Winners European Press Prize 2017

Big upset in the European Press Prize Ceremony in Amsterdam as the Serbian Centre for Investigative Journalism beats the Pulitzer Prize winning Panama Papers team in the prestigious Investigative Award. Distinguished Writing appears to be a German trait, with Felix Hutt of Stern, and Dialika Neufeld and Claas Relotius of Der Spiegel sharing the award.

Investigative Reporting Award

The judges, chaired by Sir Harold Evans, chose to honour the incredible work and proper journalism done by CINS journalists in Serbia – stories that exposed corruption charges framed and then forgotten: “These revelations fulfil the most basic promise of investigative journalists to their readers: they lift the curtains of corruption and let the light shine in.”

Distinguished writing award

Choosing between three contenders was impossible, so the award was divided between Felix Hutt, Dialika Neufeld and Claas Relotius. In their own brilliant way, describing the route of refugees to safety. The story by Relotius shows what happens when child refugees don’t make it to Europe. 71 Lives by Hutt tells the tragic history of how migrants suffocated in a sealed lorry. Step-uncle Sam by Neufeld describes how thousands of unaccompanied child refugees got lost in Europe.

Commentator Award

Fintan 0’Toole finally received the well-deserved reward for his commentary pieces. His articles on the Brexit for the Irish Times and The Guardian, are a vivid series adding the extra dimension of Dublin alarm, as Britain voted to leave the EU. The judges hailed his perspective, acute observation and the pungent writing style that make these ideas live.

Innovation Award

From a stronger-than-before collection of new things on the block, Christiaan Triebert of the Netherlands wins for his brilliant use of WhatsApp communications between the plotters of the Turkish military coup. As the plotters struggled through a night of chaos, many simple things went wrong, including traffic jams. Triebert’s work for Bellingcat allows readers to live through the coup that failed, facing minute-by-minute crises. 

Special Award

The jury was heartened by the number of young journalists who entered their work. As symbol of that rising generation they chose 26-year-old Irina Tacu, web editor at Decat o Revisita in Romania. One of the team who retold the tragedy of the `Colectiv night club fire in Bucharest. A story of young people dying told by young people, showing journalism’s way ahead. 

Award Ceremony 2017: complete programme

To mark our fifth anniversary we have an extended programme around the Award Ceremony with a masterclass, a movie and various panel discussions. All will lead up to the prime moment of the evening: the announcement of this year’s winners. For those who are not able to attend, we will be hosting a live-stream of the winners announcement on our website. 

Together with journalists from all over Europe, we will hear the stories behind excellent journalism. To top it all off, the key note speaker of the evening, Gideon Rachman – chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times – will speak on what it means to be a journalist in this day and age. The Award Ceremony will be a unique event, uniting journalists and media institutions from all over Europe. The perfect breeding ground for new ideas and partnerships.

Location
De Balie: a place for free speech, contemporary art, politics and culture in Amsterdam.

Programme
14:00 Talent Meets Laureates
The EPP encourages a new generation of excellent journalists. A select group of promising and international journalistic talent will participate in a column-writing Masterclass of EPP laureates and columnists Gideon Rachman (Financial Times) and Fintan O’Toole (The Irish Times).

16:00 Panels
Pan-European Cooperation
One of our founding partners, Foundation Veronica, will host a panel discussion on Pan-European cooperation. The Panama Papers and stories published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists teach us that certain subjects need an international approach to get the full, international picture. For this afternoon we invite international publishers, freelance journalists and media owners to join a discussion on how to set up a sustainable Pan-European platform on all levels of the journalistic industry.

Journalism under Pressure
The European Press prize will host a panel discussion on journalism under pressure. We will discuss the challenges for journalists working in countries with limited press freedom with Yavuz Baydar – an award-winning Turkish journalist exiled in France – and Bartosz Wieliński – head of the Foreign Department of one of Poland’s remaining independent dailies. Francesca Borri – one of the last journalists behind the frontlines in Syria – and Christiaan Triebert – a 25-year-old who has done fieldwork in Ukraine, Syria and Iraq – will share experiences on working in conflict-ridden areas. How does one write quality journalism under extreme pressure?

18:30 Award Ceremony
Key-note: Gideon Rachman
Announcement & celebration of winners:

Investigation Award
Innovation Award
Distinguished Writing Award
Commentator Award
Special Award: the 2017 Special Award pays tribute to a new generation of excellent journalists, and the great pieces that they have entered.

20:00 Ever After
Q&A with the winners
Food & Drinks
Movie: Chez Nous (ENG subtitles)