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Big prizes in the arts, letters and journalism bare wide significance. Those awarded these prizes are widely acknowledged for their contributions. The rest of us share some pride.
The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Maria Ressa founder of Philippines publication Rappler and Dmitry Muratov editor of Russian publication Novaya Gazeta. Both are noted independent journalists with independent news outlets in difficult environments. The award committee cited "their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”
Mr. Muratov has placed the gold Nobel Peace Prize medal up for auction with specialty auctioneer Heritage Auctions. All proceeds will accrue to Unicef (United Nations Children’s Fund) for the agency’s “humanitarian response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis,” said the auctioneer in a statement. Bidding opened June 1, International Children’s Day, and closes June 20, World Refugee Day. Mr. Muratov “is allowing us to auction his medal not as a collectible but as an event that he hopes will positively impact the lives of millions of Ukrainian refugees.” (See more about conflict zones here)
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest winner Kalush Orchestra auctioned the Crystal Microphone awarded to them earlier this month. The auction - on Facebook - raised US$900,000 over this past weekend for the Prytula Foundation, which supports the Ukrainian army. The successful bidder was WhiteBIT, a Ukrainian bitcoin company. Also auctioned was band frontman Oleh Psiuk’s now famous pink bucket hat. It brought in US$370,000 from an unnamed Czech bidder.
In that ever-revealing alternative universe, disgraced former US president Donald Trump has again threatened a civil lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board unless the 2018 award for national reporting to the New York Times and Washington Post is rescinded. That award-winning reporting detailed the murky, likely criminal relationships between Mr. Trump and agents of the Russian Federation. “If you choose not to do so, we will see you in court,” said the May 27 letter to Marjorie Miller, administrator for the Pulitzer Prizes, quoted by news outlet Mother Jones (June 1).
Gone are the days, mostly, when a TV drama or comedy series runs for years and years. Actors, producers, writers and directors run out of steam, often at their agents direction. Audiences just drift away, the next big thing always a step away. By contrast, reality TV shows run forever, at least until the legal bills stack up. There are exceptions.
Excited, as they tend to be, professional TV watchers absolutely swooned over news that Borgen, the Danish political drama, is in a new series available to much of the world this week. Its creative team refers to the eight episode Borgen: the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory as a “reinvention” not extension of the original three-season series. “I think we retained the DNA of Borgen,” said co-creator Adam Price to the BBC (May 31). “But it's still quite a different show.”
The new series, again produced by Danish public broadcaster DR, assisted by Netflix, is true to current day political drama. Many of the main characters have returned to face a fictitious oil discovery in Greenland that brings out geo-political tensions, cultural angst as well as energy and climate issues. Mix in power politics and personalities. Complicated, yes; boring, no. Breathtaking visuals of Greenland and the Arctic punctuate the storylines. (See more about television here)
The original Borgen arrived during the Nordic noir storm of TV thrillers produced by Scandinavian public broadcasters. Swedish crime drama Wallander, produced by public broadcaster SVT, ran three seasons, 2005 through 2013, is considered the first big hit Nordic noir series. The Killing followed, three seasons, 2007 to 2012, produced by DR and German public channel ZDF, streaming on Amazon Prime Video. SVT and DR jointly produced The Bridge, which ran four seasons between 2011 and 2018. By the time the series concluded it had been seen in 130 countries, several broadcasters producing spin-offs.
Danes have already seen Borgen: the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory. The series debuted this past February on DR. It was an immediate hit. Netflix placed it in other Scandinavian markets thereafter. For the rest of us, it’s Netflix. Alas, the 700,000 Netflix subscribers in the Russian Federation will miss it. They’ve been cancelled.
Journalism observers quickly turn to nostalgia when forced to give small communities attention. Once upon a time, before private equity, news desserts and social media local media, they say, had spunk and purpose. All that’s left are press releases and stock photos. Real news arrives by helicopter from big cities.
Certainly big news outlets swooped into Uvalde, Texas after the recent mass shooting of children and teachers. Reporters, quickly identified as outsiders, scurried about looking for local angles, bad guys and good. In that small south Texas town the locals were consumed with grief, not inclined to share much. (See more about local news here)
It was, said Uvalde Leader-News general manager Pete Luna, the worst day of his life to The New Yorker contributing writer Rachel Monroe for a brilliant profile (May 28). Mr. Luna is also the photographer. “I pitch ads, I do the layouts, I answer calls, I deliver papers—I do it all,” he said. “It’s not just me. We all do a lot.” The Leader-News has ten full-time staffers. It publishes twice a week. The cover last week was black and white, just the date: May 24, 2022.
Craig Garnett has been with the Leader-News for forty years, first as general manager, now owner and publisher. When he noticed receptionist Kimberly Rubio always reading he encouraged her to become a reporter. “She didn’t let us down,” he said. Ms Rubio’s daughter Alexandria "Lexi" was one of the children killed in the shooting. Just hours earlier that day Lexi's parents, father Felix is a deputy sheriff, attended the annual year-end school awards ceremony. Lexi was named to the A-A honor roll and given the good citizen award.
“Community journalism is a different animal,” he said. “Context. A source of understanding, and hand-holding, and healing.”
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