Spanish reporter nabs top prize at Bern’s True Story Award
Journalists based in Mexico, Germany and the United States won prizes at this year’s edition of the True Story AwardExternal link, given in the Swiss capital on Friday night. They were selected from a pool of more than 1,100 stories submitted for awards worth a total of CHF60,000 ($60,000).
This content was published on
2 minutes
A Swiss-American journalist mainly covering education, migration and youth issues - plus the occasional story on cheese, given her roots in Switzerland and Wisconsin. She also produces podcasts and works on the social media team.
Jacobo Garcia, a Spanish reporter based in Mexico, won the first prize of CHF30,000 for his story “The Murky Waters of the Caribbean”, published in the Spanish newspaper El Pais two years ago. The story looks at a little-known part of the Caribbean Sea between southern Mexico and Belize through which drugs and migrants flow north.
“Jacobo Garcia went to an area that few other reporters have gone to and risked his life to tell a story about a grey area inhabited by people forced to live on the margins,” said jury member Jon Lee Anderson in announcing the award.
The award’s second prize, worth CHF20,000, went to German journalist Nina Schick for her personal essay called “Under the Cross”, published in the Süddeutsche Zeitung’s magazine in April 2020. It details her account of Catholic church abuses that led to her father’s suicide.
“This subtle, beautifully done story is moving yet disturbing, turning a personal story into a universal one,” said jury member Nuruddin Farah of Schick’s piece.
The third-place prize, worth CHF10,000, went to American journalist Sarah Topol for her story “The Schoolteacher and the Genocide”External link, about a Rohingya schoolteacher in Myanmar. It was published in the New York Times Magazine in 2019.
“This is a powerful and very personal account of a minority community, and how a schoolteacher tried to continue the memory and the presence of this community by telling the children their story and their narratives,” said jury member Xiaolu Guo.
The prize ceremony can be viewed in the video below. It is preceded by a discussion among jury members about practicing journalism in their respective countries. SWI swissinfo.ch was a media partner for the event.
This content was published on
Nemo brought the Eurovision Song Contest to Switzerland with a victory on Saturday evening in Malmö, Sweden. It is Switzerland's third victory in the history of the music contest.
Switzerland abstains from vote on Palestinian bid for full UN membership
This content was published on
On Friday, Switzerland abstained from the vote at the General Assembly on granting the Palestinians new rights at the United Nations (UN).
Protein in abdominal fat could help shape obesity treatment
This content was published on
The study analysed fat cells from different locations in the body, and found that those in the abdomen have unique properties.
North African asylum claims fall after rapid Swiss processing
This content was published on
The accelerated procedure, now out of its test phase, has resulted in a significant drop in applications from North African countries.
This content was published on
The artist's song "The Code" focuses on their journey as a nonbinary individual. It is one of the favourites to win this year's contest.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.