Notes from the IJF 2023: A journalism for the people

The 17th International Journalism Festival just ended, and the European Press Prize had the possibility to play a bigger role in it than in any other year of its history. We were there for an official event, announcing the 2023 Shortlist, and we had the chance to experience, once again, what happens when journalism, with all its journalists, meets the people.

Here are a few thoughts, collected in bullet points, maybe the blueprint for a manifesto for “A journalism for the people”:

1. Proximity: Being near your audience is everything, and that is what the IJF is there for, we feel. In a world that is hyperconnected and yet made of separate islands floating in the e-space, making our presence tangible is crucial. We need to be seen, in flesh and bones and, sometimes, tired eyes, stressed faces, so that understanding can happen and a conversation can start. Social media are, or were, great, but it is time to sit at a table with our audience.
2. Openness: In many countries, journalists are a special category that lives in a space in between, talking to the powerful and to the citizen. Sometimes this role can lead to the wrong assumption that journalists are like oracles that report the word of divinities. This all has to end, because democracies are made by the people, and any power is given, not taken. This festival showed the human side of journalism and provided a safe space for conversations on press freedom and democracy.
3. Impact: People want to see the effect of journalism on their daily lives, that is, the impact great journalism has on what they care for. In Perugia, among the audience, were not only media professionals, but also locals, happy, worried, or curious about what a specific topic means for their nation, or even their city.
4. Inclusivity and diversity: To make readers more interested, represent them better in your newsrooms. This might be a simple rule that, if followed, might attract more people to quality news and make journalism stronger. At the IJF, we attended the most diverse panels and workshops and felt that journalism, interpreted in this way, is more than the sum of its parts.
5. Resilience: Fake news discredits good journalism, casting a shadow of distrust on the whole category. Journalists need to fight back, taking the stage and talking honestly about their profession, a job that has always been in jeopardy and yet, never becomes useless or outdated. This is because democracies need journalists, and journalists can show their audiences that they are there for them.

What we do, at the Prize, is support journalists everywhere in the world. This is why we were delighted to be able to participate in the International Journalism Festival, involving our community and, we hope, contributing to shaping this new journalism, a journalism made for those who can make things change: the people.

Thanks to the IJF organisation, to our Members, our Partners, and above all to our Community and to Vereniging Veronica for having powered our Shortlist Announcement event. See you next year!

Our Shortlist Announcement

In Perugia we announced our 2023 Shortlist, 30 projects that we believe represent the best European journalism of the year, divided into Distinguished Reporting, Investigative Reporting, Innovation, Public Discourse, the new category of Migration Journalism and a Special Award for Ukraine Reporting.

An important thank you goes to our PrepCom members, who read through all the entries we received and selected those you can explore today here. And, among them, a special thank you goes to Cristian Lupșa, our PrepCom Chair and host at the event, for helping us present our finalists with the enthusiasm they deserve.

The best European journalism of the year: The European Press Prize announces its 2023 Shortlist

The European Press Prize announced, live from the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, the finalists of its 2023 edition. This year’s Shortlist counts articles and projects selected among hundreds of submissions coming from more than 40 countries, and published in more than 35 languages.

This year’s edition of the European Press Prize, the awards for excellence in European journalism, received hundreds of entries from more than 40 of the eligible European countries in over 35 languages. From this pool, the Preparatory Committee selected 25 articles and projects, divided into the five categories of Distinguished Reporting, Investigative Reporting, Innovation, Public Discourse and Migration Journalism (each worth 10,000€). 

The Prize finalists tackle, with their works, topics that are crucial for Europe and beyond. For example, “Ammar in the Polish wardrobe: A story about hiding refugees on the Polish-Belarusian border”; “All she wanted was a photo of the new-born babies and asked that István and Tamás love the twins”, which tells the story of a couple of fathers and their two adopted kids, tackling homophobia in Hungary; “Ailing Brussels”, an evaluation of the economic-social discrepancies in Brussels; “Death Weapons: Inside a Teenage Terrorist Network”, which reveals how a network of young neo-Nazis is setting up terrorist cells across Europe and the US; and “The eye of the whale”, an essay on the natural world and our connection to animals.

A Special Award category for Ukraine Reporting

Every year, a Special Award is handed out by the Panel of Judges to one outstanding entry defying disciplines and categories.

This year, the Preparatory Committee, in accordance with the Panel of Judges, has decided to transform the Award into a category itself, called Special Award: Ukraine Reporting, with five shortlisted pieces.

