Five East Switzerland Media Awards presented at the Pfalzkeller in St. Gallen

The works that were awarded the Eastern Switzerland Media Prize on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, are as diverse as Eastern Switzerland itself: In the press photography category, the prize went to Fridolin Walcher (Hochparterre), in the daily text category to Peter Stahlberger (St. Galler Tagblatt) and in the reportage/background category, Aline Wanner (Die Zeit, Switzerland edition) received this year's media prize.

This year, the television jury awarded the prize to Remigius Bütler (SRF) and Vanessa Kobelt's contribution (Radio L) was honored in the radio contribution category. The Eastern Switzerland Media Prize was awarded for the 17th time. A total of 123 entries were submitted, divided into five categories - television report, press photography, radio report, reportage/background and daily text.

The award ceremony took place in the Pfalzkeller, St. Gallen.

The award decisions in the individual categories:

"Lina Bischofberger quits" - Television contribution category

The jury awards this year's Eastern Switzerland Media Prize in the television feature category to Remigius Bütler for the article "Lina Bischofberger quits", which was published on September 26, 2016 at "SRF Schweiz aktuell" was broadcast."In his five-minute report, the author succeeded in showing part of the economic change in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. He describes the life of Lina Bischofberger, how she had to take over the knitting machine herself after the early death of her husband, how she bought the knitting machine from the company that went bankrupt in 1990," said the TV jury, explaining their choice.

"Pumped storage at Muttsee - The construction of the Limmern PSW" - Press photography category

Fridolin Walcher is awarded the Eastern Switzerland Media Prize by the press photography jury for his work "Pumped storage at Muttsee - The construction of the Limmern PSW". The pictures appeared in the May issue of the magazine Raised first floor."What started out as a paid assignment has virtually turned into a reportage in the classic sense, a critical pictorial report on the political, economic and ecological background of a topic of social relevance," the jury states.

"Zubi runs along" - Reportage/Background category

This year's Eastern Switzerland Media Prize in the Reportage/Background category is awarded by the jury Aline Wanner for their report "Zubi läuft mit", which was broadcast on November 24, 2016 in Die Zeit (Swiss edition) was published.The reportage jury said: "'Zubi läuft mit' is a finely chiseled text, full of delicacies that make the reader smile. A text that doesn't need to exaggerate or puff itself up".

"Grain of salt" - daily text category

This year's Eastern Switzerland Media Prize is awarded by the Tagestext jury to Peter Stahlberger for his "Salzkorn", which was presented on November 23, 2016 at the St. Galler Tagblatt was published."He condenses his material until only essence remains at the end. Essence like in a "grain of salt", which is also the name of the column for which he wrote his text. The award can therefore also be seen as a tribute to this column in the Tagblatt, which has stood its ground for more than 35 years, against all currents of the zeitgeist," the jury explained.

"Seelenverwandt" - Radio feature category

This year, the radio jury awards the Eastern Switzerland Media Prize to Vanessa Kobelt for her radio feature "Seelenverwandt", broadcast on December 26, 2016 on Radio L.The radio jury had the following to say about the winning entry: "Vanessa Kobelt's entry is thought-provoking. It sheds light on a topic that is too often taboo. And it does so in an intelligent way. That's why it has been awarded the Eastern Switzerland Media Prize"

The award-winning works are on Media-prize-eastern-switzerland.ch available from Thursday, June 15, 2017. The Eastern Switzerland Media Prize is supported by journalists from Eastern Switzerland, media companies, the private sector and public institutions. The main sponsors are the Migros Cooperative Eastern Switzerland and the St. Galler Tagblatt.