NBC's Richard Engel to Receive Top International Reporting Award

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Chief foreign correspondent of NBC News Richard Engel will be honored with the Excellence in International Reporting Award for his outstanding coverage of the Middle East. He will receive the honor at the International Center for Journalists Awards Dinner on Nov. 7 in Washington, D.C.

Engel is widely regarded as one of the most authoritative journalists to cover breaking news of wars and political transitions in the Arab world. His on-the-scene reports from Egypt, Libya and Syria—where he was held hostage for five days—have brought his audiences unparalleled coverage of a region in tumult. 

"We can think of no one more deserving of our Excellence in International Reporting Award than Richard Engel," said ICFJ President Joyce Barnathan. "He faced down danger to bring us first-rate news from this highly important region of the world."

Engel became chief foreign correspondent of NBC News in April 2008. The company recently gave him his own production team. His reports appear on all platforms of NBC News, including "NBC Nightly News," "Today," "Meet the Press," "Rock Center with Brian Williams," "Dateline," MSNBC, and nbcnews.com. 

Engel was one of the few correspondents to cover the Iraq war in its entirety. He has also reported on the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. During the Arab Spring, he was on the ground, fearlessly broadcasting from Egypt and Libya. While Engel was chronicling the civil war in Syria, kidnappers grabbed him and his team. Blindfolded and bound, the group faced psychological torture during five days of captivity. They finally escaped with Syrian rebels during a shoot-out.

Prior to working for NBC, Engel worked for ABC News. He also served as the Middle East correspondent for "The World," a joint production of BBC World Service, Public Radio International (PRI) and Boston-based WGBH radio. He has written for USA Today, Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Jane's Defense Weekly, a British publication that ran his in-depth profiles of Egypt, Yemen and al-Qaida.

Engel has lived in the Middle East since graduating from Stanford University in 1996. He is fluent in Arabic, Italian and Spanish. He has written two books about the Iraq war, "A Fist in the Hornet's Nest" and "War Journal: My Five Years in Iraq."

Engel will join a stellar lineup at the ICFJ Awards Dinner:

• CNN's lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer will emcee the event.
• New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof will deliver the keynote address.
• Investigative reporters Roman Anin of Russia and Umar Cheema of Pakistan will receive the Knight International Journalism Award.

To learn more about the Awards Dinner or to purchase a ticket, please visit www.icfj.org/dinner.

The International Center for Journalists advances quality journalism worldwide. Our hands-on programs combine the best professional practices with new technologies. We believe that responsible journalism empowers citizens and holds governments accountable. For more information, go to www.icfj.org.

SOURCE International Center for Journalists