Reporters Without Borders: Roland Berger Award for Human Dignity Received
After the human rights organization Reporters Without Borders (ROG) was awarded the European Media Prize earlier this year, it received the Roland Berger Prize for Human Dignity on Tuesday. This was reported by the Berlin-based Tagesspiegel. The prize is worth 900,000 euros.
The non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders has been committed to press freedom worldwide and helping journalists in need for almost 25 years. Founded in 1985 by Frenchman Robert Ménard, it has a worldwide network of offices and correspondents and around 4,000 supporters. Currently, the organization is active on behalf of U.S.-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, who was convicted of espionage in Tehran last week.
Situation of local journalists particularly critical
Risks for critical journalists are currently on the rise worldwide, Elke Schäfer, executive director of the German ROG section, told the Tagesspiegel. According to Vincent Brossel, ROG's chief Asia-wide officer, European journalists enjoy a special status. Much worse, he says, is the situation of local journalists.
From a global perspective, conditions in Europe are good for journalists, but here, too, the influence of criminal organizations on the press is increasing, the report continues. For example, the Italian mafia in Naples has put pressure on journalists reporting on the garbage scandal there.
Press Freedom Ranking
In the "Press Freedom Ranking" published annually by Reporters Without Borders, Iceland, Luxembourg and Norway are in first place. Eritrea brings up the rear in 173rd place. Switzerland is in 7th place, along with Belgium, Latvia, New Zealand, Slovakia and Sweden.
