(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an 8 August 2001 IAPA press release: IAPA Announces Winners of Awards for Excellence in Journalism MIAMI, Florida (August 8, 2001) -The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) announced today that it will present the IAPA Grand Prize for Press Freedom to the Peruvian newspapers El Comercio, La República and La […]
(IAPA/IFEX) – The following is an 8 August 2001 IAPA press release:
IAPA Announces Winners of Awards for Excellence in Journalism
MIAMI, Florida (August 8, 2001) -The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) announced today that it will present the IAPA Grand Prize for Press Freedom to the Peruvian newspapers El Comercio, La República and La Industria de Trujillo and magazine Caretas for their outstanding battle with the Fujimori regime for freedom of the press in their country. It also announced the winners of the 2001 IAPA Awards for excellence in journalism.
The Peruvian publications battled harassment, attacks and attempts at intimidation by the administration of Alberto Fujimori for their criticism of its actions and succeeded in overcoming the pressure and threats against them. The award is in recognition of their unswerving commitment to the truth, accuracy, impartiality and fairness.
The IAPA Awards Committee, chaired by Saturnino Herrero of the Buenos Aires, Argentina, newspaper Clarín, also selected winners of the awards of journalistic excellence in 10 categories. The awards, to be presented during the IAPA’s 57th General Assembly in Washington, D.C., October 12-16, consist of a cash prize of $2,000 and a plaque or diploma.
“Many of the winning entries dealt with issues of great impact, especially in the countries of Latin America, for example those dealing with investigation into corruption, human rights and community issues. They excel not only because of the topics but in the high quality of their content,” Herrero said. “The large number of entries in this year’s competition demonstrated the high level journalism has reached in the Americas.”
Following are the awards categories and the names of the winners:
Inter-American Relations, sponsored by La Prensa, Managua, Nicaragua, to John Otis, Houston Chronicle, Houston, Texas, for his excellent narrative titled “The Drug Quagmire” on the impact of the drug problem on Colombia. The article takes a global view and deals with its relationship with the United States.
Human Rights and Community Service, sponsored by Panamá-América, Panama City, Panama; El Comercio, Lima, Peru; Organizacion Publicataria S.A., San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and La Nacion, Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Marisa Folgato and Andrea Portella, O Estado, São Paulo, Brazil, for their series of articles that go to the heart of good journalism – the hard-working and “normal” other face of the shanty towns, as opposed to their usual image of marginalization and crime.
Honorable Mentions to Marconi de Souza, A Tarde, Salvador, Brazil, for his investigative reporting that uncovered the impunity with which a police officer arrested and tortured six people over a 10-year period. Also to Silvia Salek, Lúcio Natalício, Marcello Gazzaneo and Sergio Ramallo, O Dia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for their investigation into the arrest and torture by police in an extortion racket and the wide repercussion the case had following its publication. Also to Matt Moffet, The Wall Street Journal, New York, for his story on the life of three women, former supporters of the Fujimori regime. The article details the lives of the women, how they overcame the persecution by the government and their efforts to forge a new life.
The Newspaper in Education, sponsored by Hoy, Quito, Ecuador, and Novedades de Quintana Roo, Cancún, Mexico, to Liliana Esther Peralta and María Laura Moron of Diario Cronica, Chubut, Argentina, for their 12-year-old program that embraces seminars for teachers, workshops for children and teenagers, and publication of a weekly supplement.
Opinion, sponsored by El Mercurio, Santiago, Chile, to Claudia Maria Luiz dos Santos, Daniela Sholl, Fabio Varsano, Marcello Gazzaneo, Mirtes Guimarães, Silvia Salek, O Dia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for their special supplement stating the facts, with a strong editorial content, and backing this up with op-ed pieces.
Honorable Mention to Pilar Marrero, La Opinion, Los Angeles, California, for her viewpoint columns on various U.S. social issues, with particular reference to the Latino community.
News coverage, sponsored by El Nacional, Caracas, Venezuela, and O Estado de S. Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, jointly to Alfredo Gutiérrez, Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina, for his series covering allegations of bribery in the Argentine Senate to obtain passage of a bill, and to Tim Golden, The New York Times, New York, for his excellent story, meticulous and very well constructed, on the Elián González affair.
Honorable Mentions to Miriam Larra Bujalance, Prensa Libre, Guatemala City, Guatemala, for a great piece recording a session of Congress in which a vote was taken on the budget, demonstrating an error in the published version of the law for which 21 legislators from the governing party were prosecuted. Also to Valéria Rossi and team members, O Estado, São Paulo, Brazil, for an investigative piece on people who live in sewers, under bridges, etc. – the homeless.
