Personal Info
- Country of residence: Jordan
Information
Daoud Kuttab (born 1 April 1955, in Bethlehem) is a Palestinian journalist with American citizenship.
n 1980, Kuttab began his career at Al-Fajr, an English-language weekly newspaper. Over the next seven years, he was promoted to features editor and then managing editor. In 1987, he left Al-Fajr for Al-Quds, an Arabic-language daily newspaper based in East Jerusalem. He also contributed to the Jerusalem Post. During this period, he became the first Palestinian to receive an exclusive interview with Yitzhak Rabin, as well as from Shimon Peres and several other Israeli leaders.
Kuttab was critical of press censorship by both the Israel government and the Palestinian Authority. On several occasions, he participated in rallies against Israeli censorship, resulting in his being arrested and searched. In 1994, Kuttab led journalists to rally in protest of the banning of the daily newspaper Al-Nahar by the Palestinian National Authority. Al-Quds subsequently fired Kuttab at the direct order of President Yasir Arafat. Kuttab continued to work as a journalist, however, writing for papers including the Daily Telegraph, Daily Yomuri, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Washington Post. In April 1996, he also created the Arabic Media Internet Network, an online magazine for uncensored Palestinian journalism.
In May 1997, Kuttab was detained without charge by Arafat's government, reportedly for producing live broadcasts of Palestinian Legislative Council meetings. He was released one week later following local and international pressure.
Source Achievements and Awards
- Founder and director of the "Institute of Modern Media" at Al Quds University in Ramallah, Palestine 1996–present. Within the Institute, he has established the "Al Quds Educational Television Station" which combines public service broadcasting with community television.
- Founder and Director of the first Internet-radio station in the Arab World, AmmanNet 1999–present.
- Established in 1995 the "Arabic Media Internet Network" (AMIN) www.amin.org . An internet site that attempts to provide alternative media content in Arabic.
- Co-Director of "Internews Middle East Institute" in Jerusalem in 1994.
- Founder and president of the "Jerusalem Film Institute" 1990-1995.
- Columnist with Al-Quds Daily 1987-1993 where he conducted exclusive interviews with Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and other leaders.
- Managing Editor of "Al Fajr Weekly" in English 1982-1987
- Columnist with the The Jordan Times, Gulf News, The Jerusalem Post, and The Beirut Times.
- Carried out training workshops in Iran as a UNESCO media expert, 2000 & 2002
- Executive Director in the following films: "Palestinian Diaries", 1989 Channel 4, UK, Ikon TV, "We Are God’s People", 1990 Channel 4, "Jerusalem Under Siege", 1991, Al Quds Television Productions. "Marda, a Story of a Land", 1992 National Association of Arab Americans, "On the Edge of Peace", 1994 Channel 4,.
Awards:
He has won several international awards, including a 1996 International Press Freedom Award of the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists. The award was given on behalf of his struggles for press freedom in both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
In 2000, the Austria-based International Press Institute named him one of its fifty World Press Freedom Heroes of the previous fifty years.
Kuttab sits on the board of the International Press Institute, which lists him as the "Director General, Community Media Network" and "Founder, AmmanNet, Jordan."
- Years in active
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