According to the unanimous decision of the 3-member jury, the story of the journalist Irena Mulacka from Focus about the Skopje gynecology clinics scandal won first place after doctors releveled information that 80 newborns died in a period of six months. According to the report of the jury, “this is a comprehensive and thorough research that offers extensive, exclusive and sensitive information about the situation with newborns in the country, and the author did not hesitate to clearly identify the responsibility and open the most sensitive issues that should be subject to public criticism.”
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The second-prize story is authored by Nikola Zdravkovic, for the article titled: “A family tragedy left Gordana Slavkovik without a piece of bread”, published in the 360 degree programme, on Television Alsat – M. “Through the poignant story of a single mother, the journalist with an emotionally, but extremely measured and humane approach, reveals the institutional paradoxes, locates defects in the law and opens up a series of issues that raise public debate and call for responsibility,” emphasizes the jury in the report.
The jury decided to award the third prize for two journalistic works. The first is by the journalist Mirjana Mircevska-Jovanovic for the series of articles on “Little Ivan and his grandmother”, published on Kanal 5 television, and according to the jury “the author, in a subtle and versatile way, through the story of a 9-year-old child, draws the institutions to the core and reveals the anomalies and systemic inconsistencies in society.”
The work which also received the third prize is by the journalist Marjan Nikolovski for the news item titled “Can the religious communities remove all barriers for uninterrupted prayer”, published on Sitel TV, within the program “On the same side”. He deals with a topic that has never been or has been symbolically treated in the media and thus brings a new freshness in journalism, promoting the concept of inclusion and integration of vulnerable and marginalized groups from one different, in this case a religious aspect.
Apart from awards for the best stories, the jury decided to award two prizes. In the first case for the journalist’s story, author Maya Ravanska, for the text titled “Macedonian Stephen Hawking smothered in the clutches of an inclusive society”, published in the newspaper “Face to Face”, as well as for the television news item “Help those who should see” of the author Zoran Jovanoski, from the 360 degree project, on Alsat-M television.
“Today’s awards are an acknowledgment for the authors’ professionalism. We have repeatedly emphasized the importance of professional journalism, the role of the media in publishing objective information, the need to improve the working conditions of journalists and self-regulation in overcoming ethical challenges. All these issues are still current today,” EU Delegation Head Samuel Zbogar said in his address at the event.
Members of the jury were Bardhyl Zaimi, who was also its Chair, as well as Zaneta Trajkoska and Zoran Ivanov.
The awards this year are awarded with financial support from UNESCO and the EU within the framework of the project “Building confidence in the media in Southeast Europe and Turkey”.