In-Depth Reporting, sponsored by The Miami Herald, Miami, Florida, jointly to Julia María Urrunaga Pasco-Font, Javier Casas Chardon, Luis Enrique Flor Zapler, Miguel Ramírez Puelles, El Comercio, Lima, Peru, for a great investigative piece on the falsification of signatures for submission to the Electoral Board for Fujimori to seek a third presidential term; to Roberto Fonseca, Eduardo Marenco, Jorge Loaisiga, La Prensa, Managua, Nicaragua, for an investigation carried out in three countries (Nicaragua, Panama and the United States) that uncovered corruption, political favoritism and political pressure in the tax office, and to Eduardo Auler, Extra, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for an impressive investigation revealing how public schools, one of Brazil’s most cherished institutions, are involved in drug abuse thanks to the pervasiveness of drug trafficking and neglect by the authorities that rather than serving education fosters drug abuse.
Honorable Mentions to Norman Navarro Cruz, El Imparcial, Hermosillo, Mexico, for his impressive series of articles on escapes from and lack of control in state prisons, resulting in the resignation of the chief wardens of three penitentiaries and a score of other officials. Also to Silvina Climis, Héctor Gambini, Lucas Guagnini, Leonardo Torresi, Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina, for their report on and investigation into oral proceedings concerning a bloody mutiny at a high security prison in Argentina. Also to Ana Beatriz Magno, Jornal Correio Braziliense, Brasília, Brazil, for her outstanding investigative work on the survivors of a massacre. Also to Marconi de Souza, A Tarde, Salvador, Brazil, his investigation into the murder of 10 journalists in the 1990s in the Brazilian state of Bahia and attacks, in varying degrees of seriousness, on 12 newsmen.
Feature Writing, sponsored by El Comercio, Quito, Ecuador, and McClatchy Newspapers, Sacramento, California, jointly to Yuri Lorena Giménez, La Nacion, San José, Costa Rica, for perfect feature in terms of quality and quantity of the writing and the topic, and to Carmen Duarte, Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Arizona, for her extraordinary 36-part series about the courage, strength and faith of a Latin woman living in Arizona.
Honorable Mention to Matt Moffett, The Wall Street Journal, New York, for a series of features on a variety of topics concerning Latin America, from the Chicanos to history and human rights.
Photography, sponsored by El País, Montevideo, Uruguay, and ABC Color, Asuncion, Paraguay, to Martín Acosta, Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina, for photography capturing the joy of the Argentine women’s hockey team on scoring in the Sydney Olympics.
Honorable Mentions to Julio Campos, La Prensa Gráfica, San Salvador, El Salvador, for a photograph of the Aguacaliente River showing how polluted it is; Epitacio Pessoa, O Estado de S. Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, for a photograph of a little boy in a shantytown doorway looking at the hand of a police officer holding a gun as he goes after drug traffickers, and Alan Díaz, The Associated Press, for the picture that went around the world showing the moment at which a federal agent in assault gear aims his gun at the fisherman holding Elián González as they hid in a closet in a Miami house.
Cartoon, sponsored by El Tiempo, Bogotá, Colombia, to Alonso Núñez Rebaza, El Comercio, Lima, Peru, for numerous cartoons, in particular one showing “Montesinos” surprising Santa Claus.
Honorable Mention to José Carlos Santos, O Estado, São Paulo, Brazil, for his caricature of Alan Greenspan and his effect on the global economy.
Infographics, sponsored by Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Xabier Díaz de Ceiro and Claudia Gastaldo, El Comercio, Lima, Peru, for their series of infographics on Peruvian literature classics.
Honorable Mention to Oscar Corvera and Maurcio Duarte, La Prensa Gráfica, San Salvador, El Salvador, for their detail infographics on archeological sites in El Salvador.
The jury for the 2001 IAPA Awards for Excellence in Journalism was made up, in addition to Herrero, of Robert Rivard, San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, Texas; Eduardo Urueña, El Popular, Toronto, Canada; Carlos Besanson, Diario del Viajero, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bill Casey, Dow Jones Co., New York, New York; María Ofelia Cerro Moral, La Industria of Trujillo and Chiclayo, Lima, Perú; Felipe T. Edwards, El Mercurio, Santiago, Chile; Democrito Dummar, O Povo, Ceará, Brazil; Francisco Fascetto, El Día, La Plata, Argentina; Marcelo Pablo Gallardo R., Diario Correo de Punta del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay; Gerardo García Gamboa, Novedades de Mérida, Mérida, Mexico; Alejandro González P., El Rancagüino, Rancagua, Chile; André Luis Jungblut, Gazeta do Sul, Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil; J. Gerardo Lopez, La Opinion, Los Angeles, California; Michael McGuire, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois; Francisco Montes, El Diario de Cuyo, Cuyo, Argentina; Laurence O’Donnell, The Wall Street Journal, New York, New York; Fernando M. Portella, Editora O Día, Río de Janeiro, Brazil; Christopher S. Roberts, The Gleaner, Kingston, Jamaica; Edward Schumacher, The Wall Street Journal Americas, New York, New York; Paul K. Scripps, E.W. Scripps Company, San Diego, California; and Luis Humberto Tarsitano, Revista Elle, Buenos Aires, Argentina. También colaboraron Elizabeth Tuma de Besanson, Diario del Viajero, Buenos Aires, Argentina, y Roberto Fernández, Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Also collaborating were Elizabeth Tuma de Besanson, Diario del Viajero, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Roberto Fernández, Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
