European Press Prize 2024

The European Press Prize, the award for excellence in European journalism, is open for entries.

The European Press Prize is committed to encouraging journalism of the highest quality in Europe – because a healthy, well-informed public debate led by professional journalists is crucial for democracy and the rule of law.

By celebrating the many skilled professionals who operate in the field of independent quality journalism, the Prize wants to set an example of what quality journalism in Europe entails.

Eligibility Criteria

• Any journalist that works in or is from Europe is eligible to compete in the European Press Prize.
• Any of the 46 countries which make up the Council of Europe with the addition of Belarus and Russia are eligible.
• The articles can be in any language but should be accompanied by a synopsis in English (250 words maximum), explaining the theme of the article(s), together with an assessment of its impact and reception.

Categories

The European Press Prize is awarded in five different categories.

Investigative Reporting Award – For discovering and revealing facts, exposing hidden news to the public.

• Investigative reporting is one of journalism’s core duties. It means journalists – either alone or in teams – discovering or revealing facts that would otherwise remain hidden: stories of corruption or neglect in business, secret deals in politics and hidden crimes of war, from an international scale to that of one hospital or one person.
• Investigative journalism serves the public interest. It tells voters in democracies what they need to know. It is one definition of the purpose of journalism itself.

Distinguished Reporting Award – For exceptional reporting, telling a story in the best possible way.

• The worlds of investigation and brilliant description or narrative blend into each other. Great journalism can reveal and describe in a single article. But this is the category – in news, features, business and sport – where fine reportage and feature writing belong. Telling the story in the best possible way.

Public Discourse Award – For a remarkable textual interpretation of the world everyone live in. (Formerly known as the Opinion Award)

• This category is a celebration of reflection; awarding work that goes beyond the immediate job of reporting and analysing the news. It recognises the capacity of journalism to instigate debate, affect the thoughts and enrich the public discourse.
• Pieces entered in this category may range from thoughts about the state of the universe, identity, gender and relationship to the natural world, to analyses of international political or economical developments.
• Entries in this category can be written by columnists and commentators, but also by historians, cultural activists, philosophers and artists – anyone who is trying to interpret society from their own perspective. The work can take any journalistic form in exploring the way everyone live today. The judges will look particularly for cogency, originality and arguments that have an impact on public life.

Innovation Award – Celebrating Data Journalism, challenging the boundaries of journalism

• This category shifts focus each year as new trends and technical possibilities emerge. Network, they choose to celebrate Data Journalism especially with the Innovation Award: giving data journalism the attention it has claimed and deserved, showcasing the huge impact it has had on their newsrooms and debates.

Migration Journalism Award – For an acclaimed example of migration journalism

• believe that journalism and migration are deeply intertwined, and that migration journalism affects not only the scope and quality of the information received by the public, but also the way societies perceive and relate to migration.

Special Award – The judges award a special prize for excellent journalism to one striking entry which defies categories and disciplines.

• Each year European Press Prize judges have the power to single out some area of special excellence in European journalism. This decision is for the judges alone.
• No entry forms are required. But individual journalists are totally free to write to the European Press Prize director’s office suggesting suitable award recipients, and the judges will, of course, take such recommendations into account.

Benefits

• Each award is for 10,000 euros, to be spent wherever possible on a personal project that may, in turn, enrich the practice of journalism.
• The nominated works will be published on the website of the European Press Prize.

Rules

• Articles cannot exceed 5,000 words.
• For authors submitting articles for the Investigative Reporting Award, Distinguished Reporting Award, Innovation Award and Migration Journalism Award only one article may be submitted per author.
• For the Public Discourse Award, up to three articles may be submitted per author.
• For the 2024 edition of the European Press Prize, the publication date should be between December 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023.

Learn more and apply here.