A1+ to receive Fritt Ord Honorary Award
A1+ has received the first Gerd Bucerius Prize "Free Press of Eastern Europe" for its efforts to promoting media freedom of speech despite reprisals and financial difficulties.
The Press Prizes for 2011 will be handed out at the Norwegian Nobel Institute on Wednesday, June 15, at 9.30 a.m. local time.
The internet portal A1+ is among the six awardees chosen by an 8-member independent jury. The news portal was nominated by Human Rights House, Oslo, and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.
This year, the Fritt Ord Foundation, Oslo, Norway, and the Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius "ZEIT" Foundation, Hamburg, Germany, will award prizes to Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Belarus, Russian weekly "Chernovik" and the website of "A1+" TV Company (www.a1plus.am).
Winners of the previous years, representatives from funding agencies and members of the jury have gathered in Norway to participate in the spectacular ceremony.
Talking to A1+ Norwegian journalist Gro Holm, a member of the jury, said he was surprised how quickly A1+ was able to become a leading online media, especially after the closure of A1+ TV Company. He also hailed A1+'s efforts to return to its "roots" as an Internet TV.
It is due to mention that the news portal was awarded for covering the activities of the opposition, government and parliament, devoting a devote a great deal of attention to social problems, the situation in the regions and civilian organizations, as well as for its efforts to deliver independent assessments and commentaries, and direct and nuanced broadcasts on the Internet.
The Annual Gerd Bucerius Prize Free Press of Eastern Europe was established by "ZEIT" Foundation in 2000 to encourage journalists, "who, despite official pressures and economic difficulties, defy censorship in all its manifestations including self-censorship". Since 2004 this award has been granted in collaboration with Norwegian Fritt Ord Foundation.
The A1+ website is the first Armenian media outlet to receive the prize.
Freelance Armenian journalists Marianna Grigoryan and Edik Baghdasaryan won the prize in 2009 and 2010 respectively.
