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Draft:Fetisov Journalism Awards

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The Fetisov Journalism Awards (FJA) is a global journalism prize, awarded annually and open to journalists worldwide. With an annual prize fund in excess of 600,000US$ it caims to be the richest award of its kind.[1]

The main goal say the founders is "to promote outstanding examples of ethical, independent and responsible journalism as a public good". [2] The awards are granted in four categories: Outstanding Investigative Reporting, Outstanding Contribution to Peace, Excellence in Environmental Journalism, and Contribution to Civil Rights

The FJA has no entry fee and is open to journalists and news organisations on all platforms of media, including freelancers and consortia of journalists working across borders. Each category winner receives a cash award of 100,000 CHF (around 117,000US$) with a total prize fund of 520,000 CHF..[3]

The awards were launched in 2018 on the initiative of philanthropist and entrepreneur Gleb Fetisov and are funded from a charitable family foundation established for the purpose in Switzerland. According to a report in Forbes Russia by Anastasia Lyalikova, the idea of establishing a prize trust came from journalist Eva Merkacheva. Merkacheva told Forbes: “An idea emerged to establish a prize not unlike the Nobel Prize, but in journalism.” She said one of the reasons that prompted Fetisov to think about the award was the criminal case of fraud initiated against him in February 2014. "It was the journalists who drew attention to the trial against Fetisov. This prompted the billionaire to establish the award."[4]

According to dissident and independent Russian journalists, the Awards revive a tradition of Russian philanthropy dating back to the Nineteenth Century.[5]

The first annual award ceremony of the FJA took place in Lucerne in 2020. Subsequent Awards ceremonies have been held in Zurich, Dubai and in Istanbul, in 2024. The awards are presented on Earth Day, 22 April each year.

The winners in each category are selected from a shortlist prepared by the judges. The process of selection is subject to verification by an independent international auditing body. The award prize money is allocated to the winners who have full discretion to use it as they see fit.

The 2020, award winner Colombian María Teresa Ronderos, said the award was "an excessively generous prize, which for us is a small fortune. We decided right away that we would put it to the service of the same cause, that of civil rights, instead of sharing it among ourselves."[6]

FJA partners include the International Press Institute and the Ethical Journalism Network. The FJA has also launched a series of educational and topical discussions on current aspects of journalism, Winning Stories.

References

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  1. ^ Altıntaş, Barış (2020-01-24). "Fetisov Awards: A Russian billionaire just handed out the biggest-prize money for journalism". www.mlsaturkey.com. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  2. ^ "Fetisov Journalism Awards". fjawards.com. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  3. ^ "Call for Nominations for Fetisov Journalism Awards". GFMD. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  4. ^ "Деньги для четвертой власти: зачем миллиардер Глеб Фетисов учредил крупнейшую в мире премию для журналистов". Forbes.ru (in Russian). 2020-01-22. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  5. ^ "Meeting Nadezda Azhgikhina, a dissident Russian journalist: On Fetisov Journalism Awards". bianet.org. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  6. ^ Europa, El Siglo de (2021-07-22). "Los Premios Fetisov reconocen al periodismo de investigación". El siglo de Europa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-31.
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