22nd Annual Burke Awards recognizes excellence at USAGM

Event

22nd Annual Burke Awards recognizes excellence at USAGM

April 21, 2023

The U.S. Agency for Global Media recognized the outstanding journalists from its five networks and the critical work of the staff to make that journalism safely accessible. The 22nd Annual David Burke Distinguished Journalism Awards was held on April 21st with remarks from senior leaders across the agency in support of the winners.

“The work we do to provide accurate and reliable news and information around the world is getting more important – and more dangerous – every day,” said USAGM CEO Amanda Bennett. “We have risen to that challenge.”

This year’s David Burke Distinguished Journalist Award winners are…

The Voice of America’s Ukrainian Service, who provided critical news to millions of Ukrainians during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Radio Free Asia’s Mandarin Asian Pacific Report (APR) and Digital Teams for their reporting on the historic “White Paper” protests in China

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s frontline reporters in Ukraine, who made great sacrifices to provide frontline coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and countered Kremlin propaganda and disinformation

The Middle East Broadcasting Network’s 2022 Midterm Elections Team for their comprehensive coverage of U.S. elections, highlighting how American democracy works

The Office of Cuba Broadcasting’s Tomas Cardoso and Patricia Martínez, who host and produce the radio show Cuba al Día, which delves into current events giving Cuban citizens an opportunity to bring to light the issues they confront on a daily basis

Ramy Raoof, a technologist and researcher at the Open Technology Fund, who worked extensively on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and helped launch a new FOSS Sustainability Fund

The Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) project team, part of the Office of Technology, Services, and Innovation, for their work in implementing cybersecurity principles.

Event Information

April 21, 2023, 10:00 a.m.

usagm.gov

For more information, please contact USAGM Public Affairs at (202) 920-2000 or by e-mail at publicaffairs@usagm.gov.

