(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI press release: IPI Names Yemen Times “Free Media Pioneer 2006” The International Press Institute (IPI) has announced its decision to honour the independent newspaper, Yemen Times, with its 2006 Free Media Pioneer Award. Mr. Raidan Al-Saqqaf, Member of the newspaper’s Board of Directors, will receive the prize on […]
(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an IPI press release:
IPI Names Yemen Times “Free Media Pioneer 2006”
The International Press Institute (IPI) has announced its decision to honour the independent newspaper, Yemen Times, with its 2006 Free Media Pioneer Award. Mr. Raidan Al-Saqqaf, Member of the newspaper’s Board of Directors, will receive the prize on behalf of the Yemen Times at an award ceremony on 30 May, during the forthcoming IPI World Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland (27-30 May).
Founded in 1990 by Prof. Abdulaziz Al-Saqqaf, a prominent economist and human rights activist, who was also its editor and publisher until his untimely death at age 46 in a traffic accident in 1999, the Yemen Times started publishing on 28 February 1991. Yemen’s first and most widely-read English-language newspaper, its declared aim is “to make Yemen a good world citizen.”
The Yemen Times operates in a part of the world known for harsh government restrictions on the media. The closure of independent and opposition newspapers and the criminal prosecution of journalists for critical coverage of sensitive issues are routine in the Middle East and North Africa, and have led to a climate of fear in which self-censorship is common. Violent attacks against journalists are also on the rise, making the practice of their profession more dangerous than ever.
Against this backdrop, the Yemen Times continues to provide accurate and timely news and information on Yemen and the region, and actively participates in efforts, outlined in its mission statement, to support “press freedom, respect for human rights, political pluralism and democracy.”
The annual Free Media Pioneer Award was established by IPI, the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, in 1996 to honour individuals or organisations that have fought against great odds to ensure freer and more independent media in their country or region. The Award is co-sponsored by the U.S.-based Freedom Forum, a non-partisan, international foundation dedicated to free press and free speech.
Previous winners of the Free Media Pioneer Award are: SW Radio Africa, UK (2005); the Central Asia and Southern Caucasian Freedom of Expression Network – CASCFEN (2004); the Media Council of Tanzania (2003); the independent daily newspaper Danas, Serbia (2002); the independent on-line newspaper Malaysiakini.com, Malaysia (2001); the Press and Society Institute – IPYS, Peru (2000); the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association – EFJA (1999); Radio B-92, Yugoslavia (1998); the Alliance of Independent Journalists – AJI, Indonesia (1997); and NTV, Russia (1996).
