Staff Correspondent:
Dhaka, Aug-19,
Radio Free Asia (RFA)
online affiliate BenarNews was named a National Murrow Award winner Tuesday by
the Radio Television Digital News Association for its incisive journalism on
the impact of Covid-19 in Bangladesh.
This year, RFA joins
NPR, ABC News, and CBS News Radio among others, as winners of the 2021 National
Murrow Awards.
BenarNews'
"Bangladeshi volunteers help bury abandoned Covid dead" won in the
international juried competition's category for the small digital news
organisation.
For millions with
little or no access to uncensored local news, RFA-affiliate BenarNews is a
crucial conduit for reliable, timely information, said RFA President Bay Fang.
"This award is a testament to the vital role of responsible journalism,
especially for those around the globe struggling through the nightmare scenario
of a deadly pandemic."
"BenarNews Bengali
has done outstanding work highlighting the heroism of regular people during a
crisis. Their compassion and their courage amid the pandemic's uncertainty are
front and centre in this report, for which our journalists deserve full
credit," said BenarNews Managing Editor Kate Beddall.
BenarNews' video was
filmed in June 2020, shortly after the Bangladesh government reopened the
economy and mosques after a two-month nationwide lockdown.
While putting their own
lives at risk, volunteers transported hundreds of bodies to burial sites,
sometimes travelling hundreds of miles to ancestral homes to honour the
deceased.
BenarNews used Skype
interviews and amateur footage to provide intimate coverage of people on the
front lines of the pandemic. It provided a platform for them to tell their own
stories, too, inviting them to submit their video while coaching them on
respecting the privacy of people around them.
At the time, Bangladesh
had nearly 100,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and over 1,200 confirmed deaths.
Today those numbers exceed 1.4 million and 24,000.
BenarNews provides
audiences in Southeast and South Asia with credible news, in context and
clearly explained, about security, politics, geopolitics and human rights.
With home pages in
Bengali, Thai, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and English, BenarNews focuses
on the big picture, cross-border issues, and topics that are censored or
overlooked.
End/Dct/Abu/Mos/
