Syrian Journalist Receives Prestigious Journalism Award, Joins Prominent War Correspondents for In-Depth Conversation on Reporting the Syrian Conflict

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

WHAT: An event to recognize Zaina Erhaim (Aleppo, Syria) as the 2015 recipient of the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism.  The short ceremony will be followed by a panel discussion with some of today's most prominent war correspondents on the Syrian conflict and the particular challenges faced by journalists in ensuring that an independent media is able to report it.

WHY: With foreign media unable to work within Syria any longer, the task of informing the world of the terrible acts occurring within the country's borders on a daily basis has fallen on local journalists and ordinary citizens.  Zaina Erhaim chose to return to Aleppo in 2011 to ensure that the true stories of the Syrian war are being told.  She has also trained over 100 citizen journalists, a third of them women, to do the same. This is a rare opportunity to hear from someone who lives within Syria about the true effects of the world's most violent conflict.

WHEN: October 22^nd at 6PM at the National Press Club (529 14^th Street NW, 13; Washington, DC).
Advance registration available at http://bit.ly/pmaward15

WHO:

• Zaina Erhaim, 2015 Peter Mackler Award recipient and Syria project coordinator for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting
• Deborah Amos, National Public Radio
• Miriam Elder, BuzzFeed News
• Louise Roug, Mashable

The Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism rewards journalists who fight courageously and ethically to report the news in countries where freedom of the press is either not guaranteed or not recognized.  The Award is administered by Global Media Forum, the US branch of Reporters Without Borders, and Agence France-Presse.  It is named in honor of Peter Mackler, a veteran journalist who championed ethical journalism and freedom of expression.

SOURCE Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism