USAGM honors excellence in journalism at 19th annual Burke awards ceremony

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USAGM honors excellence in journalism at 19th annual Burke awards ceremony

December 2, 2020

Today, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) honored excellence in journalism at its five broadcast networks during the 19th David Burke Distinguished Journalism Awards ceremony, which was held online.

“Our writers, photographers, editors, producers, and support professionals who make up this organization are committed to public service,” USAGM CEO Michael Pack said during the ceremony’s opening. “Their passion is an inspiration to me, and their contributions are far-reaching…. There’s no doubt about it – our journalists are heroes. At risk to their own lives as well as to those of their friends and families, they work in some of the world’s most dangerous regions and media-repressive environments.”

Per tradition, one winner was selected from each of USAGM’s five broadcasting networks: Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN).

This year’s David Burke Distinguished Journalism awardees:

Hong Kong Reporting Team (VOA News Center and VOA China Branch) for unprecedented collaboration in covering the prolonged protests in Hong Kong, providing unbiased and honest coverage of the protestors’ quest for freedom.
Radio Ozodi (RFE/RL, Tajik Service) for reporting on issues such as extremism, police brutality, and access to health care that are not covered by Tajik media and providing a vital public service to Tajik- and Russian-speaking audiences.
Central News Director Álvaro Alba (OCB) for upholding agency journalistic ethics and standards at Radio & Television Márti, a critical contribution to USAGM’s mission to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.
Hong Kong Bureau Team (RFA) for coverage of the anti-extradition law protests that rocked Hong Kong, bringing fresh, uncensored perspectives and objective, and timely reporting to Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking audiences in Mainland China.
Reporter/Producer Maan Aljizzani, Video Editor Omar Al Humairi, and Unit Chief and Lead Investigative Reporter Hussein Elrazzaz (MBN) for reporting on financial and political corruption of Iraqi religious leaders in the face of great political pressure, providing transparency and accountability in the region.

“This year’s winners epitomize what this award is about — courage, excellence, and professionalism in journalism,” CEO Pack added. “They have all gone above and beyond the call of duty for their audiences and for the causes of liberty and democracy.”

Event Information

December 2, 2020, 10:00 a.m.

USAGM.gov

For more information, please contact USAGM Public Affairs at (202) 203-4400 or by e-mail at publicaffairs@usagm.gov.

With remarks from:

Michael Pack served as Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, confirmed by the United States Senate on June 4, 2020. Formerly, Mr. Pack was President of Manifold Productions, Inc., an independent film and television production company, which he founded in 1977. Through Manifold Productions, he wrote, directed, and produced numerous award-winning nationally broadcast documentaries as well as corporate and educational films. His most recent film, Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words, a two-hour documentary, opened in movie theaters on January 31, 2020, and was broadcast nationally via PBS on May 18, 2020. The Washington Post called it “a marvel of filmmaking,” and the Washington Examiner said it is “magnificent and necessary.” Upcoming, The Last 600 Meters tells the story of the 2004 battles of Najaf and Fallujah, the two biggest battles of the Iraq War. Mr. Pack’s other major television credits include: RICKOVER: The Birth of Nuclear Power, starring Tim Blake Nelson and narrated by Joan Allen (2014); Rediscovering Alexander Hamilton, hosted by Richard Brookhiser (2011); God and the Inner City, narrated by Phylicia Rashad (2003); Rediscovering George Washington, hosted by Richard Brookhiser (2002); The Fall of Newt Gingrich, narrated by Blair Brown (2000); The Rodney King Incident: Race and Justice in America, narrated by Robert Prosky (1998); Inside the Republican Revolution: The First Hundred Days, hosted by Don Lambro (1995); Hollywood vs. Religion, hosted by Michael Medved (1995); Campus Culture Wars: Five Stories about Political Correctness, narrated by Lindsay Crouse (1993); America’s Political Parties, hosted by Ben Wattenberg and David Gergen (1988 & 1992); Fire from the Sun: The Search for Fusion Energy, hosted by E. G. Marshall (1990); Hollywood’s Favorite Heavy: Businessmen on Prime Time TV, hosted by Eli Wallach (1987); among others. All have been nationally broadcast on PBS, except The Rodney King Incident, which premiered on TLC. From 2015 to 2017, Mr. Pack served as President and CEO of the Claremont Institute in Upland, California, and Publisher of its Claremont Review of Books. During his tenure, he revamped its management and organizational structure, created a new communications department which vastly increased its national prominence, and opened offices in Washington, D.C. to launch new programs and increase its profile in the policy world. From 2003-2006, Mr. Pack served as Senior Vice President for Television Programming at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He restructured the programming department and launched several new initiatives. These included: America at a Crossroads (a series of 20 documentary films addressing issues facing America in the wake of the attacks of 9/11) and the American History and Civics Initiative – innovative, new media designed to address declining knowledge of our national past among middle and high school students. In 2002, President Bush nominated and the Senate confirmed Mr. Pack to serve on the National Council on the Humanities, which oversees the National Endowment for the Humanities. He served from July 2002 to February 2005. In 1993, Mr. Pack served as Co-Chair of the International TV Council at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In this capacity, he oversaw the Council’s efforts to determine the feasibility of launching a cooperative program between American public television producers and stations and their counterparts in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Previously, Mr. Pack received a political appointment as Director of WORLDNET, the U.S. Information Agency’s global satellite network. WORLDNET produced, acquired, and distributed programs to over 127 countries and over 200 cities on all continents twenty-four hours a day. Mr. Pack oversaw WORLDNET’s 291 employees and annual budget of $23 million. WORLDNET, now called VOA-TV, has merged with the Voice of America. Mr. Pack attended Yale College, the University of California at Berkeley, and studied film at New York University. Before launching Manifold Productions, he worked extensively in production and post-production. He worked as a staff editor for RAI, the Italian TV network, and for Pathé News in New York. Mr. Pack and his wife, Gina, who works at Manifold Productions, have three sons and reside in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
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Great Van Susteren
Host of Plugged In
Elez Biberaj
Acting Director, VOA
Daisy Sindelar
Acting President, RFE/RL
Jeffrey Shapiro
Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director, OCB
Min Mitchell
Managing Director for East Asia, RFA
Amr El-Kahky
Vice President of Programming, MBN

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USAGM honors excellence in journalism at 19th annual Burke awards ceremony

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