Adham Center News

Abu Dhabi TV Deputy Director Mohamed Dourrachad Honored at 2002 Annual Awards Dinner

AUC Provost Earl (Tim) Sullivan appointed Abu Dhabi TV Deputy Director Mohamed Dourrachad as an Associate of the Adham Center at the center's annual awards dinner last June. This honorary faculty position is awarded by the university to outstanding figures in broadcasting for their contributions to the industry in general and television journalism in particular. Among the broadcasting industry leaders present at the dinner to witness the presentation of this Award were Amin Bassiouni, CEO of Nilesat and former head of the ERTU, Mortaz Demurdash, for several years one of MBC's leading anchors and now back in Cairo to launch his own talk show on MBC, Mohammed Gohar, CEO of Video Cairo, Orbit's Executive Director in Cairo, Tariq El-Khashif, and Khalid Abu Zein, Director of Showtime's Cairo operation.

Introducing the Adham Center's guests of honor, center director S. Abdallah Schleifer took particular note of the presence next to him on the dais of Ahmed Bahgat, chairman and founder of Dream TV. Schleifer said that while the Adham Center was proud of its close association with ERTU, nevertheless he has always believed that "Egypt could only benefit from the competitive spirit that would be fostered by the presence of privately owned television channels. This past year" he noted, "that belief has been vindicated by the tremendous success of Egypt's first privately owned channel and now network - Dream TV."

Reading the letter of appointment of Mohamed Dourrachad as Associate, Provost Sullivan noted that as news director and as deputy director of Abu Dhabi TV network, Dourrachad was instrumental in the re-launching a little over two years ago of the Abu Dhabi Channel's news operation. "In that short time" Sullivan noted, "ADC has quietly but effectively seized the high ground in the region for objectivity and professionalism." Tracing the trajectory of Dourrachad's career that took him from Moroccan TV first to VOA and then to the BBC the AUC Provost observed, "This broad experience is reflected in your obvious commitment to international standards and to a global perspective in which coverage of major news events outside of the region are uniquely given the importance they deserve."

Sullivan also noted that ADC ranks as one of the leading satellite channels in the region precisely because of ADC's "aggressive but judicious news coverage of events in the region that is the basis for its popularity. It is an honor for this University that Adham Center graduates are to be found in the ranks of ADC correspondents and assistant directors."

Due to a last minute family emergency, Dourrachad was represented at the Adham Center annual awards dinner by Abu Dhabi Channel anchorman and executive producer Jasim Al-Azzawy. In his acceptance remarks, read by Al-Azzawy, Dourrachad stressed that in its drive to achieve world class excellence "ADC never veered away from three cardinal journalistic tenets: objectivity, balanced views, and to be second to none. But we added a fourth element of our own: never to forget our roots, heritage, and the political and social environment in which we live."

Dourrachad insisted that in its zeal to "blaze new trails" ADC set very strict guidelines for itself. "No short cuts, no cheap shots, and most importantly, never to forget that our Arab principles and national goals rise above any narrow personal interests."

THE EDITORS