Award-winning journalists from the Western Balkans and Türkiye break new ground with impactful investigations on healthcare, environmental threats, human rights, and corruption
The EU Investigative Journalism Award 2024 has spotlighted an extraordinary range of talent, perspectives, and emerging journalistic themes. This year, a record 283 stories were submitted by 256 authors and teams from 115 media outlets. Juries covered the Western Balkans and Türkiye, and a regional panel selected the standout entries.
A key trend in this edition is a notable shift in the types of investigations gaining recognition across the Western Balkans and Türkiye. In addition to the usual focus on high-profile crime and political scandal, this year’s stories increasingly explore topics like health, environmental issues, and social discrimination—matters that resonate deeply with everyday lives—as well as gender inequality and emerging problems of femicides.
This shift reflects a growing commitment to stories highlighting urgent, relatable issues affecting communities across the region.
Out of 283 applications, some of the key topics are:
- Crime and corruption – 42%
- Health – 8%
- Ecology – 13%
- Human rights – 17%
- Other – 20%
For example, Behar Mustafa and Kreshnik Gashi from Kallxo.com claimed the first prize in Kosovo for their impactful investigation exposing corruption in Brezovica’s building permits.
In Serbia, Radmilo Marković from BIRN received a third-place award for his remarkable investigation into irregularities in Belgrade’s urban planning, which revealed nearly half a million square metres of suspicious construction projects.
Corruption and system failure marked Montenegrin stories too – first prize winners Tatjana Ašanin and Nikola Milosavić Aleksić won the award for their TV series “In murky waters” regarding corruption and irregularities within Podgorica’s water supply system, uncovering water theft, debt write-offs, and sponsorship deals with no clear criteria. The story they share the first prize with – “Massacre of responsibilities,” by Milica Babić and Svetlana Đokić from TV E, investigates the tragic 2022 Cetinje massacre and exposes critical lapses in accountability that contributed to the devastating event.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a powerful investigation marked this topic too. Nino Bilajac and Selma Učanbarlić from Detektor. ba uncovered the million-dollar eMagnetix scam, revealing how a “dream job” turned into a nightmare.
A noteworthy example comes from Albania. Second place went to Ola Xama from Reporter.al for uncovering the role of the Mayor of Tirana in the controversial incinerator project. Third place went to Geri Emiri, Aida Ciro, and Aleksandar Dimitrievski for their work highlighting the challenges faced by Balkan farmers in accessing EU IPARD funds.
In Türkiye, first place was awarded to Asuman Aranca Kol for her investigation into the political murder of Sinan Ates, exposing the connections between political figures and law enforcement. This story uncovered the critical details that kept the case in the public eye and intensified calls for justice. Murat Ağırel secured second place for revealing issues with the Turkish Red Crescent amidst the earthquake crisis, where they sold emergency tents to AHBAP for millions of liras. Hale Gönültaş and Thalys Augusto de Alcantara Anjos won the third place for a piece documenting the Süleymancılar organisation bringing children from Brazil’s Amazon forests to Türkiye, allegedly to expand their influence against the law.
Healthcare issues and the need for reforms
First place winner from Bosnia and Herzegovina – Arduana Pribinja from Al Jazeera Balkans attracted the public’s attention with her courageous reporting on the sexual harassment accusations faced by female patients at Zenica Hospital.
Also, one of the stories in the third place in Bosnia and Herzegovina – created by Azra Omerovič and Zinaida Đelilović from Žurnal, discovered how a dentist’s degree was awarded at the International University in Goražde, despite no enrolled students.
In North Macedonia, Irena Mulachka won the first prize for her investigation “Scandal Oncology,” uncovering corruption in Skopje’s oncology hospital, where medication was misused to serve the personal interests of staff and management.
Sexual harassment stories were not only a focus and concern in the health department investigations.
BIRN’s journalist Anđela Milivojević won third prize and was honored for her powerful reporting on the devastating impact of sexual harassment on women and girls across Serbia by publishing content without consent.
In Kosovo, third place was shared by two stories from Kosovo 2.0. The first one, by Dardan Hoti and Aulone Kadriu, focused on the consequences of online harassment and victims of image-based sexual abuse. In contrast, the second one, by Dafina Halili, was awarded for her piece on sexual harassment at the University of Pristina.
Ecology and environmental dangers in focus
Macedonian journalists from Nota.mk—Aleksandar Metodiev and Suzana Miceva—won third place for their story “The Fragile Forests” which sheds light on illegal logging operations in Jablanica mountain involving cross-border criminal activities.
Dejan Rakita from Bosnia and Herzegovina won second place for his piece on exposing the environmental dangers linked to the controversial construction at Trgovska Gora.
Authors covered some less common issues, such as in the case of the second-place winner from Montenegro, Đurđa Radulović, who wrote a compelling piece revealing the dangerous consequences of unregulated sales of banned pesticides in Montenegro, which pose serious risks to health and the environment.
Also, Montenegrin journalist Andrea Perišić won third prize for her powerful expose, which highlights how the country’s rich cultural heritage is being looted, sold, and destroyed.
Regional winners covered a broad spectrum of topics. Top prize winner, Ksenija Pavkov from N1, won the award for the investigation, which exposed the collaboration between crime syndicates and corrupt officials. The high-quality video production gave the story additional value.
Second-place winner, Saša Dragojlo from Balkan Insight, conducted a six-month investigation into how Albanian-supplied weapons fuel violence along the refugee route. The investigation provided insights into the role of Northern African gangs and the implications for security across Europe. Third-place winners Vanja Stokić and Ajdin Kamber from e-Trafika did a documentary, “Brother” following the struggles of migrants, presented sensitively and emotionally, which made it a standout work in 2024.
In summary, the EU Investigative Journalism Award 2024 highlighted compelling stories addressing essential issues, including healthcare, environmental challenges, human rights, etc. These impactful stories, often conveyed with fresh and creative approaches, have resonated across their regions and beyond, emphasising the crucial role of investigative journalism in inspiring change and raising public awareness.
The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2024 is part of the project “Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II”. 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).
