ESSEN / BRUSSELS / SOFIA, 06.11.2008. The WAZ Media Group and the International Federation of Journalists (promote courageous journalism with a new Prize. Both founders, who agreed in 2007 on a  „Framework Agreement to defend and promote press freedom, quality journalism and good working conditions", presented the award during the 2nd South East Europe Media Forum in Sofia. The „WAZ-IFJ Prize for Courage in Journalism" rewards journalism, which has shown exemplary courage and professionalism against intimidation and pressure in reporting corruption and misuse of power.

HOW TO APPLY? CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

IIn recent times, in an increasingly alarming way cases of intimidation, repression and violence against press representatives occured in particular in South-Eastern Europe. The WAZ Media Group and the IFJ share the view that courage is always the precondition for efficient control of power through the media. The competition for the "Courage-Prize", which is worth 10.000 €, is open to journalists from all countries of West, Central and South-Eastern Europe where the WAZ Company operates (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia Romania and Serbia). Journalists - from WAZ titles or other publications - from the print and online sectors can apply with texts and editorial content.

The final selection will be done by a jury including the Managing Directors of the WAZ Media Group, Bodo Hombach and Christian Nienhaus, IFJ General Secretary Aidan White, Hans Leyendecker, Editor-in-Chief of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" Paul-Josef Raue, Editor-in Chief of the "Braunschweiger Zeitung", the former Editor in Chief of the Hungarian financial newspaper HVG, Ivan Lipovecz, the Serbian "Vreme"-journalist Dejan Anastasijevic and the Croatian Journalism lecturer Gordana Vilovic. The Prize will be awared for the first time on the 3rd South East Europe Media Forum.

More information:
www.waz-mediengruppe.de
www.ifj.org

The WAZ Media Group, based in Essen, is one of the largest European media groups. It puplishes 33 daily and 18 weekly newspapers, 176 special-interest and trade magazines, 107 advertising papers and 400 customer magazines. In Germany, the group publishes eleven daily newspapers in North Rhine Westphalia, Thuringia, Lower Saxony and North Bavaria. The four NRW titles ‘Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung’ (WAZ), ‘Westfälische Rundschau’ (WR), ‘Neue Ruhr / Neue Rhein Zeitung’ (NRZ) and ‘Westfalenpost’ (WP) have a circulation of 1 million. The advertising papers of WVW/ORA are market leaders in Germany and Europe and have a weekly circulation of more than 5 million in NRW alone. The WAZ Media Group, which has 18.000 employees, has majority holdings in ten local radio broadcasting companies in North Rhine Westphalia and runs the largest regional Internet portal, DerWesten.de, in Germany. In the TV market, the WAZ Media Group has a holding in the German NRW.TV an the Albanian TV-Station ‘Vizion+’. In the magazine sector, the WAZ Group owns, among others, the Munich-based publishing house ‘Gong Verlag’ (‘Gong’, ‘TV direkt’), the newspaper publishing house ‘Westdeutscher Zeitschriften-Verlag’ (‘Neue Welt’, ‘Frau im Spiegel’) and numerous special interest magazines. Outside of Germany, the WAZ Media Group is active in the Austrian newspaper market (‘Kronen Zeitung’, ‘Kurier’), and in Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Rumania, Hungary and in Russia. The group also owns 16 printing works in Germany and abroad. In 2006, the group had a turnover of 1.741 billion Euro.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the world's largest organisation of journalists. First established in 1926, today the Federation represents around 600.000 members in more than 100 countries.  The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), is the regional organisation of the IFJ in Europe and it ist the largest organisation of journalists on the continent, representing about 260.000 journalists in over thirty countries. The IFJ and EFJ promote international action to defend press freedom and social justice through strong, free and independent organisations of journalists; foster trade unions to maintain or create environments in which quality media, ethical and independant journalism can be, become or return to be a reality.