Leila Fadel draws listeners in with engaging reporting and storytelling from Egypt, capturing the complexities of a country in turmoil through a riveting series that puts listeners in the middle of violence on the streets, at a morgue of the unclaimed dead and in a family home to illustrate the anguish of a nation torn.
Award name: 06 The Lowell Thomas Award
Best radio news or interpretation of international affairs.
The Lowell Thomas Award 2012
The judges were riveted as they listened to this compelling and beautifully narrated story of recent events and the violent massacre of more than 200 people in the village of Dos Erres in Guatamala more than two decades ago. In 2012 the discovery of a father, still alive, and his son Oscar Ramirez, an undocumented worker in the U.S., each of whom assumed the other dead in the tragedy, prompted reporter Nosheen and producer Reed to devote five months to researching the story, finding victims and perpetrators. As a result, Ramirez was granted political asylum in the U.S. and several implicated soldiers have been apprehended for trial.
The Lowell Thomas Award 2011
Simply making her way into Libya last year to report the story of ragtag rebels overthrowing an entrenched dictator was achievement enough. But Lourdes Garcia-
Navarro did more, recording pitch-perfect narration from Gadhafi’s Tripoli compound and notorious Abu Selim prison and providing honest, unflinching portraits of people whose lives were being destroyed, or begun anew, as the country lurched into its new era.
The Lowell Thomas Award 2010
Fink, Baron, and Cox showed tremendous enterprise in an impactful series, which entailed more than six months of reporting and editing from four countries. This fresh and well-researched series takes a global look at the controversial issue of choosing who gets medical care in situations with limited resources, such as life-sustaining kidney dialysis in South Africa or rationing of care during natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods. The series—which maximized the impact of the stories using multimedia and a Q&A with reporter Sheri Fink—should be required listening in the US, as the debate rages on over health care solutions.
The Lowell Thomas Award 2009
Soraya Nelson’s original and poignant stories about the lives of the Afghan people demonstrate her enterprise and ability to penetrate a complicated society, especially since she was a woman working in a traditional male-dominated society.
The Lowell Thomas Award 2008
This series brought a nuanced tone and analytical clarity to a very contemporary question: how to gauge the proper time, and the proper way, to disengage from war. Correspondent Jeb Sharp makes good use of historical actuality and new interviews to enliven what could have been an antiseptic topic.
The Lowell Thomas Award 2007
The judges felt that this entry stood out for the depth and breadth of its reporting on a complex topic. A seven-part series on the effects of China’s one-child policy, it offers a comprehensive look at the impact on Chinese society as the 100 million people born since the implementation of the program start to come of age.
The Lowell Thomas Award 2006
This is a compelling account of a young woman’s fight against the pandemic that is sweeping Africa. Thembi Ngubane, a resident of the sprawling South African township of Khayelitsha, spent a year recording her feelings about the disease, her fears about having a child of her own and the pain of telling her father about her illness.
The Lowell Thomas Award 2005
Best radio news or interpretation of international affairs AWARD YEAR: 2005 AWARD NAME: The Lowell Thomas Award 2005 RECIPIENTS: Rachel Louise Snyder, Sarah Koenig, Ira Glass AFFILIATION: WBEZ; Public Radio International HONORED WORK: “This American Life: Dreams of Distant Factories” “Dreams of Distant Factories” managed the feat of making the listener care about a remote…
The Lowell Thomas Award 2004
Best radio news or interpretation of international affairs AWARD YEAR: 2004 AWARD NAME: The Lowell Thomas Award 2004 RECIPIENT: Michael Goldfarb, Anna Bensted, George Hicks AFFILIATION: WBUR-FM at Boston University, Inside Out Documentaries HONORED WORK: “British Jihad” The Lowell Thomas Award goes to WBUR-FM (Boston University) for excellent investigative radio work in exploring why Britain…