Free Media Awards (formerly: Gerd Bucerius Prize for Free Press in Eastern Europe, ) is the press prizes awarded by the two foundations The Fritt Ord Foundation and the

ZEIT-Stiftung The charitable foundation ''Zeit-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius'' (house style: ZEIT-Stiftung) is registered in Hamburg. Its aim is to fund projects in research and scholarship, arts and culture, as well as education and training. It was fou ...

History and prize consideration

The prize was launched in 2000 by the ZEIT Foundation and was called the Gerd Bucerius Press Prizes for Eastern Europe (). The prize is named after the German politician and journalist

Gerd Bucerius Gerd Bucerius (19 May 1906 – 29 September 1995) was a German politician, publisher and journalist, one of the founding members of ''Die Zeit''. He is the namesake of the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg and of the Bucerius Kunst Forum, an art g ...

. In 2004, after the ZEIT Foundation began cooperation with the organisation

Freedom of Expression Foundation Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

(Fritt Ord), the prize was presented jointly. The prize is awarded to journalists and media in Eastern Europe, who are distinguished by their quality, professionalism and civil courage. Organisations consider nominations after consultation with external experts. Each year, an independent jury selects the winners based on these nominations. Three to five awards are awarded per year.

Jury

Alice Bota Alice Bota (born 15 December 1979) is a German journalist, presently working for the weekly ''Die Zeit'', and a book author. Born in Poland, she studied in both Germany and Poland and focuses on topics of Eastern Europe. Career Born in Krapkowi ...

—

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

journalist and writer * Ane Tusvik Bonde —

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

senior advisor at the Human Rights House Foundation * Juri Durkot —

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

journalist and translator * — Norwegian journalist,

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

correspondent * Martin Paulsen —

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

expert from the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen ( no, Universitetet i Bergen, ) is a research-intensive state university located in Bergen, Norway. As of 2019, the university has over 4,000 employees and 18,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 194 ...

* Silvia Stöber — German journalist specialising on Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia

Laureates

2000

* ''

Brestskiy Kurier ''Brestskiy Kurier'' (russian: Брестский курьер, translated as ''Brest Courier'') is a weekly Belarusian newspaper founded in 1913 under the name ''Brest-Litovskiy Kurier'', and re-founded in 1990 as ''Brestskiy Kurier''. The paper ...

'' — Belarusian newspaper * —

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

newspaper in the German language * ''

Veidas ''Veidas'' (literally: ''face'') was a weekly news magazine published in Lithuania from 1992 to 2017. It focused on the world news, politics and business. History and profile ''Veidas'' started publishing in 1992. The magazine was published b ...

'' — Lithuanian news magazine * — Russian journalist based in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

2001

Zerkalo Nedeli ''Dzerkalo Tyzhnia'' ( ua, Дзеркало тижня), usually referred to in English as the ''Mirror Weekly'', was one of Ukraine's most influential analytical weekly-publisher newspapers, founded in 1994.Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta ''Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta'' ('', BDG''; English: "Belarusian Business Newspaper", ) is a now-defunct, business-oriented daily Russian-language newspaper based in Minsk, Belarus, known for its criticisms of President Alexander Lukashenko's go ...

'' — Belarusian newspaper * — Russian newspaper

2002

* '' Novaya Gazeta'' — Russian newspaper * '' Vysoky Zamok'' — Ukrainian newspaper * '' Narodnaja Volya'' — Belarusian newspaper * ' —

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

newspaper *

Cristian Tudor Popescu Cristian Tudor Popescu (; often referred to as CTP; born October 1, 1956) is a Romanian journalist, essayist, engineer, short-story writer and political commentator. Author of science fiction stories during his youth, he also hosted talk shows f ...

—

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

journalist

2003

* — Russian newspaper *

Ekspres The EXtreme PREcision Spectrograph (EXPRES) is an optical fiber fed echelle instrument designed and built at the Yale Exoplanet Laboratory to be installed on the 4.3-meter Lowell Discovery Telescope operated by Lowell Observatory. It has a goal t ...

