The Fritt Ord Foundation, Oslo, in partnership with the ZEIT Foundation, Hamburg is seeking nominations from the newspapers and journalists for the prestigious Gerd Bucerius Press Prizes for Russia and Eastern Europe. The prizes will be awarded on 23 May 2012 in Hamburg.
Gerd Bucerius Press Prizes aim at supporting the journalists so that they could work independently, despite reprisals and financial difficulties, encouraging them not to be intimidated by censorship and resisting self-censorship.
Press Prize is awarded to journalists for quality, professionalism and courage. Launched in 2000, the prize has been awarded by the ZEIT Foundation to newspapers and journalists who strive to promote a free press, free speech and liberal civil societies in the transition states of Eastern Europe. Since 2004, the ZEIT Foundation has awarded press prizes in collaboration with the Freedom of Expression Foundation, Oslo.
“The media’s situation is disquieting in several Eastern European countries,“ says Theo Sommer, Editor-at-Large at DIE ZEIT and chair of the jury for the press prizes: “In Eastern Europe, independent journalism is still under constant pressure and suspicion – the media are persecuted, oppressed and channelled in one direction. All State power ought to accommodate, protect and respect the diversity of journalistic media“.
Several prizes are made available each year for newspapers or Internet media, including at least one for a medium in Russia. In addition, special prizes are usually awarded to journalists.
Monetary Benefits
Winners of the prizes for newspapers are given amounts of up to EUR 40 000, and for journalists this amount is EUR 10 000. It is up to prize laureates themselves, how they intend to spend the money, as long as it benefits the individual newspaper or journalist.
Eligibility
Gerd Bucerius Press Prizes are given to newspapers, Internet media and journalists from Russia, Belarus, the Ukraine, Georgia and South Caucasus. The foundations is interested in supporting newspapers and journalists in larger cities as well as for regional media aimed at strengthening the press in rural areas.
The newspapers are expected to demonstrate broad editorial initiatives in at least three areas, one of which should be foreign policy. They should be able to demonstrate balanced coverage of political, cultural, economic and social affairs. They must show a commitment to democracy, international understanding and freedom of expression. The newspapers must have been published for at least one year, and be able to demonstrate a circulation of at least 5000 copies at the time the nominations are submitted.
Nomination Process
Nominations, accompanied by explanations of the reasons for the nominations, must be submitted along with the newspaper or sample articles. Nominations must contain information about the publisher, editorial board, circulation statistics and the newspaper’s history, as well as an evaluation of the newspaper. A newspaper may not nominate itself.
Last date for submission of nominations is October 24, 2011
For more information, visit this link.
