Daoud Kuttab

داود كتّاب

Born: Jerusalem, Jordanian-administered Jerusalem

Domain: Journalism & Media

Recognition: GLOBAL

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.