Al Jazeera English’s ‘Fault Lines’ bags Wilbur Award

Al Jazeera English has won the prestigious Wilbur Award presented by the Religion Communicators Council for its ‘Fault Lines’ film ‘Secrets of the Clergy’.

The judges’ decision was announced during the Religion Communicators Council annual convention in Louisville, United States, on 5th April. Other awardees include CBS News, Associated Press (AP) and the CBC.

Al Jazeera English is an award-winning news channel, with accolades from journalism organisations from the US, UK and beyond. Based in the US, the Fault Lines team also received a Wilbur Award in 2020 for “In Bad Faith”. They have also been awarded three News and Documentary Emmy awards, three Overseas Press Club Award and two Robert F. Kennedy Journalism awards for Human Rights reporting.

Established in 1929, the Religion Communicators Council works with faith-based organisations in the areas of communications, PR and marketing. The Wilbur Awards have been presented since 1949 to secular media in print, online, broadcast, radio and book publishing.

In the film, Fault Lines examined how mandatory reporting state laws in the U.S. can lead to child sexual abuse in religious communities going unpunished. Dozens of states do not require church officials to report knowledge or allegations of child abuse if the information is deemed privileged. It means that abuse can all too often stay hidden - and survivors are left without recourse or justice.

RCC’s Wilbur Award coordinator Brad Pomerance said of all the awardees, “it is an honour for RCC to recognise such quality work done in 2023 and to encourage the continuation of such quality, compassion and professionalism in the coverage of faith and religion into the future.”

Fault Lines Senior Producer Kavitha Chekuru said “We’re deeply honoured to be recognised by the Religion Communicators Council and want to express our gratitude to everyone who spoke with us for this story, particularly the survivors of abuse.”

“We are grateful for this further recognition of our teams’ efforts to provide an unbiased, unvarnished look into today’s most pressing affairs,” said Issa Ali, Acting Managing Director of Al Jazeera English. “Our most sincere congratulations to the team.”