Peter Preston, founding father of the European Press Prize, dies aged 79

It is with great sadness that the European Press Prize announces the loss of one of our founding fathers, chairman of the Preparatory Committee and friend Peter Preston.

Peter Preston was not only one of the greatest editors of his generation, editing The Guardian for almost 20 years, but in his seventies turned his extraordinary energy to creating a prize to honour the best of European journalism at a time of huge challenges to the profession.

Since 2012, he has been at the heart of the European Press Prize; from creating the awards, to reading thousands of entries over the years and indefatigable in providing support and advice – key in everything we are and have today.

Truly European in his ability to unite journalists from all over the European continent, Peter continues to inspire us all at the European Press Prize.

Our thoughts go out to his wife Jean, and his children Ben, Alex, Kate and Rupert.

Peter Preston’s dedication, support and wisdom will be sorely missed.

Read the full obituary of The Guardian here.

“The European Press Prize, which was set up by a number of European press foundations, was a real passion for Peter Preston, who, until a few weeks before his death was sifting through hundreds of entries – and making sure that right to the end – he had all the bases covered. We are all devastated by his loss, will miss his wisdom, journalistic integrity and the humour he brought to the European Press Prize table. But, it is the world of modern journalism, that will miss Peter Preston most.”

— Maggie O’ Kane, Chair of the European Press Prize

“He inspired us all with his vision of what it might achieve in uniting the journalists of our diverse continent Europe. He was a journalist imbued with the ideals of Europe and committed all his life to the highest standards of integrity in our ceaseless search for truth.”

— Sir Harold Evans, Chairman of the Judges of the European Press Prize.

Introducing new prepcom member Natalia Chientaroli

The European Press Prize would like to proudly introduce Natalia Chientaroli, working for eldiario.es, as our newest preparatory committee member. As she was already editor-in-chief at the age of 10, we had a lot to talk about!

Why did you become a journalist?

I used to say I didn’t know why I became a journalist. But recently I found at my mother’s house a document that explains many things. It was a school newspaper in which I was the editor-in-chief at the age of 10. Suddenly I remembered the fantastic work in that makeshift newsroom with journalists aged 8 to 12. The result was a funny newspaper full of news (and, of course, crosswords) published with the help of a typewriter and a photocopy machine. The editorial I signed said, “We share this space where a lot of things happen. Let’s talk about them”. Now the world goes far beyond the bounds of my old school, but somehow I still feel the same way: we share this space. Let’s talk about what is going on. Let’s tell stories. 

eldiario.es is an online newspaper; how do you adjust your content to that?

I started working as a journalist when I was very young, at 21. In all these years I have seen newspapers and journalism change substancially. It has been five years now working at eldiario.es and I can say I have learned a lot about new ways of telling stories and visualize data. 

Additionally, I have gained insights into the importance of online platforms and social networks in our profession.  I have always tried to update myself with the new technological tools and the new challenges for journalism. I have shared my space with young people who enlightened me, since I was able to learn relevant knowledge from them.  At the same time, I am able to pass on to them some values connected with hard work and integrity. In other words, I transmit them the importance of doing our job with honesty.

What role should/could journalist prizes have?

To award good journalism is a fantastic way to promote excellence in our profession. In times of a lack of job stability, it is important to support journalists’ work and recognize their contribution to society. All in all, an award given to a journalist always represent the recognition of having done an honest job and, even more important today, is the expression of strong support in case you do not have the economic and prestige backup of a big newspaper.

What are you hoping to read among the entries of EPP 2018?

I am hoping to read material which has a strong focus on social and environmental issues. In addition, I would love to read articles written by women, because still today we do not occupy the same professional spaces as men do. Finally, it would be very insightful to read material which is brave enough to challenge the powerful structures.