Mohammed R. Mhawish Awarded 2025 Neal Conan Prize for Excellence in Journalism

Gaza journalist who survived being buried under rubble honored as 249 colleagues killed since October 2023

NEW YORK, Dec. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Neal Conan Prize for Excellence in Journalism named Mohammed R. Mhawish the 2025 winner of its annual $50,000 award at a ceremony in NYC on November 22, honoring his extraordinary reporting on civilian life during the Gaza war and the unprecedented risks to journalists covering it.

Mhawish's work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Nation, and This American Life. It has been recognized for its precision, careful corroboration under impossible conditions, and deep humanity.

During the ceremony, Mhawish joined past winners Jane Ferguson and Hind Hassan in a panel discussion moderated by The Global Center for Journalism and Trauma's Bruce Shapiro. Mhawish recounted surviving what he described as a targeted IDF attack on his home, being "buried under the rubble for hours" after "a strike brought down the building where my family and I were staying" and killed family members.

A war that has transformed global journalism

The past two years have been the deadliest period for journalists worldwide since record-keeping began. More than 249 Palestinian journalists have been killed since October 2023 — exceeding the combined journalist casualties from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Yugoslav Wars, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan. More than 50 of Mhawish's colleagues have been killed while reporting, sheltering, or attempting to flee — a toll from one conflict that surpasses the journalist deaths from some of history's largest and longest wars.

"Palestinian journalists have been dehumanized, dismissed, and targeted," said Hind Hassan, the 2024 recipient. "They continue to tell the truth even as the world debates their existence, their professionalism, and their right to safety."

Jane Ferguson, the inaugural winner, added: "The devastation in Gaza today is unlike anything I have witnessed in two decades of reporting on war. It is unprecedented in its scope, its civilian toll, and its collapse of the basic protections that should shield journalists and ordinary families alike."

In his acceptance remarks, Mohammed R. Mhawish said: "Journalism in Gaza was never a career choice for me. It became a lifeline, a way to keep my community from being erased, a way to say we were here. This happened, so remember us."

"Mohammed's work stands as one of the most necessary and unflinching records of civilian life during the Gaza war," the Advisory Committee said.

Supporting rigorous journalism amid industry upheaval

Now in its third year, the Neal Conan Prize supports rigorous, human-centered journalism at a moment of historic contraction in the news industry. When Talk of the Nation was canceled, noted author Gretel Ehrlich recalls, "The message Neal heard was that serious reporting didn't raise as much money as entertainment. It told us something about where journalism was headed."

Help sustain essential journalism: Learn more about the Prize, nominate outstanding journalists, and support rigorous reporting at nealconanprize.org.

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