MIAMI, Florida (July 21, 2008).- The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) today announced the winners of the awards the organization grants each year to honor journalists and newspapers throughout the Americas for their contributions to excellence in journalism and the defense of freedom of expression. The information was provided by Gustavo Mohme, La República, Peru, chairman of the Awards Committee.
The Committee selected winners in eleven categories. Prizes will be awarded at the IAPA?s 64th General Assembly in Madrid, Spain, October 3-7 in the Hotel Melia Castilla. The awards are $ 2,000 in cash, plaques and certificates.
''This year's entries exceeded our expectations and the quality of the work was truly impressive. As always, it was hard to reach a decision among such strong participants? said Gustavo Mohme. The prestigious prize ''is becoming more and more recognized and is gaining enthusiasm among journalism professionals continent.''
Following are the categories and names of winners and finalists.
- IAPA Inter-American Relations-Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Award. Sponsored by La Prensa, Managua, Nicaragua.
Winner João Antonio Barros
Publication O Dia, Río de Janeiro, Brazil
Articles Da folha ao pó: conexão Bolívia-Brazil
A series of reports showing the story of drugs: from where they are grown in Bolivia to the points of sale in Brazil and depicting human interest cases along with the social problems created by drug trafficking.
2. IAPA Human Rights and Community Service Award. Sponsored by Panamá-América, Panamá City, Panamá; El Comercio, Lima, Perú; Organización Publicitaria, S. A., San Pedro Sula, Honduras; and La Nación, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Winner Martha Ruiz,
Publication Semana, Bogotá, Colombia.
Article La Barbarie que no vimos
An in-depth report on the unbounded cruelty, atrocious crimes and abuses by paramilitaries and guerrillas. It is a testimony of the horrors suffered by rural families and murder victims during the 1990s.
3. IAPA Newspapers in Education Award. Sponsored by Diario Hoy, Quito, Ecuador, and Novedades de Quintana Roo, Cancún, México.
Winner Deyse Sandoval Burrows and Icarito team
Publication La Tercera, Santiago, Chile
Subject Icarito Encyclopedia
Created in 1968, this encyclopedia of information has become a valuable resource in public schools and of great use for children aged 9 to 13. It is available now in an online edition where answers can be found to school assignments in all subjects. It also has special features concerning important dates, multimedia, a search engine, a question and answer service, and a number of activities and contests.
4. IAPA Opinion Award. Sponsored by El Mercurio, Santiago, Chile.
Winner Manuel Ignacio Gómez Lecaro
Publication El Universo, Guayaquil, Ecuador
Article El Ofendido
A sensible, coherent and balanced op-ed piece. It was published in response to President Rafael Correa who threatened the editor of La Hora for exercising his most basic right ?freedom of opinion.
Honorable Mention:
Sergio Muñoz Bata, El Nuevo Día, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
For his erudite and convincing op-ed piece ?La Historia como farsa? (History As Farce), referring to the plebiscite for approval of amendments to the Constitution put forward by President Hugo Chávez, basing it on a historic parallel with Napoleon Bonaparte.
5. IAPA News Coverage Award. Sponsored by El Nacional, Caracas, Venezuela, and O Estado de S. Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Winner Alan Onofre Gripp
Publication O Globo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Article Voto combinado na rede
An investigation revealing collusion in Brazil?s Federal Supreme Court that began with a photograph of e-mails between two justices of the court whose intent, frustrated by the exposure, was to discredit the accusations against them.
Honorable Mention:
John Yearwood and Juan Tamayo, The Miami Herald, Miami, Florida
For the full and detailed coverage provided by the newspaper for months of the tense situation in Venezuela.
6. IAPA In-Depth Reporting Award. Sponsored by The Miami Herald, Miami, Florida.
Winner Todd Bensman
Publication San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, Texas
Article For Breaching America: War Refugees or Threats?
A four-part series that convincingly discloses ? through information, analysis, interviews and confidential sources ? the modus operandi used by traffickers of illegal immigrants from Muslim countries to the United States. The investigation took reporter Bensman and photographer Jerry Lara to Syria, Jordan, Guatemala, Mexico, Texas and Michigan.
