Al Jazeera English awarded 24 Hour News Program of the Year

The Award recognized Al Jazeera English's extensive international reach and efforts to dig deeper to give its international audience a richer understanding of the events that affect their lives.

Al Jazeera English beat impressive entries from BBC News, Sky News, Lisboa TV and the Phoenix Satellite Television Company to take home the award.

Among the specific reports highlighted at the Festival were Nour Odeh's groundbreaking reports from Gaza, where she brought the suffering of the Gazan people to life when she was caught in the middle of a violent street battle between Hamas and Fatah.

While shooting live in Gaza, Nour and her producer Ashraf Al-Amritti lost contact with the newsroom in Doha and were forced to rely on their mobile phone to continue reporting events as they occurred.

Once the live video feed returned, Nour's cameraman, Iyad Al-Dahdouh, filmed the continued fighting while coming under RPG and small arms fire.

Following the broadcast of the fighting on Al Jazeera, both sides in the Gaza battles agreed to a ceasefire.

In addition to 'Best 24 Hour News Program', AJE received nominations in every news category at the awards show, including 'Best TV Item' for James Bays' Taliban Embedded, which was awarded a second place prize, and 'Best News Documentary' for Tony Birtley's Inside Myanmar - The Crackdown.

Commenting on the nominations, AJE's Managing Director Tony Burman said, 'I am very excited that the AJE Newshour has been recognized as the best 24 hour news program in the world. For me, the award demonstrates the commitment of AJE's staff to giving a voice to the voiceless, of telling vital stories that are not on the agenda of the western news networks. Whether risking their lives to cover the bloodshed in Gaza, to travel with a Taliban cell in Afghanistan or to tell the world the real story from inside Myanmar, where we are the only international broadcaster with a permanent presence, AJE employees are telling the untold story and are putting real people back at the center of the news agenda. I am extremely proud that the world is paying attention to the hard work and dedication of the AJE staff, and each and every one of them should be congratulated for this recognition.'

Al Jazeera English launched in November 2006 with the goal of balancing the flow of news from the global south to the north and covering stories which are rarely seen in international news broadcasts.

Using broadcast centers strategically placed in Kuala Lumpur, Doha, London and Washington, DC and bureaus around the world, AJE is posed to continue bringing its unique perspective on world events to over 110 million households around the world.