| The Fourth Contest of Regional Journalists "Against
All Odds" is being held for the sixth time. Its founders are Novaya
Gazeta, the YABLOKO faction and the Glasnost Protection Fund. The Head
of the Organisational Committee of the Contest Sophia Dubinskaya tells
us about the sixth contest.
Journalists from Moscow work in different conditions compared to their
colleagues in the regions. The protection of the latter is much weaker.
"Against All Odds" concerns the lives of journalists who are
really concerned about the fate of the country. This is overwhelming.
The more principles a person has in life, the more obstacles and problems
there are in his life and the more strength he needs not to break down.
"Against All Odds" is a self-nomination contest. It is up
to the individual to decide whether to participate or not. And finally, "Against All Odds" differs
above all from other contests in that it considers articles that were
not published by the papers for different reasons: censorship, the weakness
of the Editor-in-Chief or pressure from the local authorities.
Each year "Against All Odds" gathers more and more participants.
Journalists not only from Russia, but also from the CIS countries have
been participating in the contest for the second year already. This year
a contest received about a thousand works.
On Wednesday, October 15, 2003, on the anniversary of Larissa
Yudina, the jury will draw the results of the contest. She was a participant
in the first contest "Against All Odds". But three weeks before
the release of the results of the contest Larissa, Editor-in Chief of
the "Soveitskaya Kalmykiya" newspaper was brutally murdered
in Elista. On the day of the official results of the contest the YABLOKO
leader Grigory Yavlinsky proposed
holding annually a contest "Against All Odds" and calling it
after Larissa Yudina.
The main criterion of the contest is naturally professionalism. We don't
have any nominations, we assess the deepness of the theme and narration.
It is not easy even for the most talented and principled journalists to
fight corruption, bureaucrats and almighty local chiefs. Consequently
the deeds of every individual who has courage to openly say the truth
are even more significant.
See also:
The Murder of
Larissa Yudina
Freedom of Speech and
Media Law in Russia
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