Israel Hayom columnist and veteran journalist Yaakov Ahimeir has been awarded the 2012 Israel Prize in the field of communications. Education Minister Gideon Saar announced the honor on Sunday, after adopting the recommendations of the Israel Prize Committee, led by Professor Eitan Gilboa. Other committee members included journalists Uri Elitzur, Ayala Hasson and Shimon Shifer. Yaakov Ahimeir has been a pillar of public broadcasting for five decades, the committee wrote in its recommendation. He was one of the founders of Israeli television. He is a journalist in the most classic sense. He has held a number of positions: reporter, editor, presenter, foreign correspondent, analyst, columnist and documentarian. Ahimeir has always taken great care to completely separate opinion from fact in his work. His journalistic style is impartial, reliable, in-depth and comprehensive. This style has served as an inspiration and set an example for generations of journalists. Ahimeir, born in Ramat Gan in 1938, is a veteran at the Israel Broadcasting Authority. He worked as a newscaster for Israel Radio and Channel 1, and filled a variety of roles in the news department, including reporter, editor and news broadcaster. In recent years, in addition to his television work, he has also written regular op-ed. columns and analysis pieces for Israel Hayom. When I heard about the award, I was delighted and really excited, Ahimeir said on Sunday. Not only for me personally, but also for my family. It even raises the morale a bit at the Israel Broadcasting Authority. This award recognizes not just my work over the years, but also public broadcasting in general. I hope that recent changes and promises made to the authority will be realized. The authority is in need of radical reform, but as in every democratic country, there needs to be a well-managed broadcasting authority. It should be a source of both journalism and culture, delivering these in a professional manner that reflects life in Israel in a proper and credible way. Ahimeir has been awarded other prizes in recent years, including the Sokolov Prize for print and electronic journalism, the Journalists Association prize and Israels Media Watch prize.
