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On 19 October, the European parliament announced the winners of its 2011 Prize for Journalism, which was attributed to France’s Romain Gubert (Print), Italy’s Massimiliano Nespola (Web), Finland’s Tero Koskinen (Television) and Germany’s Steffen Wurzel (Radio). Expressen reports that the four journalists were selected for their contribution to a “better understanding of EU institutions and policies” -- a fact which attracts the ire of the Swedish tabloid, which is not an admirer of Brussels. “The prize is unreasonable” because “the goal of journalism is not to enhance understanding of policies adopted by the EU, or its Byzantine bureacracy, but to investigate and to explain, which is an entirely different matter.”
“The EU does a lot of things that it should not do,” continues Expressen. “Presenting awards to journalists is one of these. It is not possible to safeguard the freedom of the press if at the same time you decide to reward those who write the ‘right things’ about the ‘right subjects.’”
Update October 21, 2011 - According to the blog La com européenne, the European Parliament has decided to abandon its prize for journalism.
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