Rikardo Arrangi has delivered the 35 journalism and communication awards at the Bastero Cultural Center in Andoain. This year the podcast Bideak, produced by Naiz and Mediabask, has been awarded the Journalism Prize and the project EITBPodkast Lore hostoak has been the winner of the Communication Award. For her part, journalist Menane Oxandabaratz, founder of Irulegi Radio and responsible for Herria magazine, has been the winner of the Landmark of Honor.
The award ceremony aims to boost the quality and innovation of journalism in Basque. All works published in Euskera have access to the Journalism Prize, while the Communication Prize is received by those who have taken innovative steps in favor of communication in Euskera. The Milestone of Honor is granted to those who have been references in the history of Basque journalism.
The podcast Bideak, winner of the newspaper award, talks about the consequences for migrants the French Government has had to tighten the borders of the Basque Country and tighten controls. Journalists Jon Telleria, Larraitz Otazo, Hegoi Belategi and Goizeder Taberna have risen to pick up the prize. The organization has highlighted that the podcast addresses a topic of “special gravity”: “It tells us the reality that many times we do not see or want to see, that of migration”.
However, Lore Hostoak deals with the career of Basque musicians in the podcast. The speaker Ekain Pérez has received the communication award on behalf of the group. The jury has pointed out that Ekain’s voice and the way the interview is conducted achieve a “special communication”: “Bring the listener to a unique universe.”
The jury of the Rikardo Arrangi Awards has also recognised the work of Menane Oxandabaratz in the category of Mojón de Honor: “Oxandebaratz has shown that great things can be done in the Basque Country and that without voluntary and organized work it would not be possible to promote the Basque country.”