Münsterland Media Prize 2023: Award winners selected

Special prize complements places one to three

The Westfälische Nachrichten are the winners of the Münsterland 2023 Media Prize. With their theme week on the B 54, they secured first place in the award, which was presented on Thursday (7 December) in the foyer of Sparkasse Münsterland Ost in Münster. Second place went to Sigrid März for her RUMS contribution "Kidane and Mr Schweitzer", third place to the G7 project team from Westfälische Nachrichten. There was a special prize for a video contribution by the rock'n'popmuseum and the Gronau cultural office on Udo Lindenberg's 75th birthday.

Every two years, the Münsterland e.V. and the Press Association Münster-Münsterland e.V., together with Sparkasse Münsterland Ost as sponsor, honour the best media contributions from the region, about the region and about people in the region. This year, the award was presented for the first time under the motto "Colourful Münsterland".

"The Münsterland Media Prize has changed and developed together with the media. What has remained the same, however, is the high appreciation for journalistic work that provides critical insights right on our own doorstep. This important view of our homeland deserves special recognition," said Klaus Richter, Chairman of the Board of Sparkasse Münsterland Ost, in his welcoming speech at the media award ceremony.

Klaus Ehling, CEO of Münsterland e.V., also spoke about the change in concept and the renaming of the journalism prize to the media prize: "We are thus taking account of the changes in the media landscape. Our motivation was to open up the award to other formats - such as blogs, podcasts or reporting on social media. However, as a cross-topic and cross-media award, the Media Prize still stands for good journalism."

Wolfram Linke, Chairman of the Press Association Münster-Münsterland e.V. and also a member of the jury, emphasised the quality of the award-winning contributions. "The research work of the award winners and the depth of detail of their contributions particularly impressed us on the jury. Not only the choice of topics was varied, open and therefore colourful, but also the reporting on them."

The winners Anne Eckrodt, Stefan Biestmann, Gunnar A. Pier, Ralf Repöhler, Carsten Voß and Stefan Werding focussed on this important east-west connection in the region in their article "Themenwoche: Der B 54 auf der Spur" for Westfälische Nachrichten. They impressed the jury not only with their research and choice of topic, but also with their presentation and reader involvement. This secured them the first prize of 3000 euros.

Sigrid März told the story of Kidane and Mr Schweitzer in her article for the Münster-based local magazine RUMS. In it, she linked the story of two people with education policy in general and the situation in the Münster-Coerde district in particular in an outstanding way. The jury honoured this with second place and 2,000 euros.

Third place and 1000 euros went to Westfälische Nachrichten for its coverage of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Münster. They not only covered the event around the clock and illuminated it from all perspectives, but also used all possible forms of presentation.

A special prize was awarded to the rock'n'popmuseum and Kulturbüro Gronau for their video contribution "Udo Lindenberg turns 75 - and the whole of Gronau congratulates!". With a great deal of commitment, enthusiasm and broad participation, the makers took an unusual route to congratulate their citizen of honour.

A total of around 80 applications were received from editorial offices, journalists, press offices, PR agencies, influencers and bloggers. The entries, which were published between 1 July 2020 and 31 December 2022, covered a broad spectrum of concepts and forms of presentation. Seven entries were nominated in advance by the jury for the Münsterland 2023 Media Prize.

This year's jury consisted of: Sascha Fobbe (freelance journalist), Anna von Garmissen (Leibniz Institute for Media Research/Vice Chairwoman of the Press Association Münster-Münsterland e.V.), Wolfram Linke (Chairman of the Press Association Münster-Münsterland e.V.), Klaudia Maleska (Chairwoman of the Press Association Münster-Münsterland e.V.).), Klaudia Maleska (Editor, Corporate Communications, Herz-Jesu Krankenhaus Münster-Hiltrup), Uwe Renners (Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Die RHEINPFALZ), Prof Dr Armin Scholl (Institute for Communication Science, University of Münster) and Anja Wengenroth (Press Officer, Münster University Hospital).