Daoud Kuttab

Biography

Daoud Kuttab (born 1955) is a Palestinian-American journalist, media entrepreneur, and press-freedom advocate widely regarded as one of the leading figures in modern Arab independent and digital media. Born in Jerusalem and educated in the United States, he has worked in journalism since 1980 and built institutions that transformed the Arab media landscape. Kuttab began his career at the East Jerusalem English-language weekly Al-Fajr, rising to managing editor, before moving to the Arabic daily Al-Quds. He became the first Palestinian journalist to secure exclusive interviews with Israeli leaders including Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, and emerged as a fierce critic of censorship by both Israel and, later, the Palestinian Authority, an independence that brought him arrests and harassment. A pioneer of new media, he co-founded the Arabic Media Internet Network (AMIN) in 1995 as a censorship-free Arab website, established and led the Institute of Modern Media at Al-Quds University, and in 2000 launched AmmanNet, the Arab world's first internet radio station, which grew into the influential community broadcaster Radio al-Balad. These ventures made him a foundational figure in Arab digital and community journalism. Kuttab's work has earned major international recognition. He won the Committee to Protect Journalists International Press Freedom Award in 1996, and in 2000 the International Press Institute named him one of fifty World Press Freedom Heroes of the previous half-century, placing him among the most honored journalists of the Arab world. He has held the Ferris Professorship of Journalism at Princeton University, directs the Community Media Network, and remains a prolific columnist published across leading international and Arab outlets. His career bridges traditional reporting, institution-building, and digital innovation, making him one of the most influential Palestinian voices in global media.

Why This Person Matters

A pioneer of Arab independent and digital media and a globally honored press-freedom champion who built the Arab world's first internet radio station and trained a generation of journalists.

Historical Context

Daoud Kuttab was born in Jerusalem in 1955 and educated in the United States, returning to a Palestinian media world transformed first by the 1967 occupation and then by the First Intifada, when the East Jerusalem press became a vital battleground over information. Beginning at the English-language weekly Al-Fajr and the daily Al-Quds, he became the first Palestinian journalist to land exclusive interviews with Israeli leaders like Rabin and Peres, while resisting censorship from both Israel and, after Oslo, the Palestinian Authority, an independence that brought him arrests. He grasped early the disruptive potential of the internet, founding the censorship-free AMIN network in 1995 and, in 2000, launching the Arab world's first internet radio station, AmmanNet. His career thus spans the pivotal shift from print under occupation to the digital and community media of the new century.

Historical Context

1. 1955 — Born in Jerusalem, Jordanian-administered Jerusalem
2. 1967 — Six-Day War and occupation of West Bank and Gaza

Legacy & Influence

Kuttab is a foundational figure in modern Arab independent and digital media, having built institutions, AMIN, the Institute of Modern Media at Al-Quds University, AmmanNet and its successor Radio al-Balad, that reshaped the regional media landscape and trained a generation of journalists. His pioneering of censorship-free and community broadcasting expanded the space for free expression across the Arab world. International recognition followed: the Committee to Protect Journalists honored him in 1996, and the International Press Institute named him one of fifty World Press Freedom Heroes of the previous half-century. As a Princeton journalism professor, prolific columnist, and head of the Community Media Network, he remains one of the most influential Palestinian voices in global media and a standard-bearer for press freedom.

Topics & Themes

• Nakba Generation
• Diaspora
• Jerusalem

References & Sources

1. Daoud Kuttab — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daoud_Kuttab
2. Daoud Kuttab - CPJ International Press Freedom Award — https://cpj.org/awards/daoud-kuttab/