Journalists from the Western Balkans and Türkiye are invited to submit their investigative stories published during the previous calendar year
The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2024 is now open for submissions, continuing its tradition of honouring outstanding investigative reporting from the Western Balkans and Türkiye.
In addition to the national awards, the organisers will choose the best regional investigative stories for the second year in a row. The regional award aims to inspire exploring issues transcending national boundaries and address challenges impacting the entire region.
The annual award fund remains at 10,000 euros per country, with an additional 10,000 euros allocated for the regional Award. Prizes for both national and regional categories are as follows: 5,000 euros (first place), 3,000 euros (second place), and 2,000 euros (third place).
Eligible stories should advance freedom of expression, uphold the rule of law, and shed light on diverse topics affecting national and regional dynamics. These may include organised crime, corruption, extremism, foreign influence, human rights violations (including in the digital realm), and other issues crucial for public awareness.
Participants can nominate entries for either the national, regional award, or both, with the flexibility to submit a maximum of three applications to the competition.
The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2024 is organised by Thomson Media, a renowned entity committed to media development and promoting press freedom worldwide. As last year, the competition is organised as a part of “Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II” project, aiming on improving quality journalism visibility across the region.
The esteemed jury comprises local and international media experts, editors, academics, and seasoned journalists. They bring diverse perspectives and expertise to ensure a fair and rigorous evaluation process. This year, the jury members of the national competitions have an exclusive right to suggest stories they recognise have regional value for the regional competition, even if the story wasn’t originally nominated for that level of the competition. In case the nominees do not win the national award, they can still compete for the regional award if they fulfil the criteria.
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, 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).
The deadline for submission is 13 June 2024 until midnight (CET).
To access calls for all countries, please visit this page.
In case you have any further questions, please contact euawards@thomsonmedia.de
