This naturally leads leftist Reagan-haters like Will Bunch to demand Comcast start making space for al-Jazeera English propaganda.
The Polk Awards website excitedly explained:
The George Polk Award for Television Documentary will recognize the courageous work of Al Jazeera English reporter May Ying Welsh and field producer Hassan Mahfood in developing "Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark." When Bahrain banned foreign journalists during the Arab Spring protests, Welsh remained, working undercover with Mahfood to produce a film that gives a voice to the protesters for democratic rights and presents a harrowing, on-the-ground view of their brutal suppression. The documentary highlights the unbridled power of security forces in a key American ally on the Gulf.
On Wednesday, April 4, the annual George Polk Seminar will include a panel discussion titled "Getting the Unforgettable Story" honoring four Polk Award winners: May Ying Welsh of al-Jazeera English, Jane Mayer of The New Yorker, winner of the Magazine Reporting award; C.J. Chivers of The New York Times, winner of the Military Reporting award; and Sara Ganim of The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., winner of the Sports Reporting Award. George Polk Awards Curator John Darnton will moderate the event.
Last year, the duPont-Columbia Awards honored AJE for a documentary on Haiti:
Excellent long-form reporting that revealed the ongoing vulnerability of civilians in Haiti and the inaction of international agencies
This outstanding documentary took an uncompromising look at the shortcomings of international aid and peacekeeping in Haiti six months after the devastating earthquake, reminding the world that the survivors still face urgent crises. Reporter Sebastian Walker covered the disaster in Haiti in January 2010 and stayed with the story in the months that followed as Al Jazeera English’s Haiti correspondent. With Al Jazeera English’s flagship news program Fault Lines, Walker scrutinized international aid organizations, local politics, U.N. peacekeeping and reconstruction plans. The team produced an emotional, accurate and visceral report about the lack of progress in reconstruction.
