Great journalist prize receives criticism: Too big city center

The nominations for the Grand Journalist Prize have for the past three years been dominated by strong, established metropolitan media. In a chronicle in the journalist journalist Lisa Bjurwald, writer and journalist, strongly criticizes the dominance of the metropolitan media.

- The Great Journalist Prize markets itself as the finest, most prestigious prize and, in principle, only nominating journalism done in Stockholm is to reject all the fantastic journalism done in the rest of the country, Lisa Bjurwald tells the Culture News.

Anyone who wants, both private individuals and editors, can nominate contributions to the Grand Journalist Prize. Of the nominations received, the Journalist Prize jury makes a selection of grants which then compete in different classes, such as the Innovator of the Year, Revelation of the Year and Narrator of the Year.

Jonas Bonnier, chairman of the Grand Journalist Prize jury, confirms the image that there is an overweight of resource-rich media houses among the nominations. It is unfortunate that so few local editors nominate their jobs, he thinks.

- There is a clear overweight to the resource-rich media, so it is.

- Many media in Stockholm nominate very naturally and are good at it, while the same obvious to nominate their jobs is not found in the rest of the country. It is very much a question of resources that are often found in Stockholm. It is also a matter of democracy, Jonas Bonnier tells the Culture News.

According to the website of the Grand Journalist Prize, the jury must consist of "knowledgeable, prominent journalists from all over the media Sweden", but only two of this year's 12 eligible jurors live and work outside Stockholm.

And that, according to Lisa Bjurwald, can also affect the jury's nomination work.

- You make a comfortable attitude. You look at the big ones, the most debated, what you yourself or people in your own circle have read, noticed and shared. But what is important if you sit in the jury for a prize of this kind is that you go a step further.

But that this would affect the jury's work, Jonas Bonnier does not agree.

- Right now there are fewer local journalists than it usually should and should be in the jury, but on the other hand, those who sit there are very well anchored outside Stockholm, both as individuals and in their social networks. But absolutely, it is clear that we can get better at this.