ARI RATH PRIZE FOR CRITICAL JOURNALISM 2025
ARI RATH PRIZE FOR CRITICAL JOURNALISM
Exile - Flight - Expulsion
Greeting:
Sabine Kroissenbrunner, Secretary General of the Kreisky Forum
Statement by the jury and laudator:
Alexandra Föderl-Schmid, Journalist
Introducer:
Mirjam Zadoff, historian, Director of the Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism
Prize winner
Carolin Emcke Journalist, author, publicist and presenter
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, the long-time former Secretary General of the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue and close confidant of Ari Rath, unanimously selected CAROLIN EMCKE for the „Ari Rath Prize for Critical Journalism“ 2025 - to mark Ari's 100th birthday.
Carolin Emcke, Born in 1967, she studied philosophy, politics and history in London, Frankfurt am Main and at Harvard University. From 1998-2006 she was an editor at Der Spiegel and travelled to many crisis regions as a foreign editor. 2003/04 Visiting Lecturer for Political Theory at Yale University. From 2007 to 2014 international reporter for the ZEIT, since 2014 columnist for the weekend edition of the Süddeutsche Zeitung and freelance journalist. Since the 2004/2005 season, curator and moderator of the monthly discussion event „Streitraum“ at the Schaubühne Berlin, since 2023 she has been curator and moderator of the SZ podcast „In aller Ruhe“
Recent publications include "Respect is reasonable. Texts on our present", Frankfurt/Main 2025, „For the doubt. Conversations with Thomas Strässle“, Zurich 2022; „Was wahr ist. On violence and climate“, Göttingen 2024. Awards (selection): Otto Brenner Prize for Critical Journalism (2010), German Reporter Prize in the category »Best Reportage« (2010), voted Journalist of the Year (2010), Johann Heinrich Merck Prize of the German Academy for Language and Poetry for her complete works (2014), Lessing Prize of the Free State of Saxony (2015), Prize of the Lichtenberg Poetry Lectureship, Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (2016), Silvers Grant for Work in Progress 2019, Carl von Ossietzky Prize for Contemporary History and Politics (2020), Glas der Vernunft (2024), Mercator Professorship University of Duisburg-Essen (2024).
With the kind support of Vienna Energy
Members of the jury:
Gertraud Borea d'Olmo, Member of the Board, Bruno Kreisky Forum, Legatee of Ari Rath
Alexandra Föderl-Schmid, Süddeutsche Newspaper
Fritz Hausjell, Professor emeritus at the Institute of Journalism and Communication Studies
Oliver Rathkolb, Professor emeritus at the Institute of Contemporary History
Award winners so far
2018
Alexandra Föderl-Schmid, former publisher and editor-in-chief of Der Standard, head of news at Süddeutsche Zeitung
2019
Silvana Meixner, Heimat-Fremde-Heimat, ORF
Award of honour: Helmut Brandstätter, Kurier
2020
Irene Brickner, Der Standard
Honorary award: Anneliese Rohrer, columnist Die Presse
2021
Thomas Seifert, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Wiener Zeitung
Honorary award: Gideon Levy, columnist and member of the editorial board of the daily newspaper Ha'aretz
2022
Simon Inou, journalist and media critic from Cameroon
Vanessa Spanbauer, freelance journalist and historian from Vienna
2023
Christa Zöchling, journalist and author
Noa Landau; Journalist Ha'aretz
2024
Maria Sterkl, journalist, correspondent for the Austrian daily newspaper Der Standard in Israel and OPT
Palestine-Israel Journal, Hillel Schenker and Ziad Abu Zayyad, co-editors