 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2012) |
The Agahi Awards are an annual series of awards for journalism in Pakistan. They were inaugurated in 2012 and are Pakistan's first ever Journalism Awards. [1] [2] [3] These awards are organized by Mishal Pakistan, which is a media consultancy firm, in collaboration with leading press clubs across the country, local and international media development bodies, regulatory authorities and the private sector.
The Agahi Awards took place for the first time ever, on the 28th of March, 2012, in Islamabad, Pakistan. The awards were organized by Mishal Pakistan and AGAHI foundation, which is a non-profit organization aimed at improving investigative journalism in Pakistan. [4]
The Agahi Awards are aimed at recognizing the best journalists reporting on critical issues ranging from; Terrorism, Conflict, Interfaith, Safety & Security, Code of Conduct etc. This initiative is aimed at scaling up the training and capacity building efforts of the journalists in Pakistan, by creating a sense of competition in them. [5]
The Agahi Awards is an endeavour undertaken by AGAHI Foundation, which is a program which was launched in 2011 by Mishal Pakistan, for increasing the capacity of investigative and responsible journalism in Pakistan. The Agahi Awards are going to be an annual event in which nominations will be submitted for different categories including People's Choice Awards.
The Agahi Awards called for nominations in the following categories;
AGAHI has developed a set of rules based upon which nominations in the categories are evaluated. These set of rules have been in collaboration with the Center for International Media Ethics (CIME). [6] The entries submitted are evaluated on the following indicators;
The Agahi Awards 2012 took place at the Pakistan-China Friendship Center, located in the heart of Islamabad,
The Event was attended by leading journalists from Pakistan and other countries. The evaluation committee consisted of 17 judges who were all leading journalists from different countries. [7] The winners were handed out trophies and two special trophies were also given out based on 'People's Choice Awards'. [8]
The Agahi Awards were given coverage on a national level and footage from the awards was telecasted on different national news channels including; Geo News, Samaa TV and Express TV. [9]
The Agahi Awards were branded as the "First Journalism Awards in Pakistan" and their tagline was "Shaping the future of journalism in Pakistan". When this event was marketed, it created quite a stir amongst the journalists who claimed that these were not the 'first' journalism awards, in fact the journalism awards conducted by APNS (All Pakistan Newspapers Society), were the first ones to be held in this country.
Bina Shah is a Pakistani writer, columnist and blogger living in Karachi.
Hamid Mir is a Pakistani journalist, columnist and writer. Born in Lahore to a journalistic family, Mir initially worked as a journalist with Pakistani newspapers. He has hosted the political talk show Capital Talk on Geo News intermittently since 2002. He writes columns for Urdu as well as English newspapers, both national and international. He has been a contributor to the Global Opinions section of The Washington Post since June 2021. He is well-known for his stance against the dominance of the Establishment in Pakistan. Hamid Mir has survived two assassination attempts, has been banned from television three times, and has lost his job twice due to his stand for press freedom and human rights.
JihadUnspun.com was a Canadian news website. It was launched on April 21, 2002, and had a stated aim to present uncensored reporting of the United States' "war on terrorism" on a global scale and reporting also news from several jihad groups. Its articles were often highly critical of American foreign policy and military interventions in especially Muslim countries. It was claimed by its critics to be a hate-ridden supremacist website.
Mass media in Pakistan provides information on television, radio, cinema, newspapers, and magazines in Pakistan. Pakistan has a vibrant media landscape; among the most dynamic in South Asia and world. Majority of media in Pakistan is privately owned. Pakistan has around 300 privately owned daily newspapers. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, they had a combined daily sale of 6.1 million copies in 2009. Television is the main source of news and information for people in Pakistan's towns, cities and large areas of the countryside. Marketing research company Gallup Pakistan, estimated there were 86 million TV viewers in Pakistan in 2009.
Syed Talat Hussain is a Pakistani journalist and YouTuber who hosted a prime time current affairs talk show on Geo News titled Naya Pakistan with Talat Hussain. Syed Talat Hussain is brother of Rifaat Hussainn a Pakistani political scientist, professor, defense analyst and television personality whose career in the academia spans over four decades.
