Global Youth & News Media devised this special award to honor the front-line teachers who make sure students learn that quality journallism is a good thing to have around and that some people face grave dangers just to do that job.
The first awards went to three teachers and were in memory of Scott Schurz (see below).
In 2023, the award was expanded to include news media organizations. and became the Press Freedom Teaching Award.
THE JURY SAID
She creates a lasting legacy two ways. First her careful and effective instruction about how to do investigative journalism gives students lifelong skills in research and presentation. Also, her careful and effective lessons about the worth of journalists themselves will help make her students become thoughtful citizens who are aware of the crucial role those journalists play in preserving their democracy.
ABOUT HER WORK
In Spanish with subtitles
GOLD LAUREATE
Marisabel Bellido Terán
Bolivia
For 11 years, her students have learned to do basic and investigative journalism and about the professional reporters who do both. Now, as you can see in the video, they remember how those skills have helped them after they have left the school. Téran teaches language and communication at U. E. Gaston Vilar Casso B, a secondary school on the outskirts of Bolivia’s second governmental center, Sucre She learned her journalism and media literacy lessons at workshops organized by Foundation for Journalism (la Fundación para el Periodismo), starting in 2012.
With the foundation, she hopes to set up online resources to help teachers emulate this work across the country.
OPENING HOURS
THE JURY SAID
She deftly helps her students learn critical media literacy skills that they can take with them throughout their lives and at the same time, through her work using Committee to Protect Journalists resources, avoids the common pitfall of also creating a hostility toward journalism.
ABOUT HER WORK
SILVER LAUREATE
JANIS SCHACHTER
United States
For more than a decade, Janis Schachter has taught Stony Brook University’s News LIteracy program to students at Northport High School (Long Island, New York). Students learn about what journalists do so they can “recognize a verified story when they see it,” she says. They also explore the Committee to Protect Journalists website,“choosing for themselves where they want to focus: on a particular journalist or part of the world.”
She teaches other educators across New York State and has attracted study visits from other countries.
For Global Youth & News Media’s collection of resources for teaching about threats to journalism, she prepared a two-part set of activities that focused on students Darnella Frazier and Eddy Binford-Ross who each played a journalistic role in the case of the suffocation murder in the United States by a police officer of George Floyd and in the demonstrations that followed.
COMMUNITY AWARD
OLAWALE (IBRAHIM) GBENUSOLA
Nigeria
The jury gave Gbenusola its community award for his work in setting up a Press Club among secondary level students at Ijaiye Housing Estate Senior Grammar School in Ifako Ijaiye in Lagos, Nigeria. Students research and discuss national and global issues and, with the help of faculty coaches, produce stories on those topics, plus profiles of career specialists and school news.
In September, he moved to Vetland Senior Grammar School in the same city where he hopes to continue his work.
WHY THIS AWARD
The Press Teacher Award is this year’s prize in the news/media category. It recognizes excellence in assuring that students develop a thorough understanding of the crucial role of journalism in society and of the sometimes deadly risks for people who do this work.
“Too often and in too many countries news/media literacy instruction skips the part about the need for journalism and the high personal price some pay to do that job,” said Dr. Aralynn Abare McMane, the director of Global Youth & News Media.
“This year, we wanted to work toward correcting that by recognizing those on the front line of education who make sure those lessons are taught well.
"We also wanted to honor Scott C. Shurz (1936-2021) a leader in local journalism and global champion of press freedom and of introducing young people to how good journalism works."
An international jury of 19 experts in journalism, media literacy and press freedom chose the laureates. The announcement of the laureates coincides with the United Nations International Day of Democracy, 15 September.
Partners in the award are News Decoder, WAN-IFRA Media Freedom, the Interamerican Press Association and Schurz Communications.
Global Youth & News Media is a nonprofit based in France that promotes media literacy through a journalistic prism, amplifies youth reporting and honors news media that serve the young. More about us here.
