Prothom Alo’s ‘HHH: Heads Held High’ wins top honour

After the planned and coordinated extremist attack and arson at the Prothom Alo office, the country’s leading news outlet has been recognised for the way it rebounded and presented the events to readers and viewers.

This recognition has come from WAN-IFRA, the world’s largest organisation of news publishers and media executives.

At the WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards South Asia 2026, Prothom Alo won Gold in the Best Marketing Campaign for a News Brand category for its campaign “HHH: Heads Held High”.

In addition, Prothom Alo won Silver in the Best Use of Video category for its investigative documentary “The Highway of Death: Jatrabari Killings”, based on the killings carried out by law enforcement forces in Jatrabari, Dhaka, during the July mass uprising.

The announcement was made today, Wednesday in a press release published on WAN-IFRA’s website. This year, more than 100 entries were submitted across 12 categories from news organisations in South Asia.

WAN-IFRA said that digital media experts, editors, and industry leaders evaluated the entries based on innovation, audience impact, and journalistic excellence. Prothom Alo was selected for awards in two categories.

WAN-IFRA represents over 3,000 news publishing companies and media entrepreneurs across more than 120 countries. Last year, Prothom Alo also won top honours in two categories at WAN-IFRA’s global Sustainability and Print Innovation Awards 2025, becoming the only Bangladeshi news outlet to receive such recognition.

Gold winners of the South Asia awards will advance as finalists to the World Digital Media Awards, where leading finalists from 78 countries will compete across 12 categories. The global winners will be announced at the World News Media Congress 2026 in Marseille, France, in June. Prothom Alo’s campaign “HHH: Heads Held High” will compete at that stage.

The campaign was launched following the 18 December attack and arson at the Prothom Alo office. Through news reports, articles, videos, and other content, it highlighted the details of the attack, the destruction caused, and above all, the organisation’s commitment to continue publishing truth. The message—“Truth cannot be burned”—was communicated across print, online, and social media platforms. Active participation and solidarity from readers and viewers added strength, depth, and reach to the campaign.

Prothom Alo received Silver in the Best Use of Video category for the investigative documentary “The Highway of Death: Jatrabari Killings”, produced by its senior content creator Abdullah Al Hossain.

On 5 August 2024, the final day of the mass uprising, law enforcement forces carried out killings and brutal violence on civilians near Jatrabari police station along the Dhaka–Chattogram highway, one of the capital’s major entry points. The documentary details how 60 unarmed people were killed within seven hours along a one-kilometre stretch of the highway.

In this category, The Daily Star won gold award for the video project, while it also won Silver in the Most Innovative Digital Product category.

The award ceremony will be held on 25 June in Delhi, India. Other Gold winners include The Hindu (Best AI-driven News Product, Format or Strategy and Best News Website), Collective Newsroom (Best Data Visualisation and Best in Countering Disinformation), Spot On (Best Emerging News Providers), Hindustan Times (Best in Audience Engagement and Most Innovative Digital Product), Financial Times (Best Newsletter), Deutsche Welle (Best Use of Audio), Manorama Online (Best Reader Revenue), and The Daily Star (Best Use of Video).

In previous editions of WAN-IFRA’s South Asia awards, Prothom Alo has won a total of 11 awards, including two Golds. Additionally, at the global INMA Global Media Awards organised by International News Media Association, which includes over 1,000 news organisations from more than 100 countries, Prothom Alo has so far won 11 awards, including two first prizes and recognition as the best in South Asia.