Al Jazeera English’s current affairs programme Fault Lines has been awarded the prestigious George Polk Award in the category of foreign television reporting for its short news documentary titled The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. The film detailed the killing of the renowned Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent by Israeli forces on May 11, 2022.
Laila Al-Arian, Fault Lines executive producer, expressed her gratitude to the George Polk Award judges for their recognition of the film and the immense influence and inspirational legacy that Shireen Abu Akleh left through her journalism. The documentary gave a forensic accounting of the events that preceded and followed the shooting, utilising interviews and witness accounts.
Multiple independent investigations into Abu Akleh’s killing, including one by the United Nations, concluded that journalists were fired on by Israeli forces shortly after arriving at Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. They were shot at despite wearing helmets and blue vests with the word “PRESS” that clearly identified them as journalists.
The Fault Lines team revealed that key witnesses were not interviewed by the Israeli military, raising serious questions about the fairness of the Israeli investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing. Israel has shifted its narrative on the killing, initially blaming a Palestinian gunman, before months later saying there is a “high possibility” she was “accidentally hit” by Israeli fire. Israel says it will not launch a criminal investigation.
Journalists pressed the administration of United States President Joe Biden on the lack of accountability in the killing of Abu Akleh, who was a US citizen. They also questioned US administration officials on why they have supported the Israeli investigation despite its discrepancies. Kavitha Chekuru, senior producer of Fault Lines, stated that their team worked hard to investigate the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh and hoped that this award would help in the demand for accountability and justice.
Fault Lines is Al Jazeera English’s main documentary programme that is focused on the US and its role around the world. The George Polk Awards, presented by Long Island University since 1949, are released annually to honour “excellence in print and broadcast journalism” and reporting that is “original, resourceful, and thought-provoking”. In 2012, Al Jazeera had won the award for the film Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark.
Al Jazeera English’s Fault Lines programme has been awarded the prestigious George Polk Award in recognition of its short news documentary The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. The film detailed the killing of the renowned Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent by Israeli forces on May 11, 2022. Laila Al-Arian, Fault Lines executive producer, expressed her gratitude for this recognition and for Shireen Abu Akleh’s immense influence and inspirational legacy.
The documentary gave a forensic accounting of the events that preceded and followed the shooting, utilising interviews and witness accounts. Multiple independent investigations into Abu Akleh’s killing, including one by the United Nations, concluded that journalists were fired on by Israeli forces despite wearing helmets and blue vests with the word “PRESS” that clearly identified them as journalists.
The Fault Lines team revealed that key witnesses were not interviewed by the Israeli military, raising serious questions about the fairness of the Israeli investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing. Journalists pressed US President Joe Biden’s administration on the lack of accountability in this case and questioned US officials on why they have supported the Israeli investigation despite its discrepancies.
Fault Lines is Al Jazeera English’s main documentary programme that focuses on the US and its role around the world. The George Polk Awards are presented by Long Island University since 1949 to honour “excellence in print and broadcast journalism” and reporting that is “original, resourceful, and thought-provoking”. In 2012, Al Jazeera had won this award for its film Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark.
Al Jazeera English’s Fault Lines programme has been honoured with the George Polk Award for its documentary The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. This recognises its investigative work into this tragic event which raised serious questions about the fairness of Israel’s investigation into Abu Akleh’s killing. The documentary utilised interviews and witness accounts to provide a forensic accounting of events leading up to and following her death.
Journalists have questioned US President Joe Biden’s administration on why they have supported Israel’s investigation despite its discrepancies. The George Polk Awards are presented annually to honour “excellence in print and broadcast journalism” and reporting that is “original, resourceful, and thought-provoking”. Al Jazeera had previously won this award in 2012 for its film Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark.
Al Jazeera English’s Fault Lines programme has been awarded the prestigious George Polk Award for its documentary The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh. This recognises their investigative work into this tragic event which raised serious questions about Israel’s investigation into Abu Akleh’s death. The documentary provided a forensic accounting of events leading up to and following her death through interviews and witness accounts.
Journalists have questioned US President Joe Biden’s administration on why they have supported Israel’s investigation despite its discrepancies. The George Polk Awards are presented annually to honour “excellence in print and broadcast journalism” and reporting that is “original, resourceful, and thought-provoking”. Al Jazeera had previously won this award in 2012 for its film Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark.