Al Arabiya's Bureau Chief in New York marks the first Gold Win for an Arabic News Outlet

December 19th, Dubai: Al Arabiya recently won the United Nations Correspondents Association's (UNCA) Golden Award, marking it  as the first Arabic-language news channel to win the highest prize.Talal Al Hajj, Al Arabiya's Bureau Chief in New York, first won an award in 2007 for his detailed and historical overview of the United Nations and the Arab world. This year,  Al Hajj extensively reported on the climate change effect on small independent state islands  in the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, as well as on the United Nations' "Climate Change Summit" in Copenhagen in December 2009.This year, the UNCA Awards were held in the famous Cipriani Restaurant in the heart of Manhattan. 

United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon and other ambassadors from around the world, notably, US Ambassador  to the United Nations and a member of President Obama's Cabinet, Dr. Susan Rice, joined the festivities and congratulated the winners.Referring to climate change as one of the most important issue of our times,  Ban Ki Moon presented the awards and said "As always you are there covering the world, getting the story out, and I thank you very much ".Susan Rice said "This was a great night because Talal  was honored so extra-ordinarily, he got the Gold medal on behalf of his colleagues and the whole organization, and this is a real credit to him as a UN correspondent and to Al Arabiya which is has very important presence at the UN." With over 270 journalists representing media outlets from around the world, the United Nations Correspondents Association, accepts entries from journalists who cover the United Nations and its agencies and encourages entries from outside the United States, particularly from the developing world. 

The Gold prize won by Al Arabiya news channel is in the highest honor and is named after Ricardo Ortega, the Spanish journalist who was shot on mission in Haiti. The silver and bronze winners were Japan Broadcasting Corp NHK's UN Bureau and Al Jazeera in Sri Lanka, respectively. Other Arab media outlets have in the past won UNCA prizes such as the silver award for The National newspaper in 2009, the Silver award for Al Jazeera English in 2009 and again the bronze award for The National this year.

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About Al Arabiya
Al Arabiya news channel, a 24/7 free-to-air news and current affairs satellite outlet, was launched in 2003 and soon became the news source of choice for Arabs seeking credible news and information about the Middle East and the world beyond. Al Arabiya's reputation for sober and balance reporting now extends beyond its natural geographic and cultural domain, i.e. the Middle East. A number of renowned international news organisations and research institutes interested in the Arab and Islamic worlds regularly monitor Al Arabiya.

Al Arabiya runs an extensive global network of correspondents and reporters to provide its audiences with the latest updates, scoops, interviews, and exclusives. With nearly 30 offices around the world and large-scale presence in several key countries such as Iraq, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Yemen, Al Arabiya enjoys a competitive edge in providing on-the-ground, first hand coverage of major events of relevance to its audience and the world at large.

Al Arabiya's charter embodies an independent editorial policy based on providing its viewers with a speedy news service and balanced analysis that is thoughtfully accurate, comprehensive and objective.

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