— Ukrainian newspaper * '' Belorusy i rynok'' (back in 2003 called "Belorusskiy Rynok" ) — Belarusian newspaper * Mikola Markevich () — Belarusian journalist

2004

* — Russian newspaper * — Russian newspaper * — Ukrainian newspaper * '' Intex-Press'' — Belarusian newspaper * 24 saati () —

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

newspaper *

Yulia Latynina Yulia Leonidovna Latynina (russian: Ю́лия Леони́довна Латы́нина; born 16 June 1966) is a Russian writer and journalist. She is a columnist for ''Novaya Gazeta'' and the most popular host at the Echo of Moscow radio stat ...

— Russian journalist and writer * Svetlana Kalinkina — Belarusian journalist

2005

* '' The New Times'' — Russian magazine * Chechenskoye obshchestvo () — Russian newspaper * BelaPAN — Belarusian news agency * '' Vitebskiy Kurier'' — Belarusian newspaper * Resonansi — Georgian newspaper * Semyon Novoprudsky () — Russian journalist

2006

* () — Belarusian newspaper * Russian-Chechen news agency — Russian news agency (now

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

-based) * Sovetskaya Kalmykiya segodnya () — Russian newspaper * Vyborgskie Vedomosti () — Russian newspaper * Fatima Tlisova — Russian journalist of Circassian origin * Veronika Shahova () — Russian journalist * ''

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...

'' — Ukrainian newspaper

2007

* Natalia Novozhilova () — Russian journalist * Inform Polis () — Russian newspaper *

Caucasian Knot Caucasian Knot (Russian: Кавказский узел, ''Kavkazkii Uzel'') is an online news site that covers the Caucasus region in English and Russian. It was established in 2001 and Grigory Shvedov is the editor-in-chief.

— Russian news portal * TURAN — Azerbaijani news agency * ''

Nasha Niva ''Nasha Niva'' ( be, Наша Ніва, Naša Niva, lit. "Our field") is one of the oldest Belarusian weekly newspapers, founded in 1906 and re-established in 1991. ''Nasha Niva'' became a cultural symbol, due to the newspaper's importance as a p ...

'' — Belarusian newspaper * CDMAG or CDMag — Belarusian media project

2008

* '' The New Times'' — Russian magazine * ''Moy gorod bez tsenzury'' () — Russian weekly newspaper *

Victoria Ivleva Victoria Markovna Ivleva-York (russian: Виктория Марковна Ивлева-Йорк) is a Russian photographer and political activist. In 1992 she was awarded the World Press Photo of the Year award in the Science & Technology category ...

— Russian photojournalist and correspondent * Elena Larionova () — Russian journalist * '' Hazeta Slonimskaya'' — Belarusian newspaper * ''Yezhednevnik'' () — Belarusian online portal * Rauf Mirgadirov — Azerbaijani journalist

2009

* Roman Shleinov — Russian journalist of the newspaper '' Novaya Gazeta'' *

Zoya Svetova Zoya Feliksovna Svetova (; born March 17, 1959) is a Russian journalist and human rights defender, producer, author of the documentary novel ''Innocent Found Guilty (''). Biography In 1982 she graduated from the Maurice Thorez Moscow State ...

— Russian journalist based in Moscow * ''

Novy Chas ''Novy Chas'' ( be, Новы Час; ''New Time'' in English) is an independent weekly newspaper published in Belarus. History and profile ''Novy Chas'' was established on 1 March 2007 as a successor to '' Zgoda'' which was shut down in 2007. Th ...

'' — newspaper of the city of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, Belarus * ''Batumelebi'' —

weekly newspaper * Marianna Grigoryan — freelance

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

journalist * ''Azadliq'' — Azerbaijani daily newspaper * Natik Javadli — journalist of the newspaper

2010

* Mikhail Beketov — journalist of the newspaper ''Khimkinskaya Pravda'' () * Arsenyevskiye Vesti — the newspaper of the city of

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

, Russia * ''Borisovskie novosti'' () — newspaper of the city of

Barysaw Barysaw ( be, Барысаў, ) or Borisov (russian: Борисов, ) is a city in Belarus near the Berezina River in the Minsk Region 74 km north-east from Minsk. Its population is around 145,000. History Barysaw is first mentioned in t ...

