Vladimir Herzog Award Committee announces winners of 42nd edition
For the first time, the award ceremony will be staged remotely on Sunday, October 25
On Saturday, October 17, the Organizing Committee of the Vladimir Herzog Journalism Award for Amnesty and Human Rights announced, in a public online session, the winners of its 42nd edition. The session was recorded and can be watched at this link.
The 42nd edition had a record number of entries: 1,059 productions, divided into six categories: Art (illustrations, caricatures and cartoons), photography and written, video, audio and multimedia journalism.
The Organizing Committee recognized the importance of the work of the cartoonist Renato Aroeira, who depicted President Bolsonaro graffitiing a red cross to turn it into a swastika, for which he was threatened by Justice Minister, André Mendonça, with charges under the National Security Law. He and the 109 other professionals who registered their work in the rolling cartoon category will receive the Vladimir Herzog Rolling Highlight Award, which was created especially for this year’s edition by the committee.
Another issue that was discussed by the jury was the photo taken by Joedson Alves for the news agency EFE, of an indigenous woman holding a mask, together with four other indigenous women. The photographer traveled to Boa Vista, in the state of Roraima, at the invitation of the Ministry of Defense, to witness the delivery by the Army of medicines, hand sanitizer and masks to a Yanomami village. After the photo was selected as one of the finalists, civil society and indigenous organizations approached the Organizing Committee to inform that the photo had been taken without the women’s permission.
A long debate then ensued on journalistic ethics and respect for human rights, and the jury decided to disqualify the photo. “I vote to disqualify the image for the disrespect of human rights as part of an award on human rights,” said Cristina Zahar, executive secretary of the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji).
With the change in the regulations for the award, which starting this year accepts entries from directors of the organizations that form the Organizing Committee, Zahar recused herself from voting in the Multimedia and Text categories. The special report “Ameaças, milícia e morte: a nova cara do Velho Chico” (Threats, militia and death: the new face of Old Chico), the winner in the Multimedia category, was produced by the journalist Daniel Camargos, who serves on the Audit Committee of Abraji. In the Text category, the special report “Fragmentos de vida e morte” (Fragments of life and death), which received an honorable mention, was written by the Abraji director Amanda Rossi.
The Organizing Committee of the award is made up of 13 institutions besides Abraji: the United Nations Information Center in Brazil (UNIC Rio); the Justice and Peace Commission of the Archdiocese of São Paulo; Conectas Human Rights; the School of Communication and Art of the University of São Paulo (ECA/USP); the Brazilian Association of Interdisciplinary Studies on Communication (Intercom); the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association; the São Paulo Chapter of the Brazilian Bar Association; the São Paulo State Police Ombudsman’s Office; the Periferia em Movimento communication group; the Union of Professional Journalists of the State of São Paulo; the National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ); the Brazilian Press Association (ABI); and the Vladimir Herzog Institute;
For the first time, the award ceremony will be staged remotely on Sunday, October 25, from 6 pm to 8 pm. One day before the event, on Saturday, October 24, the winners of the award will participate in a virtual conversation circle about the stories behind their reporting.
See the winners below:
Art
WINNER
Title: Infernópolis / Hell City (link)
Media outlet: Folha de S. Paulo
Author: Laerte Coutinho
HONORABLE MENTION
Title: E daí? / So what? (link)
Media outlet: Dom Total
Author: Eduardo dos Reis Evangelista (Duke)
VLADIMIR HERZOG ROLLING HIGHLIGHT AWARD (valid only for 2020)
Title: Charge Continuada / Rolling Cartoon (link)
Intervention in support of the cartoonist Reinaldo Aroeira.
Photography
WINNER
Title: Durante crise da Covid-19, mais de 30% dos óbitos ocorrem em casa em Manaus / During the Covid-19 crisis, more than 30% of deaths occur at home in Manaus (link)
Media outlet: O Globo
Author: Yan Boechat
HONORABLE MENTION
Title: Presidente Viral / Viral President (link)
Media outlet: O Estado de S. Paulo
Author: Gabriela Biló
Audio
WINNER
Title: As histórias de Mercedes Baptista, Consuelo Rios, Bethania Gomes e Ingrid Silva / The stories of Mercedes Baptista, Consuelo Rios, Bethania Gomes and Ingrid Silva (link)
Media outlet: O Globo
Author: Tiago Rogero
Team: Victor Rodrigues Dias and Felipe Kneipp
HONORABLE MENTION
Title: Confinamento: 3 meses depois / Confinement: 3 months later (link)
Media outlet: Finitude
Author: Juliana Kunc Dantas
Multimedia
WINNER
Title: Ameaças, milícia e morte: a nova cara do Velho Chico / Threats, militia and death: the new face of Old Chico (link)
Media outlet: Repórter Brasil
Author: Daniel Camargos
Team: Mariana Della Barba, Ana Magalhães, Fernando Martinho, Erick Araújo, Flávio Marinho, Otávio Burin and Rafael Ramos
HONORABLE MENTION
Title: Arsenal Global / Global Arsenal (link)
Media outlet: Intercept Brasil
Author: Cecília Olliveira
Editing: Leandro Demori
Text
WINNER
Title: FBI e a Lava-Jato (série Vaza Jato) / FBI and Car Wash (Car Wash Leaks series) (link)
Media outlet: Agência Pública and Intercept Brasil
Author: Natalia Viana
Team: Mariam Saleh, Andrew Fishman, Alice Maciel, Rafael Neves, Marina Amaral, Bruno Fonseca and Larissa Fernandes
HONORABLE MENTION
Title: Fragmentos de vida e morte / Fragments of life and death (link)
Media outlet: revista piauí
Writer(s): Amanda Rossi
Video
WINNER
Title: Os defensores da floresta / The defenders of the forest (link)
Media outlet: Fantástico/TV Globo
Reporter: Marcelo Canellas
Team: Alan Graça Ferreira, Marcos Silva, Cristine Kist, Dimitri Caldeira and Wesley Francisco
HONORABLE MENTION
Title: The faces of racism (link)
Media outlet: Globo Minas
Team: Renata do Carmo, Saulo Luiz da Silva, Frederico D’Ávila, Saulo Vieira, Jackson Lobo, Marcelo Vianna, Thiago Silva, Valdimar Loiola, Welder Dias and Tábata Poline
