Hannah Allam

Hannah Allam
Allam in 2016
Born1977 (age 47–48)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
OccupationJournalist

Hannah Allam (born 1977)[1] is an Egyptian American journalist and reporter who frequently covers the Middle East.

Biography

Allam was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma[2] to a Muslim family in 1977. She was raised in the US as well as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, returning to the US to complete high school in Oklahoma. In college, she majored in journalism and was editor of the student newspaper at the University of Oklahoma.[3] She is fluent in English, French, and Arabic.

As of November 2020, she has worked for The Washington Post.[2] Allam has a wide background within MSN outlets. Prior to her position at The Washington Post, she was a Washington-based national security correspondent for NPR, focusing on homegrown extremism. Before joining NPR, she was a national correspondent for BuzzFeed News based in Washington, DC. Allam was the Middle East Bureau Chief (Baghdad) for McClatchy Newspapers.[4][5] Early in her career, Allam interned for The Washington Post. She then became a staff reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, from which McClatchy recruited her in 2003 to assist them with their in-depth coverage of the Iraq War. She worked for McClatchy as a war correspondent in Baghdad even during her 2010 pregnancy, although the military would not let her board helicopters once her belly started to show.[6]

She was a 2008–2009 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.[7][8]

Having been partially raised in the Middle East, as well as having Egyptian heritage, allowed her unique opportunities to converse with women in Iraq during Middle Eastern conflicts. She contributed a chapter about her experiences to Zahra Hankir's book "Our Women on the Ground: Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World" which came out in 2019.[9]

Allam has served as a judge for the American Mosaic Journalism Prize in 2018,[10] 2019,[11] 2021,[12] and 2022.[13][14]

Awards

  • 1999, 1998–1999 University of Oklahoma, Division of Student Affairs, CSPA Gold Circle Awards: Personality Profile, first place[15]
  • 2004, National Association of Black Journalists, 2004 Journalist of the Year Award.[16][17]
  • 2006, Overseas Press Club (with two of her Baghdad Bureau colleagues), Hal Boyle Award for best newspaper reporting from abroad for "Iraq: America's Failing War."
  • 2008–2009, Nieman Fellow at Harvard University
  • 2009, 30th annual McGill Lecture at the University of Georgia[5]

References

  1. ^ Allam, Hannah (November 21, 2004). "Oklahoma reporter strives for truth, safety in Iraq". NewsOK. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Hannah Allam joins the National Security team to cover domestic terrorism". The Washington Post. 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  3. ^ "OU Daily marks centennial with first hall of fame class". The Oklahoman. 2016-10-08. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  4. ^ "Journalist page for Hannah Allam for McClatchy Newspapers". Archived from the original on 2014-08-24. Retrieved 2014-08-30.
  5. ^ a b "Correspondent for Iraq War to give 30th McGill Lecture". UGA today. University of Georgia. 8 June 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  6. ^ Garcia-Navarro, Lulu (2010-07-06). "It's A Boy: War Reporter's Baby Shower In Baghdad". NPR. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  7. ^ Nieman Reports, Winter 2009 | Online Exclusives, Access September 6, 2014
  8. ^ Journalist Ernie Suggs recalls Hannah Allam as 2009 Nieman Fellow at Harvard
  9. ^ "How Arab women are changing the face of journalism in the Middle East". PBS NewsHour. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  10. ^ Foundation, Heising-Simons. "Two Freelance Journalists Awarded $100,000 Each for Elevating Stories of Black Americans, Immigrant Families". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  11. ^ "Freelance Journalists Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah and Abe Streep Named 2019 Recipients of the American Mosaic Journalism Prize". www.businesswire.com. 2019-02-05. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  12. ^ PRNewswire. "Two Freelance Journalists Awarded $100,000 Each for Elevating Stories of Black Americans, Immigrant Families". Benzinga. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  13. ^ "American Mosaic Journalism Prize". Heising-Simons Foundation. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  14. ^ Castillo, Amaris (28 April 2022). "Why this family foundation gives out $100,000 of unrestricted money to select freelance journalists". Poynter. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  15. ^ "1998–99 AWARDS, OU Student Media, University of Oklahoma". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-18.
  16. ^ 'NOW with Bill Moyers' for 10.01.04, Interview with Hannah Allam, McClatchy Bureau Chief for Baghdad, PBS
  17. ^ List of NABJ Past Award winners


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