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CJFE hosts 12th annual International Press Freedom Awards gala
Iranian journalist, Russian independent newspaper and Canadian investigative reporter to be honoured.
CJFE is delighted to announce the winners of the 2009 International Press Freedom Awards and The Tara Singh Hayer Memorial Award:
| Jila Baniyaghoub, Iran<Back to the top> |
Jila Baniyaghoub is an Iranian journalist, editor, and prominent women’s rights activist. Baniyaghoub edits Kanoon Zanan Irani (Focus on Iranian Women), a news website focused on women’s rights and is also a reporter for newspaper Sarmayeh. She was recently arrested on June 20, 2009 in the latest media crackdown in Iran following disputed election results.
Baniyaghoub covers government and social oppression, especially as these issues relate to women. She has traveled and written about the lives of women and refugees in conflict. The topics she covers have made her a target; Baniyaghoub has been beaten, arrested and imprisoned several times over the years. She has lost jobs because she refused to censor her material. She has also lost employment when media outlets have been closed or banned. Baniyaghoub has also experienced discrimination in the newsroom because of her gender. Baniyaghoub was awarded the Courage in Journalism Prize by the International Women's Media Foundation in 2009.
| Novaya Gazeta, Russia<Back to the top> |
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| Novaya Gazeta front page, Jan 21 09, honouring journalist Anastasia Baburova, killed Jan 19 09. |
The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta is one of the only independent news outlets in mainstream media in Russia. It has gained recognition for being one of the country’s only sources for accurate news.
Unfortunately it has also become famous in recent years because of its staff members being killed, including Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist and author who was shot dead in an elevator in her apartment building on October 7, 2006.
Politkovskaya had been receiving threats since 1999 when she published articles claiming that the Russian army had violated human rights in Chechnya. Politkovskaya is among the many Novaya Gazeta journalists and media workers who have put their lives in danger in order to report the news.
The staff at the newspaper never hesitate to investigate and publish articles that are critical of the state, unearth corruption or expose human rights abuses.
However, they now take extra safety precautions, such as providing armed security, in order to protect their journalists.
| ABOUT INTERNATIONAL PRESS FREEDOM AWARDS |
Each year, two International Press Freedom Awards are given in recognition of the courage and determination of foreign journalists who regularly face obstacles in order to get the news out. Whether the threats be judicial, physical or otherwise, these dedicated and principled individuals continue to work tirelessly - often risking their lives - so that the news media remain free.
| TARA SINGH HAYER AWARD |
Terry Gould is a Brooklyn-born investigative journalist based in Canada who focuses on organized crime and social issues. Gould is a former magazine editor, as well as television editor, programmer and writer. He spent the past four years researching and writing the book “Murder without Borders: Dying for the Story in the World’s Most Dangerous Places” (2009). This book portrays the lives of seven brave journalists killed because of their work. In order to collect his information he travelled to the journalists’ countries, interviewed their families, friends and sometimes their murderers. “Murder Without Borders” looks at impunity, media repression, and censorship in some of the most dangerous countries for journalists: Colombia, Russia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Iraq.
While researching “Murder Without Borders,” Gould often investigated criminal power structures in countries where he did not speak the language and where the criminals he was investigating were still at large. He did this work with limited resources; he and his wife paid for many things from their savings. He put himself at risk by looking into stories that had cost other journalists their lives. Gould’s work draws attention to the important work journalists do and the danger and impunity they face in many countries for reporting the news.
| ABOUT TARA SINGH HAYER AWARD |
CJFE awards The Tara Singh Hayer Memorial Award to recognize a Canadian journalist who, through his or her work, has made an important contribution to reinforcing and promoting the principle of freedom of the press in this country or elsewhere.