Again, even though there were only three nominees, it was a very hard category.
And the winner of the Hasby is....
The Middle East Media Research Institute has been consistently and accurately been exposing sides of Arabic and Farsi media that has been ignored by the mainstream media. Their scoops have often made the news, and have also prompted real changes.
This year in particular, MEMRI has been in the forefront of the reporting on ISIS, and news media have been relying on MEMRI to discover and translate jihadist communications.
In short, MEMRI is an invaluable resource not only for understanding what is happening now, but also in knowing what is likely to happen.
It isn't meant to be "hasbara" so much as an invaluable resource, But it just so happens that the biggest blind spot that Western politicians, pundits and media have in the Middle East is their complete ignorance of how many Arabs and Muslims really think. Usually the violent and threatening and anti-semitic words of Muslim leaders are watered down three times before Western audiences get to see them. MEMRI help short-circuit that process to allow all of us to see the unvarnished truth, usually bad but sometimes good, but all necessary for a true understanding of the region.
Mazal tov. MEMRI!