The Wilbur for “Newspaper Articles in a Series” goes to Betsy Hiel, for her stories for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Based in Cairo, Betsy has been their Middle East correspondent since 2000, covering wars, terrorism, human rights, and religious issues. Two things are common in Betsy’s religion reporting: her ability to put human faces on issues of faith and her courage in pursuing the stories, often at great personal risk. Hiel has posted stories about the assaults on religious minorities in Egypt, Iraq and elsewhere in the region. Her March 22nd story detailed the gruesome ISIS attack on Egyptian Christians working in Libya. She published a lighter story on Christmas Day about Christmas in Egypt. Her January 18th story documented the continuing effects of the destruction of Egyptian churches and monasteries in the wake of President Morsi’s overthrow in 2013. Our brief excerpt from this story reports the impact in Delga, a city of 120,000 people which was in the hands of Islamist militants for more than a month in 2013. The Wilbur Awards are presented for excellence in communication of religious faith and positive values. The 2016 awards ceremony was held April 2, 2016 at the historic St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York City. Video production by Andrew B. Rawls.

• published: 10 Jun 2016
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