Ayesha Bakhsh is a Pakistani television news anchor and journalist. She is known for her work on Pakistan's TV news channel Geo News.
Asma Shirazi is a senior Pakistani journalist who has received awards for her bravery and effort. She is a political commentator who hosts a primetime current-affairs show on Aaj News.
Arshad Sharif was a Pakistani journalist, writer, and television news anchor. He specialised in investigative journalism and covered many political events in the country for national and international news organisations, including the United Kingdom. On 23 March 2019, he was awarded the Pride of Performance by the President of Pakistan Arif Alvi, for his contributions to journalism. He was shot and killed by police in Kenya on 23 October 2022.
Sohai Ali Abro is a Pakistani actress, dancer and model, who appears in Pakistani television serials and films. She is known for her roles in serials such as Geo TV's Saat Pardon Mein (2012), Hum TV's Tanhai (2013), Khoya Khoya Chand (2013), Rishtay Kuch Adhooray Se (2013) and ARY Digital's serial Pyaray Afzal (2014). Abro made her film debut with a supporting role in the 2013 romantic drama Anjuman. Her performance earned her a nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category at Tarang Housefull Awards. Her other films include Wrong No., Jawani Phir Nahi Ani and Motorcycle Girl (2018), for which she received a Lux Style Award for Best Film Actress.
The 17th annual PTV National Awards took place on 11 June 2012 and was aired on 30 June 2012. The awards were presented by the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) to honor the best drama programs on Pakistani television of the preceding 12 months. The ceremony was held at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and the hosts were Saba Qamar, Imran Abbas, Nadia Ali, and Mikaal Zulfiqar. The event had the highest number of viewers for the awards show since the first PTV Awards in 1970. The aim of the awards ceremony is to encourage and foster television talent in Pakistan.
Zia Ur Rehman is a Pakistani journalist, researcher, and author, specialising in security issues, human rights, minorities, and politics.
Wajahat Saeed Khan, is a Pakistani journalist.
Puruesh Chaudhary is a futures researcher, development and strategic narrative professional. She has a master's degree in International Negotiation and Policymaking from Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. She is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad. Chaudhary is the founder and president of the non-governmental organization Agahi, a media development and capacity building initiative in Pakistan.
Saadia Sehar Haidari is a journalist in Pakistan. She is a photojournalist and video journalist.
The Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics is a journalism award presented annually by the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It was originally named Wisconsin Commitment to Journalism Ethics Award in 2010, and was renamed after journalist and alumnus Anthony Shadid who died in 2012. According to the Center website, "the Shadid Award recognizes ethical decisions in reporting stories in any medium, including print, broadcast and digital, by journalists working for established news organizations or publishing individually."
Kiran Nazish is a Pakistani journalist. She has worked as a foreign correspondent around the world, including the Middle East and South Asia. Nazish founded and is the director of The Coalition For Women In Journalism, a worldwide support organization for female journalists.
Parhlo is a daily digital newspaper published in both English and Urdu languages. News articles on current affairs on Parhlo are published from a number of different cities on a daily basis simultaneously. Parhlo.com takes an unorthodox outlook on traditional journalism in Pakistan, encouraging citizen journalism via crowd-sourced content.
Tanzeem ul Madaris or Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Ahl-e-Sunnat is a board of education working with over 15000 Sunni madrassas across Pakistan. It is a key seminary board in the country affiliated with the Barelvi movement within Sunni Islam. Grand Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman of Jamia Naeemia Lahore is the President of the board. The total strength of the students appeared in its examination was 600000 lac in 2013. Pakistan's Higher Education Commission recognizes the degrees awarded by madrassas affiliated to Tanzeem ul Madaris.
Makhdoom Shahabuddin, is a Pakistani journalist, columnist and activist. He is currently working as a Program Anchor on BOL Network and hosts prime-time TV Show "Ab Baat Hogi". He has worked as an anchorperson for several Pakistani news channels such as Hum News and PTV News. In 2019, Shahabuddin received the Agahi Award for his article about child pornography in Pakistan. He writes columns for Pakistani daily newspapers, including the Pakistan Observer, Daily Times and several other national publications. Shahabuddin also is a political commentator on YouTube with over 1 million subscribers.