THEY SAID IT:
ABOUT SCOTT C. SCHURZ
"Scott Schurz was a legendary presence in our organization over so many years, his dedication to the cause of press freedom created a beacon of light that helped guide peers and colleagues. We're confident that through this award the commitment he inspired will influence the next generation of press freedom advocates."
-- Andrew Heslop (France), executive drector of WAN-IFRA Media Freedom
and a Global Youth & News Media juror.
"We will always be proud in the Inter American Press Association to enhance the legacy we inherit from Scott Schurz, a great man and unwavering fighter for press freedom throughout the world."
-- Ricardo Trotti (USA) executive director of IAPA
ABOUT THE LAUREATES
The teachers honored by the Scott C. Schurz Press Freedom Teacher Award are beacons of hope for their students, their country and the globe at large. Their classroom lessons serve as powerful reminders of the dire need of good journalism, while acknowledging the very real dangers that the profession holds. Global Youth & News Media is committed to share these teachers´ passion and excellence so their example can be an inspiration to many more in the world.
-- Wendy Tribaldos (Panama), Global Youth & News Media juror and trustee
ABOUT MIRASABEL BELLIDO TÉRAN (BOLIVIA)
Marisabel is an incredibly committed teacher who has done incredible work to inform her students and citizens in Bolivia. It is also wonderful to see how her students won national awards too, a testament to her impactful educational initiatives.
-- Juror Nolwazi Wjwara (France) a trustee of News Decoder
and a communications consultant at UNESCO
Marisabel's step-by-step method of teaching journalism to students impressed me. It's fascinating to see how students who had no prior knowledge of journalism comprehend not just what it is but also the dangers that it entails.
-- Juror Varlee S. Fofana (Liberia, Guinea, South Africa),
an award-winning student journalist at African Leadership Academy,
a News Decoder partner school in South Africa
Marisabel's work successfully demonstrates how journalism can empower young minds to take a critical look at the world around them.
-- Juror Andrew Heslop, Director of Press Freedom for WAN-IFRA,
The World Association of News Publishers (France)
Marisabel engages her students in the news process from research to presentation. The end result will be … a lasting legacy.
-- Juror Chido Onumah (Nigeria)
Director of African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)
[She used her] own experience and then groomed young and shy students [to do] investigative journalism, while constantly making them aware of the dangers and pitfalls [as they produced stories] for their in-house newspaper. It is quite remarkable.
-- Juror Zaffar Abbas, (Pakistan), editor of DAWN
and 2019 recipient of the Committee to Protect Journalists Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award
The work of the Foundation for Journalism [at this] school shows that students are learning the fundamental processes necessary to support free and vibrant media. The process that the learners go through is strong and allows them to analyze, create and reflect.
-- Juror Paul Mihailidis, director of the Salzburg Academy on Media
and Global Change (Austria) and assistant dean at the Emerson College School of Communication (Boston, USA)
Marisabel teaches an inspiring and impactful media literacy program. She engages her students with the news, developing their understanding of the important role journalists play in society and its risks.
-- Juror Margaret Holborn, director of the educational program
of The Guardian Foundation (UK)
Her eloquent students attest to her teaching experience and how they are clearly aware of the benefits and dangers associated with journalism.
-- Juror Wendy Tribaldos (Panama), trustee of Global Youth & News Media
By taking real action, students can develop their critical thinking skills, a crucial element for today's societies, comprehend the significant role of journalists and the importance of press freedom for the establishment of balanced and democratic societies.
-- Juror Sotiria Tsalamani, learning designer,
EAVI- Media Literacy for Citizenship (Belgium)
Marisabel Bellido Teran has not only taught her students news literacy skills and the important and dangerous work that journalists do, she has also trained them to be student journalists. Her students can clearly articulate the impact of what they have learned and the important role journalists play in their society. Further, Marisabel accompanies and protects her students as they do their critical work. She clearly is an impactful and important teacher in her students' lives.
-- Juror Melissa Falkowski, educator at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
and 2019 Journalism Educator of the Year (USA)
ABOUT JANIS SCHACHTER (USA)
Excellent use of journalism and news literacy as educational tools to enrich young citizens [and encourage them] to become active in their democracy.
