IWMF announces the 2016 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award Winners

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) is recognizing four outstanding woman journalists as winners of its annual Courage in Journalism Awards. Honorees include Mabel Cáceres, founder and editor-in-chief of El Búho, an independent magazine in Peru; Janine di Giovanni, Middle East Editor at Newsweek and contributing editor at Vanity Fair; and Stella Paul, a freelance journalist in India. Diane Rehm, long-time host of the public radio show that bears her name, will receive IWMF's respected Lifetime Achievement Award.

"These courageous journalists have faced seemingly insurmountable security threats and personal challenges in reporting on global issues and often, their impact on women," IWMF Executive Director Elisa Lees Muñoz said. "It is an honor to celebrate their commitment to press freedom and their service to other women in their industry with our annual Courage Awards." Winners were announced last night at a private ceremony held at Hearst Tower in New York City.

Now in its 27th year, the IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards celebrate women journalists who set themselves apart through extraordinary bravery. The Lifetime Achievement Award honors one woman who has set new standards for journalists and encourages future generations of reporters to find their voices. Winners join IWMF's Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award honorees, announced earlier this month, in demonstrating the uncommon capacity, perseverance, and empathy women journalists bring to their craft – and the barriers they must overcome along the way.

Courage in Journalism Award Winners (Link)
Mabel Cáceres | Peru
Editor-in-chief, El Búho Magazine; Twitter @mabel_elbuho
When Mabel Cáceres' regional newscast was suspended, she overcame Peru's restrictive media climate to create an independent investigative magazine, El Búho. For more than 20 years, her reporting on the exploitation of local resources and corruption at all levels of government and commitment to press freedom has triggered death threats, libel suits, and financial repercussions.

Janine di Giovanni | USA
Middle East Editor of Newsweek and contributing editor of Vanity Fair; Twitter @janinedigi
Janine di Giovanni began reporting on conflict and humanitarian disasters 25 years ago as a freelancer working in Gaza and the West Bank. She reports by engaging local citizens and often by working independently, without support from a major news organization. Based in Paris, she focuses on women's rights, child soldiers, HIV/AIDS, war crimes, honor crimes, illegal detention, refugees, and crimes against humanity.

Stella Paul | India
Freelance Journalist; Twitter @stellasglobe
Stella Paul has endured death threats, harassment, physical attacks, detention, and threats against her family while covering environmental issues, social injustice, and women's rights in marginalized communities. Working mainly in India's conflict zones and remote provinces, she has shed light on the trafficking of women and children, rape, and other issues for multiple media outlets.

Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
Diane Rehm | USA
Host of The Diane Rehm Show, Twitter @drshow
Diane Rehm has hosted The Diane Rehm Show, which airs on WAMU 88.5 FM in Washington, D.C. and is distributed nationally by NPR, since 1979. Having first joined WAMU as a volunteer, she now engages an on-air audience of more than 2.4 million each week. Her recent announcement that she will retire after the 2016 elections signals the end of a career in which she set the standard for interview shows, spotlighted women and women's issues, mentored countless colleagues, and persevered while experiencing a chronic condition that makes speech difficult. Diane's innate curiosity and insistence on respectful discourse has helped inform generations on topics ranging from the U.S. economy to foreign affairs, public health, and education.

About the Courage in Journalism Awards (Link)
Since its inception in 1990, IWMF has honored more than 100 women journalists from 54 countries as part of its Courage in Journalism Awards program. This year's award winners will be recognized in person at ceremonies led by Cindi Leive (Glamour) in Los Angeles on October 20, 2016 and in New York at an event moderated by Cynthia McFadden (NBC) and Norah O'Donnell (CBS) on October 26, 2016.

For the third year, the IWMF also will recognize two Leadership Honorees for their outstanding commitment to free speech and innovative leadership: Saad Mohseni, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of MOBY Group in Los Angeles and Sally Susman, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Pfizer, in New York.

Bank of America is National Presenting Sponsor of the Courage events for the eleventh consecutive year. Chevron is the West Coast Presenting Sponsor. Chairs for this year's events include:

• Julie Henderson, Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, 21st Century Fox and Dee Dee Myers, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for Warner Bros. Entertainment – Benefit Committee Chairs, Los Angeles          
• Steven R. Swartz, President & Chief Executive Officer, Hearst – Event Chair, New York
• Debra Shriver, Chief Communications Officer, Hearst – Benefit Committee Chair, New York

Funds raised at the events sustain IWMF programs and grants that empower women journalists with the training, opportunities, and support to become leaders in the news industry.

For more information on the IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards and a complete list of past winners, visit iwmf.org/courage. Follow event announcements on social media via #IWMFcourage.

About the IWMF
The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) is dedicated to strengthening the role of women journalists worldwide. The media is not truly free and representative without the equal voice of women. Since 1990, we have celebrated the courage of women journalists who overcome threats and oppression to report and bear witness to global issues. Through our programs and grants we empower women journalists with the training, opportunities, and support to become leaders in the news industry. Learn more at IWMF.org and on Twitter @IWMF, Facebook @IWMFpage,and Instagram @TheIWMF.

SOURCE The International Women's Media Foundation