Honorable Mention:
Luz María Sierra Lopera, El Tiempo, Bogotá Colombia
For her report ?Colombia busca a sus muertos? (Colombia Looks For its Dead), dedicated to the phenomenon of common graves. The work is a spine-chilling narration of the killing and disappearance of the bodies and the drama of family members seeking to find their dead loved ones.
7. IAPA Features Award. Spondored by El Comercio, Quito, Ecuador, and McClatchy Newspapers, Sacramento, California.
Winner Diana Pachón
Publication Don Juan magazine, Colombia
Article ?Embrujo Verde?
A lengthy feature about the world of emeralds. A detailed and convincing description of the daily life of the miners and their bosses.
8. IAPA Photography Award. Sponsored by The Washington Post Company, Washington, DC, and ABC Color, Asunción, Paraguay.
Winner Anni Wells
Publication Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California
Subject Pesticides and People
A photographic report on the effects of the use of pesticides on banana plantations in Nicaragua. The author?s polished narrative technique is complemented by great human interest photos.
9. IAPA Cartoons Award. Sponsored by El Tiempo, Bogotá, Colombia.
Winner Filmar Fraga
Publication Zero Hora, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Subject Various caricatures
These are illustrations of great wit and humor of leading international political and literacy figures.
Honorable Mention: Alonso Núñez Rebaza, El Comercio, Lima, Peru
For his original gallery of political figures ? a selection of his weekly cartoons ? seen in current news.
10. IAPA Infographics Award. Sponsored by Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A tie between: Juan Pablo Noriega
Publication El Tiempo, Bogotá Colombia
Article ?22 años buscando justicia?
Very good work that combines photography, design and drawing. It describes past decades and with rigorous historical reconstruction, something that still reverberates in Colombia today ? the attack by the M19 guerrilla group on the Courts of Justice. It includes interactive infographics on the Web site.
And: Alfredo Oshiro Fukuhara
Publication El Comercio, Lima, Peru
Article: Un paseo por la ciudadela sagrada de los Incas
Detailed and accurate multimedia infographics on Machu Picchu, Peru, which offer a 3-D virtual tour of the main attractions of this citadel, with panoramic photos, designs and illustrations.
11. IAPA Online News Coverage Award. Sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, New York.
Winner Renata Cabrales Rojas
Publication El País, Cali, Colombia
Article El Caso Jamundí
Report following up a massacre that occurred on May 22, 2006. At the time 10 police officers and an informant died in confusing circumstances on the outskirts of Jamundí, a town in Valle del Cauca province. In the end it was established that they were killed by members of the Army. Very good use of digital resources ? videos, photographs, infographics and an opinion forum.
The Excellence in Journalism Awards Committee is made up of:
Presidente / Chairman Gustavo Mohme
La República, Lima, Perú
Vicepresidenta / Vice Chairman Cristina Aby-Azar
The Wall Street Journal, New York, NY
Miembros / Members
Carlos Besanson
Diario del Viajero, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Bruce Brugmann
San Francisco Bay Guardian, San Francisco, California
Wilfredo Cancio
El Nuevo Herald, Miami, Florida
Gerardo García Gamboa
Novedades de Mérida, Mérida, Yucatán, México
André Jungblut
Gazeta do Sul, Santa Cruz do Sul, Brasil
Martín Etchevers
Clarín, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Francisco Montes
Diario de Cuyo, San Juan, Argentina
Don Podesta
The Washington Post, Washington, DC
Jorge Andrés Saieh
La Tercera, Santiago, Chile
Carlos Salinas
El Diario de Coahuila, Saltillo, Coahuila, México
Juan Luis Sommers
Revista COSAS, Santiago, Chile
Gilberto Urdaneta
El Regional de Zulia, Ciudad Ojeda, Venezuela
Gabriela Vivanco
Diario La Hora, Quito, Ecuador
Johnny A. Yataco
Washington Hispanic, Washington, DC