-- Juror Nolwazi Wjwara (France), a trustee of News Decoder
and a communications consultant at UNESCO
Encouraging students to study the CPJ's collection of data and coverage of violent incidents in different parts of the world is a great move, as it may make them aware of the real dangers of doing investigative work in a hostile environment.
-- Juror Zaffar Abbas, (Pakistan), editor of DAWN and
2019 recipient of the Committee to Protect Journalists Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award
Ms. Schachter has reached that holy grail of having developed methodologies that work as well as getting that message out at the global level.
-- Juror Josh LaPorte (Belgium, Austria),
project manager at the International Press Institute
Janis makes a lasting impact on her students long after they leave her classroom [and is ] a leader in news literacy and its role in a democratic society. Creating a news literacy club, students study the misinformation sweeping the landscape and joining the conversation with skills to recognize fact from fiction.
-- Juror Shaelynn Farnsworth (USA), national director of educator outreach and success at the News Literacy Project (Washington DC), which was a news/media literacy laureate in the 2019 Global Youth & News Media Prize.
A strong project led by an inspiring teacher who is determined to raise media literacy standards in her state. I was particularly impressed by Janis' 'train the trainer' approach which will generate a larger impact beyond her own school.
-- Juror Solomon Elliott (United Kingdom), founder of The Student View,
a media literacy charity to train teenagers across the United Kingdom about how to spot misinformation and as local news reporters, and a news/media literacy laureate in the 2019 Global Youth & News Media Prize.
Not only are students receiving foundational understandings of how the press supports democracy, they understand this through local, national and global context. The resources and approaches to news literacy are strong, rigorous and combine critique with creation.
-- Juror Paul Mihailidis, director of the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change (Austria) and assistant dean at the Emerson College School of Communication (Boston, USA)
Ms. Schachter is an incredibly gifted and dedicated educator who encourages our students to seek out information and subsequently develop informed opinions based on factual information from reliable sources. Not only does she foster an environment of inclusivity and self-expression, but she ensures that our students have the foundation for news literacy needed to be productive citizens in the modern world.
-- Sean Hurley, chairperson of social studies, Northport High School
ABOUT OLAWALE (IBRAHIM) GBENUSOLA (NIGERIA)
The press club is a fantastic idea that aims to develop students' research abilities to help them become better journalists. The initiative reveals how Ibrahim has helped to improve students' effective communication skills and build their confidence in news presenting and public speaking.
-- Juror Varlee S. Fofana (Liberia, Guinea, South Africa),
an award-winning student journalist at African Leadership Academy,
a News Decoder partner school in South Africa
His work to educate students in Nigeria about the importance of journalism is vital, and he has done a remarkable job in doing so.
-- Juror Nolwazi Wjwara (France) a trustee of News Decoder
and a communications consultant at UNESCO
It's very meaningful that he recognized that his students were dealing with a lack of access to information and news and decided to start the press club to help them. What he's teaching his students about journalism is great, he is teaching them life skills that they might otherwise not learn.
Juror Dara Rose, journalism major at Florida Gulf Coast University
and former chief editor at The Eagle Eye, the newsmagazine of Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida, which was the co-recipient with The Guardian US of the first, honorary Global Youth & News Media Prize in 2018.
The journalism club is great for kids to learn about critical thinking.
-- Juror Mthoba Xola Chapi (South Africa) director of Vuselela Media
and regional communications officer for Africa of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
Press Clubs are a foundational part of learning about the role of journalism in our civic society today. Learning about reporting practices, with teachers and mentors to provide feedback and peer audiences, is a wonderful way to increase understanding about press freedom in society, and with a strong local context.
-- Juror Paul Mihailidis, director of the Salzburg Academy
on Media and Global Change (Austria)
and assistant dean at the Emerson College
School of Communication (Boston, USA)
CONTACT - info@youthandnewsmedia.net