Prague, Jan 29 (CTK) – The Czech-German Fund for the Future bestowed Czech-German journalism prizes on reporters for their contribution to understanding between the two countries in Prague for the first time on Sunday.
The prizes went to three Czech and three German articles whose authors reported about developments in the other country.
The awarded Czech authors are Lucie Sucha, from the Reporter magazine, and Vojtech Berger and Dora Kapralova, from Czech Radio.
The Germans to receive the prize were Corinna Anton, from Prager Zeitung, Arndt Ginzel and Martin Kraushaar, from MDR TV, and Martin Becker and Tabea Soergel, from SWR radio.
While the awarded Czech articles and reports mainly dealt with migration and German ways to cope with the migrant wave, the German ones focused on Czech issues which German media address only rarely.
The Milena Jesenska speciel prize, awarded for articles dealing with issues such as civil war, multicultural understanding, and tolerance between Czechs and Germans and their coexistence in Europe, went to Kapralova and to Kilian Kirchgessner, from the Deutschlandfunk radio.
The Czech-German Fund for Future director Tomas Jelinek said the goal of the newly established journalism prize is to motivate journalists not to allow themselves forced into speedy and superficial reports, and also to enhance Czech-German understanding in accordance with the Fund’s mission.
Former Senate chairman Petr Pithart warned in a speech that if the two countries ceased to cultivate mutual relations, people could return to old prejudices or even create new ones.
Pithart said journalists, too, must do their best to prevent the threat of Czechs and Germans moving away from each other by means of truly reporting on events and struggling against the chaos of hoaxes and conspiration theories.
The award-giving ceremony in Prague’s Veletrzni palace was attended by officials including Culture Minister Daniel Herman (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL), German Agriculture Minister and the Czech-German Discussion Forum co-chairman Christian Schmidt and the Czech ambassador to Germany, Tomas Podivinsky.
The Czech-German journalism prize goes to newspaper, radio and television articles and reports that contribute to better understanding between the two nations and promote the neighbouring country. The prize carries 2000 euros.
It was presented for the first time this year. More than 90 articles from both sides of the border competed for it.
