INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM/COMPETITION

Investigative journalism competition Western Balkans and Türkiye

Journalists from Western Balkans countries and Türkiye are invited to submit their investigative stories for the EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2023.

Once again, the prestigious Award celebrates the best investigative stories published in the previous calendar year and is open to journalists in all six countries of the Western Balkans and Türkiye. 

This year, aside from national awards, the EU Award is introducing a regional award, targeting the best stories from the entire region based on clearly defined criteria. This new category is an exciting development for the award, as it will encourage journalists to think beyond national borders and tackle issues that affect the entire region. 

The deadline for submissions is June 20th, 2023, until midnight CET.

Entry details

The annual award fund for each of the countries is 10,000 euros, and the prize fund for regional awards is also 10,000 euros.

The three best stories of the year receive recognition, the first prize for national and regional prize is €5,000, €3,000 for second and €2,000 for third. 

Stories nominated should contribute to freedom of expression, the rule of law, transparency and can cover a variety of topics affecting national and regional economies, struggles and challenges to countries' EU integration processes and societies and countries' perspectives for example, organised crime, corruption, the rise of extremism, various forms of foreign influence, human rights violations, including those in the digital sphere, and other topics that the public would not otherwise be familiar with.

Entries can be nominated for the national, regional award, or both and one journalist can submit more than one story to the competition. 

The winners of national awards in the countries of the Western Balkans and Türkiye automatically become candidates for the regional EU award for investigative journalism, if they have stated it on their application form.

The juries for both national and regional awards consist of local and international media experts, editors, members of academia and high achieving journalists.

Thomson Media is the organiser of the award. 

Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans & Türkiye II

The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2023 is part of the project Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II. The award aims to recognise and promote outstanding achievements in investigative journalism, as well as improving the visibility of quality journalism in the Western Balkans and Türkiye.

The project 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, Shtip (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) and Thomson Media. 

Entry details

To access calls for all countries, please visit this page.

For more details, contact euawards@thomsonmedia.de.

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