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A total of 267 applications from 7 countries, representing 125 media outlets and featuring a diverse group of authors (both individuals and groups), have been submitted for the 2023 edition of the prestigious EU Award for Investigative Journalism.
Journalists from the Western Balkans and Türkiye were asked to submit their stories and the result is a wide range of diverse and varied topics for the judges to consider.
Besides national-level awards, for the first time the competition has a regional award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding investigative stories, foster collaboration and elevate the overall standard of investigative journalism in the Western Balkans and Türkiye.
Out of 267 received applications, 159 submissions applied for the national, 9 for the regional and 99 for both, national and regional level.
Now that the application process has concluded, the Evaluation Jury, consisting of distinguished experts in journalism and investigative reporting, will begin the rigorous task of reviewing and evaluating the submissions. The judges will carefully assess the applications against meticulous standards, taking into account the relevance, quality of research and presentation, objectivity and ethics, originality and innovativeness and impact and effect.
The winners of the national EU Investigative Journalism Award 2023 will be announced at national ceremonies in the last quarter of 2023. In each country, the best three stories will be awarded with 5,000 EUR (first prize), 3,000 EUR (second) and 2,000 EUR (third). The same principle applies for the regional award.
This year's edition of the EU Award for Investigative Journalism is part of the broader project, "Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II". Set activities under the project are designed to recognise and promote exceptional achievements in investigative journalism while simultaneously raising awareness and capacities of the importance of quality journalism within the region.
The EU Investigative Journalism Award is funded by the European Union, and it is implemented by a consortium composed of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – BIRN Hub, Central European University (CEU) – Hungary, Association of Journalists (AJ) – Türkiye, Thomson Media (TM) – Germany, University Goce Delcev Stip (UGD) – North Macedonia, The Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) – North Macedonia, Media Association of South-East Europe (MASE) – Montenegro and Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Kosovo (BIRN Kosovo).