Alex Crawford given James Cameron Memorial Award

Alex Crawford, SKY NewsSky News Special Correspondent, Alex Crawford, has been awarded the 2011 James Cameron Memorial Award.

She was given the gong by the City University London this evening, in recognition of her significant contribution to reporting on the Middle East and, in particular, Libya.

The award is given in memory of prominent British journalist James Cameron, who passed away in 1985. It includes a prize of £1,000 awarded by the James Cameron Memorial Trust and is given before the annual James Cameron Memorial Lecture held at City.

Professor Brock said: “During her career Alex has shown very great determination and courage. She has been arrested, detained, interrogated and faced live bullets and tear gas, going well beyond the call of duty in pursuit of the truth and the news. She is an outstanding role model for not only City journalism students embarking on their career, but for the sector as a whole.”

This year the Cameron Lecture was given by Wadah Khanfar, who was until recently Director-General of the Aljazeera Network and spoke about ‘Journalism and a World in Transition’.

On hearing that she had received the award, Alex said: “James Cameron epitomises everything I aspire to be – a journalist of incredible integrity, grit and authority. Frankly, to be mentioned in the same breath as him is both astonishing to me and a massive honour. Thank you for this recognition. It means a lot.”

Alex Crawford is based in South Africa, reporting from across the continent, but is also deployed around the world. 

Formerly based in Sky’s Dubai bureau, Alex has reported on the Gulf and the Middle East, most recently covering the August uprisings in Libya, where Alex and her team were the first journalists into Tripoli, providing riveting coverage of the rebel advance. In March Alex and her crew where the only journalists to get inside the besieged town of Zawiya when it was being attacked by pro-Gaddafi forces. 

Following her reports on the Mumbai terror attacks from outside the Taj Hotel in November 2008, coming under fire live on air, Sky News was shortlisted for a BAFTA and won the coveted international Golden Nymph Award for News Coverage.  

The award was collected on Alex’s behalf by Sarah Whitehead, Sky’s Head of International News. Alex has also been nominated for a Red Magazine award as part of their ‘Hot Women’ awards which aims to celebrate ‘working women’ who make a difference.