The media El Faro and La Vanguardia, the photojournalist Santi Palacios and the writer and journalist Martín Caparrós were the winners of the 40th edition of the Ortega y Gasset Journalism Awards, according to the jury, which met this Wednesday at the EL PAÍS headquarters in Madrid.
He Ortega y Gasset Award in the category best story or investigative journalism it was for the report A family that owes nothing flees the exceptional regime, by Julia Gavarrete and published in El Faro, El Salvador. The work tells the story of a family fleeing this country for fear of being convicted for a crime whose members have already been acquitted.
The jury emphasized that it is “a story that exemplifies the complete defenselessness of citizens when democratic guarantees are removed”. Likewise, the jury noted that the report “focused on issues that can disappear in major conflicts, such as mental health or equality” and added the “credit of the journalist for getting the family to tell her her story despite the.” to tell about the complicated situation in which he lives”.
The work of El Faro is also affected, “a courageous medium that does excellent journalism in a very difficult environment”.
In the category of better media coverage the price has gone up Congo River. A journey from the springs to the mouth of the great river of Africa, by Xavier Aldekoa and published in La Vanguardia. This is a series of reports resulting from an eight-stop tour along the 4,700 kilometers of the Congo River.
Advice on the 2023 Ortega y Gasset journalism awards.
The jury described it as “a well composed story in which all the multimedia elements are perfectly integrated and which is also very homogeneous and of high quality in terms of text, photos and videos”. “Each piece is valuable journalistic content in its own right, and as a whole they form a transversal travel story that addresses issues as diverse as the environment or inequality.”
The jury also highlighted the technical part of the multimedia special, with elements that make it easier to read, and “underlined the value of the fact that most of the work falls on a single person”.
He Ortega y Gasset Award for Best Photography fell on the photojournalist Saint Palacios, for a picture taken in the Ukrainian city of Bucha for 5W magazine. It shows several corpses lying on a street. At least 420 civilians were killed in this Ukrainian city in April 2022.
The jury noted that the snapshot “captures the horror of everyday life in the midst of war and conveys the desolation and harshness of the conflict. It also shows the loneliness that surrounds death. It contains numerous details that shed light on what happened in Bucha. It is a great photo that has a high informative content.”
In this category, the jury wanted to make one special mention to all professionals covering the conflict in Ukraineas well as other wars.
He Ortega y Gasset Prize for Professional Career was for Martin Caparos. The Argentine journalist and author has been dedicated to commerce for 48 years and has appeared on radio, television and in the printed press. He has published chronicles, reports and even literary fiction in Clarín, New York Times, Internazionale and EL PAÍS.
The jury emphasized that Caparrós embodied the character of the “total journalist, one of the greatest exponents of the best Latin American chronicle”. In his almost five decades of experience, Caparrós has traveled and counted the American continent and Spain like few others, from the big cities to the smallest towns, with a vision that combines a defined literary style and high intellectuality. These components, along with his talent for story-discovery, have turned hundreds of little tales into universal tales.
This year’s jury, from left: Luis Gómez, journalist and member of the editorial board of EL PAÍS; Miguel Delibes de Castro, biologist; Soledad Alcaide, Defense Counsel for the Reader; Elvira Lindo, writer; Pepa Bueno, director of the newspaper; Isabel Calderón, journalist; Lucía Lijtmaer, writer and journalist, and Pedro Zuazua, communications director of the newspaper.Luis Sevillano
The jury for this edition consisted of Miguel Delibes de Castro, biologist; Lucía Lijtmaer, writer and journalist; Elvira Lindo, writer; Isabel Calderón, journalist; Pepa Bueno, director of EL PAÍS; Soledad Alcaide, Defense Counsel for the Reader; Luis Gómez, journalist and member of the newspaper’s editorial committee, and Pedro Zuazua, the newspaper’s communications director, who served as secretary of the non-voting jury.
Created in 1984 to commemorate the philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, the awards highlight the defense of freedoms, independence, rigor and honesty as essential virtues of journalism. Each category is endowed with 15,000 euros and the winners will also receive a work by Chillida.