Ari Rath Prize for Critical Journalism

Welcome and statement of the jury:
Gertraud Borea d'Olmo, Secretary General of the Bruno Kreisky Forum

Prize winner Silvana Meixner, Heimat-Fremde-Heimat, ORF
Laudator: Gerhard Zeiler, Chief Revenue Officer Warner Media, former General Director ORF

Prize of honour: Helmut Brandstätter, Courier
Laudator Franz Vranitzky, Former Federal Chancellor, Founding and Honorary President of the Bruno Kreisky Forum

Moderation Alexandra Föderl-Schmid, correspondent for the Süddeutsche Zeitung
Music: Aliosha Biz, Violin

The „Ari Rath Prize for Critical Journalism“ was established on the basis of a private initiative to honour journalists who have made outstanding contributions to critical reporting on flight, expulsion and asylum that is committed to upholding human rights, in the spirit of the renowned former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, who died in January 2017.
A jury of experts chaired by Gertraud Auer Borea d'Olmo, Secretary General of the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue and close confidant of Ari Rath, has unanimously nominated Dr Silvana Meixner for this year's „Ari Rath Prize for Critical Journalism“.
The „Ari Rath Honorary Award“ was unanimously awarded to Dr Helmut Brandstätter, publisher and former editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Kurier.

With the kind support of  

Silvana Meixner came to Vienna in 1986 and joined ORF in 1988, where she helped to set up the minority newsroom. On 3 December 1993, 25 years ago, she was seriously injured by a letter bomb. Undeterred, she continued to work as a journalist for refugees, ethnic minorities and human rights. She has built up a team of first-class journalists at ORF that now radiates far beyond the core editorial team of "Heimat Fremde Heimat“.

Helmut Brandstätter has consistently demonstrated throughout his career that liberal democracy must be kept in motion and protected against abuse through open and professional journalistic analysis. Brandstätter belongs to the rare breed of media makers who uphold principles such as journalistic quality and open intervention in favour of a functioning democratic culture, even in seemingly disoriented and highly emotionalised times, with populist to extremist discussions about flight, migration and terror. Especially on the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the democratic republic in Austria, this award is a signal against authoritarian political tendencies, attempts at media censorship, fake news and inflammatory tabloids.

Members of the jury:
Gertraud Borea d'Olmo, Secretary General of the Bruno Kreisky Forum
Fritz Hausjell, media historian, Institute for Journalism Studies, University of Vienna
Rubina Möhring, President of Reporters Without Borders
Oliver Rathkolb, historian, Institute for Contemporary History, University of Vienna