Bangkok--24 Feb--Francom Asia
CNN International has won a 2009 George Polk Award in the ‘International Television Reporting’ category for its documentary, World’s Untold Stories: A Forgotten People. The award-winning documentary highlighted the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya people in Myanmar (or Burma) and tracked their story of abuse and neglect across Southeast Asia.
The CNN documentary was fronted by CNN’s Bangkok-based correspondent Dan Rivers and produced by Kit Swartz, Kocha Olarn and Theerasak Nitipiched. The award will be presented to Rivers on Thursday, April 8 at a luncheon in New York City.
“To receive another prestigious award for this documentary is a tremendous reflection of the quality and depth of CNN’s reporting and the tenacity and resourcefulness of Dan Rivers,” said Tony Maddox, executive vice president and managing director of CNN International.
“This story underscores all the reasons why I became a journalist,” said Rivers. “It’s about getting the facts and using those facts to engage an audience and make a difference.”
This is the second award for World’s Untold Stories: A Forgotten People. In 2009, the Amnesty International UK Media Awards honored the documentary in the ‘International Television & Radio’ category for, as jurors stated, not only breaking new ground in the investigation, but also securing a personal commitment from the Thai prime minister to intervene.
The documentary can be viewed at: http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/untoldstories/blog/2009/02/forgotten-people.html
For more information, please visit www.CNNPressroomAsia.com.
CNN is the world's leading global 24-hour news network and one of the world’s most respected and trusted sources for news and information. The CNN brand is available to two billion people via 18 CNN branded TV, internet and mobile services produced by CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System Inc and a Time Warner company. CNN International is the international directorate of CNN Worldwide and distributes news via 14 services in seven different languages. CNN International can be seen in more than 257 million households and hotel rooms in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, including more than 37 million across the Asia Pacific region and online at www.cnn.com/international