Speakers

Amanda Bennett is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, investigative journalist and editor. She was named Director of Voice of America in March 2016, serving until June 2020. Previously she was Executive Editor of Bloomberg News, where she created and ran a global team of investigative reporters and editors; Editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer; Editor of the Herald-Leader in Lexington, Kentucky; and a managing editor at The Oregonian in Portland, Oregon. Bennett served as a Wall Street Journal reporter for 23 years, including stints in Toronto and Beijing. She has also been a contributing columnist for The Washington Post. Bennett shared the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting with her Journal colleagues, and in 2001 led a team from The Oregonian to a Pulitzer for public service. Projects she led or edited won awards including Loeb, Polk, Barlett & Steele, Headliners, Society of American Business Editors and Writers and Overseas Press Club Awards. A 1975 graduate of Harvard College, Bennett was a member of the board of the Pulitzer Prizes and served as co-Chair of the Pulitzer Board in 2010. She has also served on the boards of the Lenfest Institute, the German Marshall Fund, and the Committee to Protect Journalists. She is the author of six nonfiction books.
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A veteran journalist and producer, Yolanda López was appointed Acting VOA Director on January 21, 2021. Prior to the appointment, Yolanda served as Director of the VOA News Center, overseeing all editorial and content production. She led the implementation of the transition of the News Center to a digital-first strategy, including content priorities, adoption of new techniques, invigoration of social media content, and in-depth coverage of issues of interest to VOA audiences. In addition, Yolanda oversaw the Office of Special Events, responsible for the coordination of VOA's coverage of significant events. She joined VOA in 2015 as Latin America Division Director, where she achieved significant audience growth by expanding media partnerships and affiliations. A native of Barcelona, Spain, she started her career in broadcasting at a Telemundo affiliate in Irving, Texas, before joining the Spanish language television network Univision affiliates KMEX-TV in Los Angeles, California and WGBO-TV in Chicago, Illinois. Throughout her professional career, she has worked as on-air talent, writer, producer, executive producer, and news director in highly competitive news markets. Her main area of expertise has been Latin America and the Latino community in the U.S. Before joining VOA, Yolanda also worked as a communications and digital media professional in Barcelona. By coming to Washington, D.C., she returned to a field for which she is passionate: the news. Yolanda is the recipient of three Emmy awards - two from the Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), and one from the Los Angeles Chapter of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS). She attended the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, where she earned a Bachelor´s Degree in Journalism.
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Jamie Fly resumed his leadership of RFE/RL as President and Chief Executive Officer on February 16, 2021, following his reappointment by the RFE/RL Board of Directors. Fly was first named RFE/RL President and Chief Executive Officer on July 10, 2019, effective August 1, 2019. Prior to his appointment, Fly served as a senior fellow, co-director of the Alliance for Security Democracy, and director of the Future of Geopolitics and Asia programs at The German Marshall Fund of the United States. He served as a counselor for Foreign and National Security Affairs to Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) from 2013-17, serving as his foreign policy advisor during his presidential campaign. Prior to joining Senator Rubio’s staff in February 2013, he served as the executive director of the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) from its founding in early 2009. Prior to joining FPI, Fly served in the Bush administration at the National Security Council (2008-09) and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (2005-08). His articles and reviews have been published in a wide variety of outlets in the United States and Europe. For his work in the Department of Defense, he was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service. Fly received a B.A. in international studies and political science from American University and an M.A. in German and European studies from Georgetown University.
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Sylvia Rosabal was selected to be OCB Director in March 2021. She is an award-winning television and media executive with 30 years of experience at leading Spanish-language networks in the United States. She is the recipient of an Edward R. Murrow award, eight News and Documentary Emmys, and was named one of People en Español’s “25 Most Powerful Women.” At Univision Network, Rosabal spearheaded the expansion of the news division and grew the network’s evening newscast into a ratings leader. As Senior Vice President of News at Telemundo Network, she served as the executive-in-charge of newsgathering and prime-time investigative specials, including the award-winning documentaries, “Muriendo por Cruzar (Dying to Cross)” and “Cosecha de Miseria (Harvest of Misery),” both co-productions with The Weather Channel. Sylvia was born in Puerto Rico to Cuban parents. South Florida has been her home for over 40 years.
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As President and CEO, Ms. Fang provides Radio Free Asia with leadership, vision, and mission-based strategic and operational direction. She first came to RFA as Managing Director for East Asia, overseeing the management and editorial content of RFA’s five East Asian language services. She went on to become RFA’s Executive Editor, supervising coverage across all of Asia. She began her 20-year career in journalism as the Beijing Bureau Chief for US News and World Report, where she won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for her story "China's Stolen Wives." She went on to cover the wars in Afghanistan (2001-2002) and Iraq (2003-2004) for US News, and then became the Diplomatic Correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. Before coming to RFA, she also served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, overseeing public diplomacy and public affairs for Europe and Eurasia. Ms. Fang earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard University and was a visiting fellow at Oxford University and a Fulbright scholar in Hong Kong. She trained as a French chef at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and holds a brown belt in kung fu.
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Hassan Shwiki currently leads Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc. (MBN), a non-profit international multimedia corporation funded by the U.S. Government to produce and communicate accurate, timely and relevant news and information about the United States, the region, and the world to Arabic-speaking audience across the Middle East and North Africa. In support of U.S. public diplomacy, MBN operates Alhurra and Alhurra-Iraq television networks, Sawa radio, and both Pan-Arab and targeted digital and social media properties. For nearly a decade, Hassan served in various leadership positions overseeing MBN’s editorial output. Most recently, he has been MBN’s Senior Vice President for Content. In that role he leads MBN editorial operations at its headquarters and its posts throughout the Middle East. He is involved in the programming strategies for all of MBN’s outlets, as well as monitors and guides content creation across the multimedia operation. Prior to that position, Hassan was MBN’s Public Editor, where he routinely measured and monitored MBN’s broadcasts for quality and adherence to editorial standards. He also strengthened MBN’s editorial operations by creating and implementing an MBN stylebook, as well as spearheading training for the editorial staff to foster and develop their journalistic skills. Hassan joined MBN as Alhurra’s Executive Producer of News in 2013. Before joining MBN, Hassan was the Head of News Output at Al Jazeera, where he led the daily selection of news items and how they were presented within each newscast. During his 17 years at Al Jazeera, he served a number of positions including News Program Editor and Editorial Project Manager. He started his career as an Assistant Information Officer and Interpreter at the Indian and British embassies in Syria. Hassan is a graduate of Damascus University, Syria.
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As The Open Technology Fund's principal director, Cunningham is responsible for the program's strategic development, long-term planning, and day-to-day operations to enable OTF to fulfill its mission to support Internet freedom worldwide. Cunningham has over a decade of experience working on Internet freedom across a variety of donor, non-profit, and government organizations. Prior to joining OTF, she was the Senior Advisor for Internet Freedom in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, where she led the Department’s Internet freedom programs focused on technology development, digital security, Internet policy advocacy, and research. Prior to joining the State Department, Cunningham was Program Manager of ICT Policy and Programs at Internews, where she designed and launched Internews’ global internet policy and research initiative to support and enhance local internet policy advocacy worldwide. She also helped to launch and oversee Internews’ technology development and digital security programs. Previously, Cunningham worked as a Digital Coordinator at the Center for International Media Assistance at the National Endowment for Democracy, and helped to launch the Liberation Technology Program at Stanford University's Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. Cunningham holds an M.A. in comparative politics and a B.A. in political science, with a minor in computer science, from Stanford University.
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J.R. is USAGM’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Director of IT Operations. The CIO manages the day-to-day IT operations for the Agency. This includes directly overseeing the telecommunications networks, server infrastructure, data management, and IT Security and modernization efforts. As CIO, J.R. is responsible for all aspects related to agency FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) compliance and IT policy. J.R. joined USAGM in August of 2019 after working for the United States Attorney’s Office (U.S. Department of Justice-DOJ), where he served as their CIO for three years. Prior to working at DOJ, J.R. was Chief Engineer for IT and Technology Services at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Federal government’s international investment arm. J.R. also had a long tenure in the private sector.
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22nd Annual Burke Awards recognizes excellence at USAGM

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