1 October 2014. – Serbian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian Reporters Win CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism. Special mention to Ukranian reporter.
– Brankica Stanković (TV B92) awarded in the section “Professional Journalists”
– Sadeta Fišić, Jovana Kljajić and Maida Salkanović (CIN Sarajevo) awarded in the section “Young Professional Journalists”
– Special mention to Ukrainian reporter Anna Babinets
The Central European Initiative (CEI) and the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), in special partnership with the German political foundation Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), have announced the winners of the “CEI SEEMO Award for Outstanding Merits in Investigative Journalism” 2014: Brankica Stanković in the section “Professional Journalists”, Sadeta Fišić, Jovana Kljajić and Maida Salkanović in the section “Young Professional Journalists”.
Brankica Stanković has been awarded for her professional achievements and major commitment to investigative reporting undertaken with great efforts and under very difficult personal conditions. Born in 1975 in Belgrade, Serbia, Stanković is a journalist of TV B92 and editor of the programme Insajder broadcasted since 2004. She has investigated and produced many stories tackling issues related to the recent socio-economic and political developments in Serbia, disclosing crime, corruption, and links between mafia, politics and business. After receiving numerous death threats, since December 2009 she has been under police protection. In spite of these circumstances, Stanković has continued her engagement in investigative reporting, pursuing the truth about power and corruption in Serbia. In 2013, TV B92 published Stanković’s autobiography entitled “Insajder, moja priča” (“Insajder: My Story”), which shows her accurate professional approach to investigative reporting. Currently, Stanković is also involved in training and education activities, where she shares her knowledge and personal experience.
Sadeta Fišić, Jovana Kljajić and Maida Salkanović from the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN) in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, have been awarded for their joint efforts in investigative reporting, which resulted in the story “A Dear Cost of Having a Roof over your Head”. The three young reporters dealt with a sensitive and problematic subject – the mistreatment of children in foster families – with courage, accuracy as well as great investigation and research efforts. The publication of the story caused a reaction in the public and the reporters received some threats. Nevertheless, they decided to continue their investigation and are currently working on a follow-up. Sadeta Fišić was born in 1988 in Konjic, Jovana Kljajić in 1991 in Mrkonjić Grad and Maida Salkanović in 1991 in Tuzla.
Stanković and the team of CIN journalists will officially receive their awards offered by the CEI (4,000 EUR and 1,000 EUR respectively) on the occasion of the South East Europe Media Forum (SEEMF) to be held in Skopje on 16-17 October 2014, under the title “Media in South East Europe: not enough or too much information?”.
A Special Mention has been assigned to the Ukrainian reporter Anna Babinets, coordinator and journalist of the Agency of investigative journalism Slidstvo.Info producing investigations on corruption in Ukraine. In particular, Babinets was out on the front line as a reporter for Hromadske.TV when the EuroMaidan protests in Kiev began. Her work was remarkable for the courage she showed during some of the most violent protests.
38 nominations, covering 14 countries, have been submitted this year. This confirms the relevance and impact of this award regionwide.
The applications were examined by the three organising institutions, with overall coordination by Oliver Vujovic (SEEMO), Barbara Fabro (CEI) and Christian Spahr (KAS Media Program South East Europe) and the expert advice from the jury members and investigative reporters Besar Likmeta (Albania), Saša Leković (Croatia) and Adrian Mogos (Romania).
CONTACT
Central European Initiative (CEI) E-Mail:press@cei.int , Web: www.cei.int
KAS Media Program South East Europe E-Mail: media.europe@kas.de , Web: www.kas.de/medien-europa
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) E-Mail: basis@seemo.org , Web: www.seemo.org
For information on the SEEMF please contact info@seemo.org and follow us via Twitter: @seemf – @seemofreemedia – @CEI_Secretariat
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