AUC Faculty and Students Excel at the AEJMC Conference

On August 12, 2024, Faculty and students from the American University in Cairo (AUC) won top awards at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) conference in Philadelphia, held from August 8 to 11, in several categories.

Shahira Fahmy, '91, '00, professor at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, received the Top Faculty Paper Award for her research, "Shattered Lives, Unbroken Stories: Journalists' Perspectives from the Frontlines of War." 

Co-authored with Mohamed Salama and Mona Alsaba, the paper explores the challenges faced by Gaza journalists. Fahmy also took second place for another study, "Seeing Differently: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Visual Narratives Before and After the Abraham Accords in Arab Media," co-authored with Alsaba.

"Our research journey began amidst the Gaza war turmoil. The study is based on interviews conducted with 18 Palestinian journalists in Gaza, aiming to unveil the challenges and nuances of reporting on the Israel-Gaza War that began on October 7, 2023. Through our findings, we provide insights into the evolving landscape of war coverage in the digital era, highlighting ethical dilemmas, safety concerns and personal struggles faced by journalists reporting during conflict," Fahmy said.

Menna Elhosary, a teaching assistant, won the Top Paper Award for her research on online news verification during the 2023 Gaza War, co-authored with Rasha Abdulla'92, '96, professor at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications. 

 Moreover, Elhosary's work on political cartoons during the Gaza War, co-authored with graduate student Menna Elkashif, earned the Top Research Poster Award. Her innovative assignment, "AI Mythbusters: Debunking Digital Deceptions," also won Best Teaching Idea in the Graduate Student Category, focusing on identifying AI-generated misinformation.