The Colombian magazine Semana and Brazil's state-run oil giant Petrobrás awarded the Semana Petrobrás Journalism Awards, recognizing excellence in South American journalism.
Among the winners were Libardo Barros for the report "The Carnival after the Flood" in the newspaper El Heraldo, and Oscar Fernando López for best television reporting for his report "Illegal Mining, Lethal Plunder" broadcast by Teleantioquia. Click here for a full list of this year's winners.
The jury was made up of journalist María Teresa Ronderos, director of the website Verdadabierta.com and adviser to the magazine Semana; Néstor Morales of Caracol Radio; President Alex Grijelmo of the Spanish-language news agency EFE; CNN en Español host Patricia Janiot; and photojournalist Jesús Abad Colorado.
"Colombia offers amazing stories for reporters but also great dangers," Grijelmo said during the ceremony in Bogotá. He went on to say reporters should always remember to uphold journalistic ethics, even in the face of dangerous situations.
Recently, the exiled journalist Mary Luz Avedaño wrote about the threats facing Colombian journalists, including herself, that cover topics like drug trafficking and the country's guerrillas movements.
