As the Middle East remains locked in turmoil, media moguls and diplomats gathered May 8 at Washington’s Fairmont Hotel for an annual event hosted by America Abroad Media (AAM).
The 12th Annual AAM Awards Dinner attracted some 200 people, including the DC-based ambassadors of Azerbaijan, Egypt, France and Israel. The gala honored four outstanding media leaders and creative talents “whose work exemplifies the power of media to inform, educate and empower.”
The winners were Moira Forbes, executive vice-president of Forbes Media, and president and publisher of ForbesWomen; the French-Lebanese Oscar-nominated director Ziad Doueri; Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer and owner of Politico; and Iran International, the leading Persian language TV and digital new channel.
“Now in its 12th year, AAM’s award honors outstanding media leaders, journalists and filmmakers who advance universal values through media programming and creative content,” said the organization’s CEO, Aaron Lobel. “Our honorees tonight have a wide range of outstanding accomplishments, but what unites all of them is their belief in the power of purpose-driven media. That’s been a mission as well for more than two decades since I founded the organization in the first years after 9/11.”
Lobel praised Döpfner as “a visionary CEO who’s had a transformative impact on the global media landscape. He’s been a steadfast advocate for press freedom and democratic values, and through his leadership he continues to shape critical conversations on technology, geopolitics, and the future of journalism worldwide.”
In accepting his award, Döpfner urged his audience “not to give up on Europe”—despite the Trump administration’s current threat of a 50% tariff on all goods coming from the 27-member European Union.
“I’m standing here in front of you as a European who loves America more than any other country in the world,” he said. “Yes, I know we are complicated. We are slow, we are bureaucratic, we are difficult, but we share the same values. We share the values of open societies and the pursuit of happiness and individual freedom. And we have to defend that together.”
Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pennsylvania) praised Döpfner and his “innovative media empire” as highly deserving of the award.
“Who better than Mathias to be recognized tonight, at a time where our media landscape is in such traumatic change and at a time where we need such a commitment to truth and goodness,” the lawmaker said. “I can’t think of a more fitting awardee, someone who in his own way is a uniquely authentic truth teller.”
AAM’s program was emceed by senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, with introductory remarks by co-chair Elliott Ackerman, a best-selling author and contributor to The Atlantic.
Executive sponsors included the embassies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Crown Family Philanthropies and Ezekiel Film Production.
Award presenters included French Ambassador Laurent Bili; DC United President Danita Johnson, Washington Post columnist Jason Rezaian, and journalist Yeganeh Rezaian. Among other invited dignitaries: Morgan Ortagus, deputy special presidential envoy to the Middle East; Joel Rayburn, nominated assistant secretary for Near East affairs, and Wesam Hassanein, senior chief of staff to the director of policy planning at the State Department.
Photos by Tony Powell / AAM
