DW-WORLD Wins European Online Journalism Award
July 9, 2003
DW-WORLD reporters Andreas Tzortzis and Arne Woll on Thursday won the 2003 European Online Journalism Award for "Best News Story" for Deutsche Welle's coverage of the European Union's eastward expansion.
The special series cited for the award, "Europe Goes East," examined the challenges and opportunities faced by the European Union as it expands its membership from 15 to 25 countries in 2004, bringing on board the many former communist Eastern bloc states. The accession of countries like the Czech Republic, Hungary and Estonia, marks one of the last chapters in post-Cold War unification and one of the most important moments in the European Union's nearly 50 years of history.
But with struggling economies, internal divisions and growing pains, the road to Brussels has been anything but easy for these countries. In their series, Tzortzis and Woll addressed the challenges facing each and the roles they are poised to play in the new Europe.
Europe's most prestigious online award
The European Online Journalism awards considered 1,014 entries from across Europe that were pared down to 21 winners by 118 judges from media organizations and universities in 20 European countries. The award is considered the highest honor in online journalism in Europe. Other winners included the BBC, the Financial Times, the Danish School of Journalism and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
Created by journalists for journalists, the NetMedia EOJ awards were launched in 1999 to recognize outstanding achievements in European online journalism. This year's award ceremony was held in Barcelona, Spain.