Free Media Awards
2009
Novy Chas - Belarus
Novy Chas is a prominent weekly newspaper in Minsk that focuses on politics and culture.
The newspaper holds freedom of expression and democratic principles in high esteem.
The weekly newspaper’s analytical and literary texts are written in Belarusian, thus communicating a linguistic dimension of national identity to its readers. Every month, Novy Chas publishes the “Belarus in Literature”, in which democratic writers and poets can publish their works.
Despite permanent pressure from the authorities, the newspaper has not changed its course or engaged in self-censorship.
The newspaper was nominated by the Belarusian independent news agency BelaPan, the Union of Belarusian Writers Association, the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) and Gernot Erler, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. The prize is accompanied by EUR 30 000.