United States Agency for Global Media

Nayef Mashakba, 2011 winner

Four Alhurra correspondents, including Nayef Mashakba, were honored for their coverage of the Egyptian Revolution in late January and February 2011. In spite of the threats against them, Alhurra’s courageous journalists reported around-the-clock from Cairo and Alexandria providing live, non-stop coverage of the revolution for its 18-day duration. In one incident on February 2, 2011, El Shamy and Khuzam were reporting from the network’s offices in Cairo when crowds outside began yelling up to the Alhurra correspondents, threatening them by name and telling them to leave Egypt. Eventually, they made their way inside the building and started banging on the office doors trying to get into the facility. El Shamy and Khuzam stayed on the air to continue Alhurra’s coverage. Through all of the challenges and uncertainty facing the four correspondents, they made sure Alhurra stayed on the air to cover this historic event live from Egypt.