, Belarus * ''Liberali'' — Georgian magazine * — Azerbaijani journalist * — Azerbaijani network television *

Edik Baghdasaryan Edik Baghdasaryan ( hy, Էդիկ Բաղդասարյան) is a prominent investigative journalist known for his stories exposing government corruption in Armenia. He is the head of the Armenian Association of Investigative Journalists and editor o ...

— Armenian journalist

2011

* ''

Chernovik ''Chernovik'' (russian: Черновик for "Rough Draft") is a weekly newspaper published by Svoboda Slova (translated as "Freedom of Speech") and based in the Republic of Dagestan, North Caucasus region, Russia. Reporters Without Borders has des ...

'' — Dagestan weekly newspaper * Natalya Ivanishina — journalist of the newspaper ''Ust-Ilimskaya Pravda'' () * Marina Koktysh — journalist of the newspaper ''

Narodnaya Volya Narodnaya Volya ( rus, Наро́дная во́ля, p=nɐˈrodnəjə ˈvolʲə, t=People's Will) was a late 19th-century revolutionary political organization in the Russian Empire which conducted assassinations of government officials in an att ...

'' * — journalist of the Internet media * — Azerbaijani journalist * A1plus — Armenian news portal

2012

* Olga Romanova — blogger on

Echo of Moscow Echo of Moscow (russian: links=no, Эхо Москвы, translit=Ekho Moskvy) was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local r ...

and columnist for ''The New Times'' * magazine — Caucasian independent magazine * — editor-in-chief of the Gramadzyanskaya Alternative magazine and leading columnist for the Svobodnye novosti plus newspaper * ''

The Ukrainian Week ''The Ukrainian Week'' ( uk, Український Тиждень, translit=Ukrainskyi Tyzhden) is an illustrated weekly magazine covering politics, economics and the arts and aimed at the socially engaged Ukrainian-language reader. It provides ...

'' magazine *

Khadija Ismayilova Khadija Rovshan qizi Ismayilova, also Ismailova, ( az, Xədicə Rövşən qızı İsmayılova, pronounced ; born 27 May 1976) is an Azerbaijani investigative journalist and radio host who is currently working for the Azerbaijani service of Rad ...

— Azerbaijani journalist

2013

* Elena Kostyuchenko — special correspondent of the information department of '' Novaya Gazeta'' * — chief editor of the online portal * — socio-political weekly newspaper * Serhiy Leshchenko — Ukrainian political journalist * — Azerbaijani journalist * Mehman Huseynov — Azerbaijani journalist

2014

* — Russian journalist *

Dozhd TV Rain ( rus, Дождь, Dozhd, p=ˈdoʂtʲ, a=Ru-дождь (doʂtʲ).ogg; stylized ДОДЬ) is an independent Russian television channel. It was launched in 2010 in Russia, and since 2022 was based in Latvia. It focuses on news, discussio ...

— Russian independent TV channel *

Tetiana Chornovol Tetiana Mykolayivna Chornovol ( uk, Тетя́на Микола́ївна Чорново́л; born 4 June 1979 in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union) is a Ukrainian journalist and civic activist, and one of the leaders in the Euromaidan protest ...

— Ukrainian journalist * — Ukrainian journalist *

Mustafa Nayyem Mustafa Masi Nayyem ( uk, Мустафа Найєм, ps, مصطفی نعیم) is an Afghan-Ukrainian journalist, MP, lecturer at the Kyiv School of Economics, and public figure who was influential in sparking the Euromaidan in Ukraine. Formerly, ...

— Ukrainian journalist * Alexander Klaskovsky () — Belarusian journalist * Objective TV — Azerbaijani internet channel * Epress.am — Armenian news portal

2015

* Netgazeti — Georgian news portal * — Ukrainian journalist and editor-in-chief of the online newspaper Ostro V * — Ukrainian news agency * — Ukrainian journalist * — Russian regional socio-political newspaper *

Galina Timchenko Galina Viktorovna Timchenko ( rus, link=no, Гали́на Ви́кторовна Ти́мченко; born 8 May 1962) is a Russian journalist and the executive editor and owner of ''Meduza' Early life and education Timchenko was born in Moscow ...

