Amman – Jordanian TV journalist Raeda Hamra won the first TV category prize of the Inquirer Award 2011 for her ARIJ-backed investigation into pollution in Hashimiyeh town, one of Jordan’s environmental disaster areas.
The Thomson Foundation announced the finalists at a special ceremony held in Amman on February 4 under the patronage Princess Rym Ali, chairman of the board of the Jordan Media Institute.
Hamra, who was trained by Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ),  spent six months investigating how local factories in the area, owned by influential Jordanians, are abusing legal loopholes in waste management regulations, thus aggravating pollution and harming the health of residents.
ARIJ is the region’s only media support network promoting in-depth reporting in nine Arab countries since 2006. ARIJ trains journalists eager to tell a story of interest to the local community, provides a grant to cover the cost of the project, a coach and pre-publication legal screening.
Hamra works for Jordan’s independent Roya TV.
Her investigation ranked first in the ARIJ 2011 Investigative Journalism Prize (TV category) announced during the Fifth Annual ARIJ Conference for Arab investigative Journalists in Amman in December.

Judges looked for entries that showed comprehensive and thorough research, incisive interviewing techniques, and creative and well-constructed writing and presentation.
In addition to receiving The Inquirer Award trophy, the first place winners in each of the three categories – Print, Television and Photojournalism will be hosted by Thomson Foundation on a one week fully paid tour to the UK to look at the media there.
The Inquirer Award project was first launched in Jordan in 2003. Since then it has developed and grown to include Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and most recently Iraq.