Cristian Lupșa, Chair of the Preparatory Committee: “In these extraordinary times, coverage of the war in Ukraine – chronicles from the frontlines, stories of resistance, and dogged watchdog reporting – deserves dedicated attention. From dozens of Ukraine-connected entries in multiple categories we picked a handful of investigations and on-the-ground accounts that reflect the breadth, depth, and courage of this work. We’re honoured and humbled by this important testimony.”

The new Migration Journalism Award

This year the European Press Prize is also awarding the Migration Journalism Award, a new category launched in 2022 by joining forces with Fundacíon porCausa and the International Congress on Migration Journalism in Mérida.

The five shortlisted pieces of this new category, looking into migration from different angles, were selected among over 100 submissions. 

The European Press Prize is honoured to announce that the prize money of the first edition of the Migration Journalism Award is supported by the Robert Bosch Stiftung. 

Dr. Raphaela Schweiger, Director of the Migration Program at the Robert Bosch Stiftung, about their support for the Migration Journalism Award: “Narratives about migrants and refugees and the role of media and journalism are deeply entangled. The establishment of a European Migration Journalism Award contributes to uplifting transparent, independent reporting on migration, bringing nuances into a way too often polarised debate.” 

Announced in Perugia, during the International Journalism Festival

This year’s shortlist was announced during the International Journalism Festival, the event that every year brings together, in Perugia, journalists, activists, and experts in the field of media from all over the world, as part of the official collaboration between the European Press Prize and the Festival.

The announcement was organised in collaboration with the European Press Prize member Vereniging Veronica.

Yoeri Albrecht, Board Member of the European Press Prize and Chairman of the Board of Vereniging Veronica: “As one of the founders Vereniging Veronica is extremely proud about 11 years of Laureates and Shortlists. Our goal to shed light on the abundance of quality journalism in Europe is reflected  in the extreme quality of the European Press Prize nominations.”

The Prize 2023 Shortlist (click here to discover it)

The Distinguished Reporting Award

Sámi for life, by Lena Bjurström, Thomas Dévényi, published by Les Jours (France)

The travelling tribunal, by Johannes Böhme, published by Die Zeit (Germany)

All she wanted was a photo of the new-born babies and asked that István and Tamás love the twins, by Luca Pintér, Orsi Ajpek, published by Telex.hu (Hungary)

The alternative Balkan postal system, by Ilir Gashi, Dina Hajrullahu, Arrita Katona, published by Kosovo 2.0 (Kosovo)

Poland’s ministry of memory spins the Holocaust, by Katia Patin, published by Coda Story (Georgia)

The Innovation Award

The demographic, political and economic power of each generation of Romanians, by Edit Gyenge, published by Panorama (Romania)

Russian Asset Tracker, by Juliette Garside, Simon Goodley, Jasper Jolly, Kalyeena Makortoff, Antonio Baquero, Lara Dihmis, Alex Dziadosz, Jared Ferrie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Kevin Hall, Ilya Lozovsky, Eli Moskowit, Will Neal, Stelios Orphanides, Miranda Patrucic, Olesya Shmagun, Graham Stack, Tom Stocks, Drew Sullivan, Julia Wallace, Jonny Wrate, Jan Strozyk, Misha Gagarin, Karina Shedrofsky, Alina Tsogoeva, Ivana Jeremić, Olena LaFoy, Bojana Pavlović, Dima Stoianov, Romina Colman, Ilia Donskikh, Nathan Jaccard, James O’Brien, Edin Pašović, Mark Nightingale, by OCCRP, The Guardian, Anti-Corruption Data Collective, Bird.bg (Bulgaria), Delfi Estonia, Follow the Money (Netherlands), Forbes (USA), Frontstory.pl (Poland), infoLibre (Spain), Inside Story (Greece), Investigative Center of Jan Kuciak (Slovakia), Investigace.cz (Czech Republic), IrpiMedia (Italy), MANS (Montenegro), Miami Herald (USA), Le Monde (France), NDR (Germany), Oštro (Slovenia/Croatia), profil (Austria), Re:Baltica, Reporter.lu (Luxembourg), Siena.lt (Lithuania), SVT (Sweden), Tamedia (Switzerland), De Tijd (Belgium), Transparency International UK

Ailing Brussels, by Karim Douïeb, Catherine Joie, Quentin Noirfalisse, Antoine Sanchez, published by Médor Magazine (Belgium)

Barrio Salamanca, by Elena Sanz, Rocío Márquez, Laura Martín, Luís Rodríguez, Fernando Anido, Darío Ojeda, published by El Confidencial (Spain)

Reconstructing the Melilla Massacre, by Klaas van Dijken, Maud Jullien, Bashar Deeb, Jack Sapoch, Beatriz Ramalho da Silva, Aziz Alnour, Alison Killing, María Martín, Kiko Llaneras, José Antonio, Arthur Weil-Rabaud,  José Bautista, Salaheddine Lemaizi, Javier Bernardo, Steffen Lüdke, published by Lighthouse Reports (Europe), EL PAÍS (Spain), Le Monde (France), Der Spiegel (Germany), Anass 