— Russian journalist, editor-in-chief and the founder of the '' Meduza'' newspaper

2016

* (Our Money) — Ukrainian website *

Elena Milashina Elena Milashina (Russian: Милашина, Елена; born 1978) is a Russian investigative journalist for '' Novaya Gazeta.'' In October 2009, she was awarded Human Rights Watch's Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism. Biography ...

— Russian journalist * Seymur Hazi — Azerbaijani editor and commentator

2017

* — Russian caricature artist * — Russian journalist * Zaruhi Mejlumyan — Armenian journalist * Meydan TV — Azerbaijani media organisation

2018

* ''

Belarusian Partisan ''Belarusian Partizan'' (russian: Белорусский Партизан) is a Belarusian Internet newspaper, founded in 2005 by the journalist Pavel Sheremet. It is published mainly in Russian and Belarusian. On December 14, 2017 Belarusian P ...

'' — Belarusian newspaper * — Russian newspaper * Chai Khana — Georgian media platform

2019

* '' The Insider'' — Russian online newspaper * — Ukrainian magazine * Hafiz Babali — Azerbaijani journalist *

CivilNet The Civilitas Foundation ( hy, Սիվիլիթաս հիմնադրամ) is an Armenian non-profit organization based in Yerevan, and established in October 2008 by Armenia's former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vartan Oskanian. It is a development ...

— Armenian media platform * 7x7 — Russian regional online newspaper and blog

2020

* MediaZona — Russian media outlet *

Proekt Proekt (), also known as Agentstvo (), is an independent Russian media outlet specialising in investigative journalism. History and activities Since 2001, has worked for '' Gazeta.Ru'', ''Forbes'', Interfax, RBK and Dozhd as editor-in-chief ...

— Russian media outlet * Aziz Karimov — Azerbaijani journalist * Stanislav Aseyev — Ukrainian journalist * ''Schemes'' () — broadcast on Ukrainian television

2021

* Katsiaryna Barysevich – Belarusian journalist of TUT.BY *

Katsyaryna Andreeva Katsyaryna Andreeva ( be, Кацярына Андрэева; russian: Катерина Андреева; real name: Katsyaryna Andreevna Bakhvalava; be, Кацярына Андрэеўна Бахвалава; born November 2, 1993) is a Belarusian ...

– Belarusian journalist of

Belsat TV Belsat ( be, Белсат; pl, Biełsat; stylised as B☰LSAT) is a Polish free-to-air satellite television channel aimed at Belarus. The channel is a subsidiary of TVP S.A. From the outset, it has been co-funded by the Polish Ministry of Fo ...

* Darya Chultsova – Belarusian journalist of

* Natallia Lubneuskaya – Belarusian journalist of

* TUT.BY – Belarusian media outlet *

Belarusian Association of Journalists The Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) ( be, Беларуская асацыяцыя журналістаў, Biełaruskaja Asacyjacyja Žurnalistaǔ; russian: Белорусская ассоциация журналистов) is a Belar ...

2022

* Mstyslav Chernov - Ukrainian photographer * Yevgeniy Maloletka - Ukrainian photographer *

Nataliya Gumenyuk Nataliya Petrivna Gumenyuk ( uk, Наталія Петрівна Гуменюк; alternate Romanization: Natalia Humeniuk; born 1983) is a Ukrainian journalist who specializes in foreign affairs and conflict reporting, and an author of three books. ...

- Ukrainian journalist and author * Andriy Dubchak - Ukrainian photo and video reporter * Vladyslav Yesypenko - Ukrainian journalist and political prisoner on Russian-occupied Crimea * Zaborona - Ukrainian online newspaper"Zaborona Becomes a Laureate of the Free Media Awards 2022
Zaborona, 19 August 2022

References

{{Reflist Arts awards in Germany Human rights awards Russian awards Journalism awards