About the Kurt Schork Memorial Awards in International Journalism
The Kurt Schork Memorial Awards are the only ones that specifically honor the contributions of freelance journalists covering foreign news and reporters from the developing world and countries in transition.
Our Goal
The goal of the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund, however, is to not only honor, but assist these often overlooked journalists with a $5,000 monetary award that recognizes their contribution to news and provides some financial means to help them continue reporting. Though local journalists in the developing world take extraordinary risks to expose corruption and injustice in their countries, they rarely earn enough money to support themselves and their families. Freelancers live from job to job, never knowing when the next assignment will come, where it may lead or how long it will last. The Fund will spotlight their achievements with these substantial yearly prizes.
The Recipients
The Fund's focus is based on Kurt Schork's own professional interests and values. A freelancer himself, Schork appreciated the obstacles and concerns of freelance journalists who work without the institutional or financial safety net of large news organizations. Nevertheless, they are usually the first on the scene and often take greater risks to get the stories that keep the public informed. It was the work of freelancers and local journalists that Schork valued above all. As a result, the Fund decided the best way to honor his legacy was to acknowledge those journalists with whom he had a particular bond. The Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism were created to honor fearless freelance news reporting, and those journalists who cannot leave their country when the story becomes secondary to survival.
Though local journalists from the developing world take extraordinary risks to expose corruption and injustice in their homeland, they rarely earn enough money to support themselves and their families. Freelancers live from job to job, never knowing when the next assignment will come, where it may lead, or how long it will last. With very few resources, freelancers and local reporters are faced with hostile and dangerous environments, and they tend to be most vulnerable to unfriendly governments. At the same time, these journalists now have to work even harder to bring attention to their stories as news consumers are able to turn to a variety of sources for information.
In the United States, and throughout the world, there are countless journalists who are committed to reporting accurately and objectively on social and political challenges around the globe. However, this reporting is not without cost. Many of these dedicated journalists, sadly, have lost their lives in their attempt to shed light in dark places.
Throughout the world, countries struggle to promote social, economic and political change. In each of these places, it is often the work of freelance and local journalists that brings these struggles to the attention of the broader, global community. Through such attention, those searching for a better life for their communities draw allies and supporters into a dialogue that can make an important difference in these countries.
Schork had enormous respect and admiration for the local reporters who worked beside him. These journalists, rarely acknowledged for their work in the West, are essential players in promoting democracy in countries of social, political and economic transition. They provide information and expose wrongs that would otherwise stay hidden and are often punished for their efforts. In 2002 there were hundreds of cases of media repression in countries around the world, including 19 journalists killed while doing their job.*
The Awards
Each year, the Kurt Schork Memorial Fund presents two journalists -- one in each category -- with a $5,000 cash prize at an awards ceremony held in New York for the past four years and now moving to London's Frontline Club, starting with the 2006 ceremony in November. The bar for success is set high. Winners will be judged not only on the quality of writing and investigative effort, but also on the level of courage and resourcefulness demonstrated by the applicants. Winning entries are expected to reflect the high standard of reporting that Kurt Schork stood for and lived by during the course of his distinguished career.
* from the Committee to Protect Journalists, 2003