The Public Discourse Award

“She lost consciousness as it was happening and she’s actually grateful she did.” What we know about the rapes perpetrated in Ukraine by Russian soldiers, by Alla Konstantinova, published by Mediazona (Russia), Internazionale (Italy), Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), gdh (Turkey)

The Experience of Powerlessness Changes Everything, by Katja Artsiomenka, published by Zeit Online, 10 nach 8 (Germany)

Defined by silence, by Kateryna Botanova, published by Eurozine

The eye of the whale, by Katarzyna Boni, published by Książki. Magazyn do Czytania (Poland)

Manana, by Roberta Nikšić, published by polis.ba (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Ajfelov Most

The Investigative Reporting Award

Death Weapons: Inside a Teenage Terrorist Network, Alexander Nabert, Christina Brause, Bryan Bender, Nick Robins-Early, published by Welt Am Sonntag (Germany), POLITICO

Ukrainian Supreme Court Judge with Russian Citizenship, by Heorhiy Shabayev, Natalie Sedletska, published by Radio Svoboda (Ukraine)

Here’s the price for your new H&M clothes, by Staffan Lindberg, published by Aftonbladet (Sweden)

The Great Green Investment Investigation, by Ties Joosten, Ties Gijzel, Yara van Heugten, Remy Koens, Tom Bolsius, Leon de Korte, Linda van der Pol, Emiel Woutersen, Daniele Grasso, Carlotta Indiano, Fabio Papetti, Mathias Hagemann-Nielsen, Frederik Vincent, René Bender, Sönke Iwersen, Martin Murphy, Lars-Marten Nagel, Ingo Narat, Michael Verfürden, Volker Votsmeier, Joseph Gepp, Lars Bové, Peter van Maldegem, Yannick Lambert, Thomas Klein, Adrien Sénécat, published by Follow the Money (Netherlands), Investico (Netherlands), De Groene Amsterdammer (Netherlands), Børsen (Denmark), De Tijd (Belgium), Handelsblatt (Germany), IRPImedia (Italy), Luxemburger Wort (Luxembourg), Luxembourg Times (Luxembourg), El País (Spain), Le Monde (France), Der Standard (Austria)

Flight of the Predator: Jet linked to Israeli spyware tycoon delivers surveillance tech from the EU to notorious Sudanese militia, by Tasos Telloglou,  Eliza Triantafillou, Crofton Black, Omer Benjakob, Avi Scharf, Gabriel Geiger, Daniel Howden, Tomas Statius, published by Inside Story (Greece), Lighthouse Reports (Europe), Haaretz (Israel), Mediapart (France)

The Migration Journalism Award

Silent Graves, by Tamara Opačić, published by Novosti Weekly (Croatia)

The long road to a home in Europe, by Maartje Bakker, César Dezfuli, published by De Volkskrant (Netherlands)

Ammar in the Polish wardrobe: A story about hiding refugees on the Polish-Belarusian border, by Joanna Łopat-Réno, Włodzimierz Nowak, Karol Grygoruk, published by OKO Press (Poland)

Borders Inc: the migration control industry, by José Bautista, Alberto Alonso, Rocío Márquez, Emma Esser, Fernando Anido, Marta Ley, Laura Martín, Ángel Villarino, Alba Solla, Juan Aguilar, Ana Rojas, Marta Nevot, Nicolás Ribas, Ana Álvarez, Ekaitz Cancela, Emilia García Morales, Joseba Torronteras, Pablo Fernández, Sara Ortega, Patricia Macías, Álvaro Bravo, published by El Confidencial and Fundación porCausa (Spain)

Sacrificed lives: on Romanian women looking after elderly people in Italy, by Elena Stancu, published by Libertatea, Teleleu.eu (Romania)

The Special Award: Ukraine Reporting

To Hell and Back, by Cathrin Kahlweit, published by Süddeutsche Zeitung Verlag (Germany)

The Last Witness, by Alexandra Rojkov, published by DER SPIEGEL (Germany)

‘Why? Why? Why?’ Ukraine’s Mariupol descends into despair, by Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Lori Hinnant and Vasilisa Stepanenko, published by The Associated Press (US)

Mykolaiv, by Elena Kostyuchenko, published by Novaya Gazeta (Russia)

Suicide missions, abuse, physical threats: International Legion fighters speak out against leadership’s misconduct, by Anna Myroniuk, Alexander Khrebet, published by The Kyiv Independent (Ukraine)