The award ceremony of De Tegel, the most important journalism awards in the Netherlands, took place yesterday. No less than 4 Mediahuis titles were awarded with a Tegel: De Limburger, NRC (2) and Noordhollands Dagblad.
- Sjors van Beek and Rik van Hulst received a Tegel in the Regional/Local category for “Politie-affaire Horst”, a series of revealing stories they wrote last year for De Limburger about the abuse at the Horst and Peel en Maas police force. The jury praised the winners for their tenacity, particularly in such a closed police organisation. One of the stories from the series can be read here.
- NRC editors Derk Stokmans and Mark Lievisse Adriaanse received a Tegel in the category Background Story for their reconstruction about “How the Netherlands lost control of the coronavirus”. The jury awarded them the prize for the story in which they described in detail how the Dutch authorities in politics and health care were surprised by the corona pandemic. The story itself can be read here.
- NRC correspondent Emilie van Outeren received a Tegel in the Reporting category for her report “Repressie in Wit-Rusland” (Repression in Belarus) about the elections in Belarus that were followed by violent protests. The jury praised Emilie for the work she did under great time pressure. During the protests, Emilie was also wounded in the leg by a flash-bang and continued to report from the hospital. One of her reports can be read here.
- Finally, sports journalist Marco Knippen received a Tegel in the Interview category for his interview with gymnastics coach Gerrit Beltman that appeared in Noordhollands Dagblad. In the interview entitled “Ik was bezeten en ik ben niet de enige” (I was possessed and I’m not the only one), Beltman admits to having abused and humiliated young top gymnasts. The interview broke the taboo surrounding transgressive behaviour in top sports and can be read here.
Strong and independent journalism is the core of our existence. The fact that four titles were awarded a Tegel is therefore a great recognition for the journalists involved, the news titles and Mediahuis.
