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08/28/07
AP Press Release
AP names 9 winners of Gramling Awards, including three Mideast
journalists
NEW YORK -- The Associated Press has named nine people
from its editorial, technical and administrative staff as
winners of its 2007 Oliver S. Gramling Awards for excellence,
among them three journalists who have put themselves at personal
and professional risk to cover stories in the Middle East.
AP President and CEO Tom Curley said the awards selection
committee's recognition of the AP presence in hostile environments
was particularly apt this year because of all the dangers
reporters have been subjected to in trying to cover conflicts
in the Middle East. "This year's winners distinguished
themselves as role models. Their achievements are the result
of exceptional focus despite sometimes life-threatening obstacles,"
said Curley.
The honorees also include a bureau supervisor regarded as
a role model for AP editors on deadline, a multimedia investigative
journalist with a knack for breaking stories, a London-based
technologist who helped establish a new Arabic language wire,
and the Web manager for the AP Television News client site.
The awards, now in their 14th year, are given annually to
staff members whose work and initiative contribute significantly
to the news report and to overall AP operations. The awards
are named after the AP newsman and executive who in 1941 developed
AP's first radio wire. Oliver S. Gramling bequeathed his estate
to AP when he died in 1992, directing that it be used for
AP staff members nominated for excellence by their colleagues.
A committee of AP bureau and department managers selected
the winners.
The selection committee also paid special tribute to the team
of researchers, writers, editors and others who contributed
to the success of AP's first history book in six decades,
BREAKING NEWS: How the Associated Press Has Covered War,
Peace, and Everything Else (Princeton Architectural Press,
June 2007).
This year's winners:
-- Gramling Journalism Awards ($10,000 each): John Antczak,
backup supervisor in the Los Angeles bureau, for serving as
a model for the skillbase an AP editor should possess by being
the guiding hand that squeezes out the absolute best journalism
while upholding and promoting the news ethics and standards
that define the AP, all while on deadline; Sharon Theimer
of the Washington-based Multimedia Investigative Team for
her groundbreaking work in producing content across all AP
formats.
-- Gramling Achievement Awards ($10,000 each): Arif Ali, London-based
Regional Product Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa
(EMEA), for overseeing the technical creation and implementation
of a host of international services, including AP Headline
and most recently an Arabic language wire; Tracey Rogers,
Web Manager for AP Television News, for using innovation and
technology to turn the aptn.com Web site into what some regard
as the most comprehensive, user-friendly communications tool
in the video news business.
-- Gramling Spirit Awards ($3,000 each): Qassim Abdul-Zahra,
Baghdad-based reporter, for breaking stories and fearlessly
covering the Iraqi government, at great personal risk to himself
and his loved ones; Ibrahim Barzak, AP's correspondent in
the Gaza Strip, for providing straightforward, unbiased journalism
in a highly politicized news atmosphere, often doing so while
under fire; Bassam Hatoum, Beirut-based senior producer for
AP Television News, for inspiring a loyal team of staffers
and stringers across all AP formats in Lebanon and never failing
to win on a story; and Malcolm Ritter, New York-based science
writer, for being the ultimate team player who freely gives
his time to assist any AP journalist requesting help, and
creating the AP Science Wiki page, an invaluable resource
used by writers around the world.
-- Gramling Scholarship Award ($3,000): Peter Prengaman, Los
Angeles-based immigration/diversity reporter, whose goal to
take advanced Arabic studies at the University of California,
Los Angeles, is aimed at strengthening his current beat and
bringing him closer to his future goal of being stationed
in the Middle East or North Africa as an AP news manager.
About the AP
The Associated Press is the essential global news network,
delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world,
to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today
is the largest and most trusted source of independent news
and information. On any given day, more than half the world's
population sees news from AP.
Contact: Jack Stokes, AP Corporate Communications, 212.621.1720
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