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Award-winning journalists from the Western Balkans and Türkiye break new ground with impactful investigations on healthcare, environmental threats, human rights and corruption.
The EU Investigative Journalism Awards 2024 have shone a light on an extraordinary range of talent, storytelling, and important societal issues. This year a record 283 stories were submitted by 256 journalists and teams from 115 media outlets.
A key trend this year is a notable shift in the types of investigations gaining traction across the Western Balkans and Türkiye. In addition to the usual focus on high-profile crime and political scandal, there were stories covering topics like health, the environment and social discrimination - issues that connect with everyday lives - as well as gender inequality and femicide.
This shift reflects a growing commitment to stories highlighting urgent, relatable issues affecting communities across the region.
Behar Mustafa and Kreshnik Gashi from Kallxo.com claimed the first prize in Kosovo for their impactful investigation exposing corruption in Brezovica's building permits.
Corruption and system failure marked Montenegrin stories too. First prize winners Tatjana Ašanin and Nikola Milosavić Aleksić won the award for their TV series In murky waters on corruption and irregularities within Podgorica's water supply system. The story they share the first prize with - "Massacre of responsibilities," by Milica Babić and Svetlana Đokić from TV E, investigates the tragic 2022 Cetinje massacre and exposes critical lapses in accountability.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, first prize went to a powerful investigation by Nino Bilajac and Selma Učanbarlić from Detektor.ba which uncovered the million-dollar eMagnetix scam, revealing how a "dream job" turned into a nightmare.
In Türkiye, first place was awarded to Asuman Aranca Kol for her investigation into the murder of Sinan Ates. This story uncovered critical details, keeping the case in the public eye and intensifying calls for justice. Murat Ağırel secured second place for a story about the Turkish Red Crescent selling emergency tents during the earthquake crisis.
In North Macedonia, Irena Mulachka won the first prize for her investigation 'Scandal Oncology,’ which exposed corruption in Skopje's oncology hospital, where medication was allegedly misused.
Another healthcare story from Bosnia and Herzegovina also took the third prize. It’s by Azra Omerovič and Zinaida Đelilović from Žurnal who discovered how a dentist's degree was awarded at the International University in Goražde, despite no enrolled students.
Sharing the first prize in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Arduana Pribinja from Al Jazeera Balkans attracted the public's attention with her reporting on sexual harassment claims by female patients at Zenica Hospital.
BIRN journalist Anđela Milivojević won third prize for revealing the devastating impact of sexual harassment on women and girls across Serbia by publishing content without consent.
In Kosovo, third place was shared by two stories from Kosovo 2.0. The first one, by Dardan Hoti and Aulone Kadriuis about the consequences of online harassment and victims of image-based sexual abuse. The second, saw Dafina Halili recognised for her piece on sexual harassment at the University of Pristina.
The environment also featured heavily as a theme. Among the prize winners were Dejan Rakita from Bosnia and Herzegovina who won second place for his piece on exposing the environmental dangers linked to the controversial construction at Trgovska Gora.
Another second-place winner was Đurđa Radulović from Montenegro for revealing the dangerous consequences of unregulated sales of banned pesticides, which pose serious risks to health and the environment.
Top prize winner, Ksenija Pavkov from N1, won the award for an investigation which exposed the collaboration between crime syndicates and corrupt officials. The high-quality video production gave the story additional value.
Second-place winner, Saša Dragojlo from Balkan Insight, conducted a six-month investigation into how Albanian-supplied weapons fuel violence along the refugee route.
Third-place winners Vanja Stokić and Ajdin Kamber from e-Trafika made a documentary, "Brother", following the struggles of migrants.
These impactful stories, often conveyed with fresh and creative approaches, have resonated across their countries and beyond, emphasising the crucial role played by investigative journalism in inspiring change and raising public awareness.
Click here for a full list of the winners.
The EU Award for Investigative Journalism 2024 is part of the project “Strengthening Quality Journalism in Western Balkans and Türkiye II”. The project is funded by the European Union and it is implemented by a consortium composed of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – BIRN Hub, Central European University (CEU) – Hungary, Association of Journalists (AJ) – Türkiye, Thomson Media (TM) – Germany, University Goce Delcev Stip (UGD) – North Macedonia, The Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) – North Macedonia, Media Association of South-East Europe (MASE) – Montenegro and Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Kosovo (BIRN Kosovo).