Yalda Hakim, the host of The World With Yalda Hakim on Sky News, has won the Presenter of the Year award from the Royal Television Society.
Judges praised Ms. Hakim for what they described as her “calm, insightful and with a dazzling screen presence,” saying she had delivered an exceptional year of journalism.
Ms. Hakim was unable to attend the awards ceremony because she was reporting in the Middle East. Over the past year, she has reported from several major conflict zones, including Israel and Ukraine, and has interviewed numerous world leaders.
“During one of the most intense and consequential periods for global affairs, it’s a privilege to be on the ground, face to face with the people most impacted by conflict,” she said in a statement.
Among her recent interviews was one with Pakistan’s defense minister, who said during the exchange that Pakistan had been “doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades” when asked about the country’s past role in supporting militant groups.
The awards ceremony also recognized other journalists at Sky News. Yousra Elbagir was named Television Journalist of the Year, while Sky News itself won News Channel of the Year for the ninth consecutive year.
Ms. Hakim, who was born in Afghanistan, left the country with her family in 1986 and grew up in Australia. She began her journalism career there and has since worked for several major international broadcasters, including the BBC, before joining Sky News.
Her early reporting included a video project titled “Yalda’s Kabul,” produced in 2008 during a reporting trip to Afghanistan for the SBS program Dateline.
She has previously received several journalism honors, including the Young Australian Journalist of the Year award and the United Nations’ Media Peace Prize.
Hamid Karzai, the former president of Afghanistan, congratulated Ms. Hakim on the award, saying her work in international media had been an inspiration.
“Through her meaningful and consistent presence in major global media, she has left an inspiring example,” Karzai said in a statement.
