At this year’s Reporters Without Borders (RSF) festival in Paris, marking the organisation’s 40th anniversary, international media freedom awards will be presented across five categories, including one of the most prestigious: the Courage Prize. Among this year’s nominees are Atiana Serge Oulon of Burkina Faso, Sevinj Vagifgizi of Azerbaijan, Frenchie Mae Cumpio of the Philippines, Angélica Cárcamo of El Salvador, Noor Swirki of Palestine, and the team of N1 TV (Serbia), which RSF describes as “a model of journalistic courage in Serbia.”
“The personnel of the N1 TV news channel embody journalistic courage in Serbia, where press freedom is at an all-time low. The only major TV channel providing reliable coverage of the increasingly violent mass protests against corruption since November 2024, it has been subjected to constant hostility from the authorities. The Serbian president’s absurd accusations of “pure terrorism” and attempted “coup d’état” have sparked dozens of physical attacks and death threat against N1. Since June, its journalists have also been defending its editorial independence in the face of interventions by its leading shareholder, against a backdrop of regulatory pressure,” RSF said in its statement.
Igor Bozic, the director of N1, stressed the significance of the nomination – not only as recognition of N1’s uncompromising work, but also as part of the broader struggle for media freedom in Serbia.
“It is a great honour for N1 to be among the nominees for the RSF Courage Prize. This nomination is not only recognition of our work and everything our journalists have endured over the past year, but also confirmation that the fight for free journalism in Serbia is recognised beyond our borders. It shows that N1 journalists, who are always on the ground, often working in impossible conditions and resisting pressure, threats, insults and attacks, are leaving a mark on the history of journalism in Serbia. It will be remembered that in 2025, doing journalism in Serbia required courage – which says everything about the state of our profession. The key is to fight for survival, and that is exactly what we intend to continue doing,” Bozic said ahead of the ceremony.
This year’s RSF festival in Paris has brought together journalists, editors and media professionals from more than 20 countries. Prizes will be awarded in the categories of courage, impact, independence, African investigative journalism, and photojournalism.
The winners will be announced this evening at the Gaîté Lyrique centre in Paris.
Source: N1
