Free Media Awards
Free Media Awards is the press prizes awarded by the two foundations The Fritt Ord Foundation and the ZEIT-Stiftung.
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. In 2004, after the ZEIT Foundation began cooperation with the organisation Freedom of Expression Foundation, 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 — Polish-German journalist and writer
- Ane Tusvik Bonde — Norwegian senior advisor at the Human Rights House Foundation
- Juri Durkot — Ukrainian journalist and translator
- — Norwegian journalist, NRK correspondent
- Martin Paulsen — Eastern Europe expert from the University of Bergen
- Silvia Stöber — German journalist specialising on Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia
Laureates
2000
Brestskiy Kurier — Belarusian newspaper- Königsberger Express — Russian newspaper in the German languageVeidas — Lithuanian news magazine
- Veronika Koutsyllo — Russian journalist based in Moscow
2001
- Zerkalo Nedeli — Ukrainian newspaper
- Asya Tretyuk — Belarusian journalistBelorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta — Belarusian newspaper
- — Russian newspaper
2002
Novaya Gazeta — Russian newspaperVysoky Zamok — Ukrainian newspaperNarodnaja Volya — Belarusian newspaper — Bulgarian newspaper- Cristian Tudor Popescu — Romanian journalist
2003
- — Russian newspaper
- Ekspres — Ukrainian newspaperBelorusy i rynok — Belarusian newspaper
- Mikola Markevich — Belarusian journalist
2004
- — Russian newspaper
- — Russian newspaper
- — Ukrainian newspaperIntex-Press — Belarusian newspaper
- 24 saati — Georgian newspaper
- Yulia Latynina — Russian journalist and writer
- Svetlana Kalinkina — Belarusian journalist
2005
The New Times — Russian magazine- Chechenskoye obshchestvo — Russian newspaper
- BelaPAN — Belarusian news agencyVitebskiy Kurier — Belarusian newspaper
- Resonansi — Georgian newspaper
- Semyon Novoprudsky — Russian journalist
2006
- — Belarusian newspaper
- Russian-Chechen news agency — Russian news agency
- Sovetskaya Kalmykiya segodnya — Russian newspaper
- Vyborgskie Vedomosti — Russian newspaper
- Fatima Tlisova — Russian journalist of Circassian origin
- Veronika Shahova — Russian journalistUkrayinska Pravda — Ukrainian newspaper
2007
- Natalia Novozhilova — Russian journalist
- Inform Polis — Russian newspaper
- Caucasian Knot — Russian news portal
- TURAN — Azerbaijani news agencyNasha Niva — Belarusian newspaper
- CDMAG or CDMag — Belarusian media project
2008
The New Times — Russian magazineMoy gorod bez tsenzury — Russian weekly newspaper- Victoria Ivleva — Russian photojournalist and correspondent
- Elena Larionova — Russian journalistHazeta Slonimskaya — Belarusian newspaperYezhednevnik — Belarusian online portal
- Rauf Mirgadirov — Azerbaijani journalist
2009
- Roman Shleinov — Russian journalist of the newspaper Novaya Gazeta
- Zoya Svetova — Russian journalist based in MoscowNovy Chas — newspaper of the city of Minsk, BelarusBatumelebi — Georgian weekly newspaper
- Marianna Grigoryan — freelance Armenian 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, RussiaBorisovskie novosti — newspaper of the city of Barysaw, BelarusLiberali — Georgian magazine
- — Azerbaijani journalist
- — Azerbaijani network television
- Edik Baghdasaryan — Armenian journalist
2011
Chernovik — Dagestan weekly newspaper- Natalya Ivanishina — journalist of the newspaper Ust-Ilimskaya Pravda
- Marina Koktysh — journalist of the newspaper Narodnaya Volya
- — journalist of the Internet media
- — Azerbaijani journalist
- A1plus — Armenian news portal
2012
- Olga Romanova — blogger on Echo of Moscow 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 newspaperThe Ukrainian Week magazine
- Khadija Ismayilova — 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
- TV Rain — Russian independent channel
- Tetiana Chornovol — Ukrainian journalist
- — Ukrainian journalist
- Mustafa Nayyem — 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 — Russian journalist, editor-in-chief and the founder of the Meduza newspaper
2016
- — Ukrainian website
- Elena Milashina — 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 newspaper- — Russian newspaper
- Chai Khana — Georgian media platform
2019
The Insider — Russian online newspaper- — Ukrainian magazine
- Hafiz Babali — Azerbaijani journalist
- CivilNet — Armenian media platform
- 7x7 — Russian regional online newspaper and blog
2020
- MediaZona — Russian media outlet
- Proekt — Russian media outlet
- Aziz Karimov — Azerbaijani journalist
- Stanislav Aseyev — Ukrainian journalistSchemes — broadcast on Ukrainian television
2021
- Katsiaryna Barysevich – Belarusian journalist of TUT.BY
- Katsyaryna Andreeva – Belarusian journalist of Belsat TV
- Darya Chultsova – Belarusian journalist of Belsat TV
- Natallia Lubneuskaya – Belarusian journalist of Nasha Niva
- TUT.BY – Belarusian media outlet
- Belarusian Association of Journalists
2022
- Mstyslav Chernov - Ukrainian photographer
- Yevgeniy Maloletka - Ukrainian photographer
- Nataliya Gumenyuk - 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