Wa Lone, left, and Kyaw Soe Oo
Best newspaper, news service or digital interpretation of international affairs
AWARD DATE: 2018
AWARD NAME: The Bob Considine Award 2018
AWARD RECIPIENT: Wa Lone, Kyaw Soe Oo and colleagues
AWARD RECIPIENT AFFILIATION: Reuters
AWARD HONORED WORK: “Myanmar Burning”
AWARD SPONSOR: William J. Holstein and Rita Sevell
The courageous reporting by two Reuters reporters who were arrested while investigating a massacre in the Myanmar village of Inn Din, and the fierce commitment of their news organization to complete their journalistic mission, led to an outstanding series of articles exposing and explaining the government’s atrocities against the Rohingya. Wa Lone, Kyaw Soe Oo and their colleagues discovered a mass grave, obtained photographs of the victims, interviewed family members and identified some of the perpetrators of the slaughter. They used the incident to open a window on the larger forces that enabled the massacre, including the infantry divisions that spearheaded the attacks, the use of social media to incite hatred, and government leaders who turned a blind eye. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo remain in prison. This award for “Myanmar Burning” is a tribute to their spirit.
Citation for Excellence recipients: Tamer El-Ghobashy, Louisa Loveluck, Liz Sly and Alice Martins
Affiliation: The Washington Post
Honored Work: “Syria: Reflections from a Shattered Land”