Media Excellence Award

The Media Excellence Award is an annual award organized by the Ministry of Media in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to celebrate creative media works in various national occasions and fields, and to honor individuals with outstanding contributions. It was launched in its first edition in 2019.

The aim of the award is to enhance interaction among institutions and individuals, highlight works and personalities that promote national values, encourage creative sense among citizens and residents, and honor those who produce outstanding media content.

The award consists of several categories that vary from year to year, including: photography, press material, creative videos, audio productions, television productions, and national songs.

The Ministry of Media has established general provisions for the award, including: retaining the right to use and publish the entries, the right to cancel or modify the course, provisions, and conditions of the award without prior notice, as well as the requirement for applicants to adhere to participation standards and deadlines, and acknowledgment of reviewing the terms and conditions of the award, excluding any entry that violates intellectual property rights or copyrights, as well as any entry that involves legal violations.

The Ministry of Media organized the Media Excellence Award in 2019 in Riyadh City to celebrate the eighty-ninth National Day of the Kingdom. (Maestro Pizza) Company won for their work “We Are From It” in the field of private and non-profit sector video category, while the Saudi Federation for Cyber Security, Programming, and Drones received the Media Initiative Award by governmental authorities category, for their "Imagine the Nation Without Them" production.

In the television production category, the Saudi Broadcasting Authority won the award for its “Soldier Majed al-Qarni” movie. In the radio production category, the Thmaniya radio station won the award for its production “Things That Have Changed Us.”

Al-Watan Newspaper won the press coverage award, while Dhafer al-Shahry won the Photography Award for the photo titled for his “Lil-Majd al-Oulya” project. Eman al-Shamri received the award in the article category for her piece “September 23rd for more than 33 million people.”

In the national poem category, poet Abdullah al-Zahrani won the award for his poem “My Nation under the Shadows of Palms,” while the General Entertainment Authority's work “Maw’idouna 2030” won in the national song category.

The second edition of the award started in 2020 and included eight categories. Winners included the Ministry of Sport in the government campaign category for their campaign 'No Other Country,' Elias Yassin Salama won in the creative content in new media for individuals category for his piece 'Saudi National Anthem on Violin,' Mohammed Abdulqadir Dahlawi won in the creative video in combating the COVID-19 pandemic category for his video 'Safe Clip,' Abdullah al-Nashmi al-Shamri won in the photography category for his capture 'Remaining Proud with Knowledge,' al-Yaum Newspaper won in the press material category for their coverage 'Special Supplement for National Day,' Ratal Company won in the private and nonprofit sector video category for their video 'Building a Homeland That Lives in Us," MBC Channel won in the television production category for their coverage 'Saudi National Day Ninety,' and poet Jassim Mohammed al-Sahih won in the national poem category for his poem "Eighth Place: A Human Biography of Sand."

The third edition of the award featured nine categories. The Local Content and Government Procurement Authority won the award in the Media Campaign category for their work "Our Ghee in Our Flour." Photographer Hamad Bin Fahd al-Oqaili won the Photography Award for his photo "The Falcon and Falcons". "Half Million" company won the Private Sector Video Award for their work titled "Abiya Sees Its Glory". The Ministry of Sport won first place in the Government Media Campaign category. In the Nonprofit Sector Video category, Mohammed Bin Salman Foundation "Misk", won for their work "A Present Homeland for You". Thawab Bin Musallat al-Sabi'i won the Individual Digital Media Creative Content Award for his work titled "It's Our Home, and It's Their Home Too". Lastly, the Newspaper Coverage Award was won by al-Riyadh newspaper for their entry "Riyadh, the Capital of the King... History Written Here."

The Saudi Broadcasting Authority won the award in the Television Production category for their documentary titled "Saudi Ardah". The podcast of al-Qafilah Magazine won the award in the Radio and Podcast category for an episode titled "Knowledge: Symbol of Pride and Honor." The National Song Award was achieved by Aramco's initiative "Ithra" for the song "We Sing for the Nation". The Saudi Tourism Development Fund won the award in the Tourism Films category for organizations for their work "People of Tourism." However, the award in the same category for individuals was not awarded.

Also introduced that year was an award to honor a number of national figures from various fields, received by: poet Ibrahim Khafaji, the writer of the Saudi national anthem lyrics, and the artist Mohammed Abdu, along with photographers Bandar al-Jiloud and Chekhov Minosa.

The Ministry of Media launched the fourth edition of the award in partnership with the Human Capability Development Program, defining seven tracks for it: Creative Video, Photography, National Song, Television Production, Press Material, and Audio Production, in addition to a track for "Government Media Production," which was introduced this year.

The "Independent Arabia" newspaper won the award in the Press Material Track for the piece "Journalism in the Language of Infographics," while the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) received the Photography award for the photo titled "Sowra 'an 'Alf Taqreer" (A Picture Worth a Thousand Reports.) The Creative Video award went to the Ministry of National Guard for the work entitled "Ayalay Fidaha" (I Would Sacrifice My Children for My Country.) The "Saudis" initiative won the National Song award for the work "Saheroon." The Television Production award was granted to Saudi Channel for its program titled "Irth" (Heritage.) As for the Audio Production award, it was given to Riyadh Radio for the program "Bik nahtam" (You We Care.) The Ministry of Interior received the Government Media Production Award for their media contributions.

That year, the award honored several figures in social, cultural, and media fields, including the poet Khalaf Bin Hudhaif al-Otaibi, the digital storytelling innovator Hatem al-Hasani, and the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Dr. Mohammed al-Abdulaali. Also recognized was the Music Commission at the Ministry of Culture for "Saudi Orchestra Masterpieces", and the strategic partner of the award, the Human Capability Development Program.