The National’s Frank Kane receives journalism excellence award from Citi

The award has run since 1982, but this is only the second year it has been awarded in the UAE. It is designed to recognise 'excellence in financial and business reporting in the markets in which Citi does business around the world,' the bank said.

Elissar Farah Antonios, the chief executive of Citi’s UAE arm, left, presents to Frank Kane the Citibank Journalistic Excellence Award at the bank’s Dubai headquarters. Ravindranath K / The National
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The National's senior business correspondent, Frank Kane, is the 2016 recipient of the Citibank Journalistic Excellence Award for the UAE.

The award has run since 1982, but this is only the second year it has been awarded in the UAE. It is designed to recognise “excellence in financial and business reporting in the markets in which Citi does business around the world,” the bank said.

It is sponsored and co-hosted by Citi and by the graduate school of journalism at Columbia University in New York, which assessed submissions from journalists around the world. About 20 were selected to attend a 10-day series of seminars, briefings and visits in New York last month.

Elissar Farah Antonios, the chief executive of Citi’s UAE arm, said: “We are proud to support this prestigious global competition, which recognises outstanding achievement in financial and business reporting, in the UAE for a second year. This is an opportunity for us to reward journalistic excellence and raise the bar for financial reporting in the UAE.’’

Mohammed Al Otaiba, the editor in chief of The National, said: "Winning this prestigious award is a recognition of the high quality of The National's business coverage and the role that Frank has played in making it among the most insightful in the region."

Mr Kane said: "I'm honoured indeed to receive the Citi Excellence in Journalism Award for 2016, which I feel is a tribute to the high standards of business coverage set by The National. At a time when journalism is facing many challenges in a rapidly changing world, it is good to have the support of institutions such as Citi and Columbia."

Reporters in the UAE applied for the award by submitting their top articles, which were screened by an independent panel assembled by Citi UAE, with the final selection made by Columbia.

After a 25-year career in British newspaper journalism, Mr Kane has been working in UAE media for the past 10 years. The article he was recognised for was published last December in The National titled "A question of liquidity as UAE banks 'creak' amid low oil".

business@thenational.ae

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