Best Story: Migration and the Refugee Crisis in the EU
We have our winners!
We at HackPack would like to congratulate Malia Politzer and Emily Kassie, as well as Martin Gommel and Esther Gobel on being selected by their peers for “Best Story: Migration and the Refugee Crisis in the EU” organized through the Octorank platform.
For the English-language competition, Malia Politzer and Emily Kassie published an all-encompassing piece on the money earned from migrant suffering. They trace the route smugglers use to move Africans through Niger to Sicily and into Europe. The second half of their piece delves into the difficulties for Syrians migrating into Turkey, and the economics of integrating them in Germany. It is a mesmerizingly beautiful multimedia story called “The 21st Century Gold Rush: How the refugee crisis is changing the world economy”
We couldn’t recommend it more, but don’t take our word for it. Here are some of the reviews from the competition:
Originality:
“I’ve read a few pieces that focus on the human trafficking / profiteering angle of the refugee crisis, but never one as detailed as this.”
Use of the medium:
“Wow. The future of journalism.”
Quality of craft:
“The writing of this story is brilliant, capturing the lives of the people vividly. Individual examples highlighted throughout the story…further strengthen its narrative concept and create a pool of data as a point of reference for readers…”
Significance:
“A commendable piece of journalism that offers strong conclusions to the interested reader. It likely will still be highly readable in many years.”
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For the German-language competition, Martin Gommel and Esther Gobel, developed a series of articles called “Die Neuen Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo”. Martin and Esther had the original idea to record their search for what the government has estimated as 9,000 underage unaccompanied refugees in Germany. They report their journey through Berlin’s parks and the personal stories of the refugees they find in a “colourful, emotional and enthralling” piece.
Reviewers discussed the controversial, personal storytelling approach of the authors — unconventional for the german media landscape and typical for the magazine “Krautreporter”. We highly recommend reading our German winner’s series of publications as it is a significant contribution to the public discourse on the topic.
Competition reviews:
“This series of articles is very significant as it reports on a shady topic that is rarely touched by most media, but hasn’t been investigated. The journalists clearly show how the bureaucracy and a failing system create young victims. Although these victims are visible, hardly anybody cares about them — with this message the series of articles has the potential to change the situation.”
HackPack, S&S Media and Octorank will award the winners 500 euros in recognition of their work to keep the public informed on this crucial subject. They will also receive promotion for future stories from HackPack through interviews and connections to its community of editors.
Process
The winners were selected by their peers using the Octorank platform. Forty participants evaluated each other’s work based upon four criteria: Quality of craft, Originality, Significance and Creative use of the medium. The Octorank algorithm ensured in-depth evaluations by focusing more evaluators on the top articles, increasing the weight of reviews from experts and diminishing the influence of uneven evaluation practices.
Special Recognition
We would also like to give special recognition to the overall 2nd and 3rd place stories. Both pieces are powerful pieces of journalism, shining light on a story that has been largely misconstrued, and present the deeply human element of the refugee crisis.
Overall 2nd
What Really Happened in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, and Why Were Refugees Blamed?
By Yermi Brenner & Katrin Ohlendorf
Overall 3rd
In Transit: Syrian Refugees Moored in Hamburg
By Kat Lonsdorf, Sarah Apel, Arthur Kropanev & Philipp Meuser
Organizers
HackPack is a global network, helping media outlets and companies find, hire and manage journalists, photographers and videographers. The platform stands at +7500 media professionals in 140 countries, and works with publications such as Al Jazeera, BBC and NPR.
Octorank is a new awards platform that uses peer rating, data analysis and algorithms to guarantee speed and high quality for evaluating awards.
Software & Support Media is an international publishing house with a focus on the IT sector. The company’s information and service offer is tailored to IT professionals of all important technology markets.
