Born in Ormaiztegi, Elixabete Garmendia studied journalism at the University of Navarra and started her professional career at Zeruko Argia. These were difficult times for the press that was published in Basque: due to the creation of Basque newspapers that were mainly published in Spanish, Zeruko Argia lost important professionals, such as Mikel Atxaga, until then director of Zeruko Argia, who went to the recently created newspaper Deia. Three women took the slogan of the weekly in Basque: Garmendia herself, Lourdes Auzmendi and Pilar Iparragirre. Thanks to them, Zeruko Argia arrived until the end of the 1970s, until in 1980 the group known as “Argieroak” took over the project and laid the foundations of the current ARGIA.

Garmendia worked for a short period in the Basque service of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, but his journalistic instinct led him to Euskal Telebista in 1986. He has participated in various programs of the trajectory of ETB, among others, since the mid-1990s it became one of the reference programs of many Basques.

Garmendia has combined this television work with numerous collaborations in Basque media, such as in ARGIA, Berria, Jakin or Euskalerria Irratia. He is also the author of several books, the latest entitled Berria, Jakin and Elkar, the biography of Carlos Garaikoetxea. Likewise, several biographies of the Bidegileak collection of the Basque Government are signed by Garmendia and a book on the trace of the War of 36 in Ormaiztegi. In 1987, a year after his assassination by ETA, he also coordinated the publication of the book Yoyes from his window.

Olatz Arrieta, Juantxu Rodriguez and Pikara also awarded

In addition to the career award, the Basque College of Journalists has echoed the work of many other people. ETB journalist Olatz Arrieta received the award from the “Basque Journalists” section and Julen Rekondo the “Environmental Journalism” section. The José María Portell'a Prize for Freedom of Expression has been awarded to the NGO Reporters Without Borders, which has been awarded by the Food Bank of Bizkaia with the prize 'Character or Human Institution'.

This year’s “Photojournalism” award was first awarded to Juantxu Rodríguez: In 1989, Rodriguez was killed by an American soldier when he reported on the invasion of Panama in the eastern United States. Rodriguez, 32 years old at the time, had already travelled a long way from Deia newspaper to the international midfielder.

In the digital media section, the prize has been for the web Pikara Magazine: This media, rooted in Bilbao, has been doing journalism for years with a feminist perspective.