New Award for the Media: Nominees Announced by the Mariusz Walter Award Committee

The Mariusz Walter Award is a new accolade dedicated to media professionals.  It will be awarded annually to individuals who have demonstrated creativity, courage, exceptional journalistic craftsmanship combined with intuition, and social sensitivity in the past year. Media Personality of the Year Main Award nominations  include Justyna Dobrosz-Oracz from Gazeta Wyborcza (currently at TVP), Katarzyna Kasia, host of Szkło Kontaktowe on TVN24 and the Nowy Świat broadcast on Radio Nowy Świat, and Radomir Wit from TVN24. In the category of Media Event of the Year, nominees are the editorial team of the 19:30 program, Jakub Sobieniowski - for a series of reports on TVN Fakty exposing the exploitation by PiS of state institutions and state-owned companies to support their election campaign and Katarzyna Włodkowska - for the reportage "In the Editorial Office of Andrzej Skworz. 'I count. Until you cry out and leave'" in Duży Format - Gazeta Wyborcza. Nominees in the New Voice in Media category are Aleksander Hudzik – the online magazine Mint, Maciej Okraszewski –Dział Zagraniczny, and the Orientuj.się team, while in the Sports in Media category, the nominees are Dariusz Faron from Wirtualna Polska, Michał Okoński from Tygodnik Powszechny, and the creators of the Sport do słuchania to program on Radio Nowy Świat - Mikołaj Tyczyński, Klaudia Kowalczyk, and Kuba Jędras.

The Mariusz Walter Award was established by the Bożena and Mariusz Walter Foundation in late 2023. This recognition is intended not only for those with significant experience in the media industry but also for individuals who are just entering the media landscape. The Mariusz Walter Award aims to guide the direction in which Polish media should evolve and the values they should embody. It is a means of recognizing individuals whose voices should be heard.

Media was the passion and essence of my husband's life. He always credited his success to remarkable individuals.  I hope that this award will shine a light on courageous, diligent, and inspiring individuals. We pay particular attention to those whose talent and hard work have not received the recognition they deserve," said Bożena Walter, the founder of the Bożena and Mariusz Walter Foundation.

The Mariusz Walter Award encompasses four distinct categories: the Media Personality of the Year Main Award, Media Highlight of the Year, New Voice in the Media, and Sports in the Media. 

The selection of winners is done by an 18-member Jury that includes respected personalities from different fields like media, culture, sports, and society. The highly esteemed Jury panel consists of well-known individuals such Edwin Bendyk, Andrzej Bobiński, Kamil Dziubka, Ewa Ewart, Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram, Jerzy Jurecki, Grzegorz Kalinowski, Michał Kołodziejczyk, Adam Małysz, Adam Pieczyński, Hanna Rydlewska, Joanna Solska, Agata Szczęśniak, Mariusz Szczygieł, Bożena Walter, Jacek Wasilewski, Paulina Wilk, and Maja Włoszczowska. The Jury convened on January 31, 2024, to commence their deliberations.

The winners in each category will receive a sculptural trophy created by Tomasz Górnicki who is regarded as one of Poland's most skilled sculptors, along with a financial reward. 

The recipients of this year's awards will be announced on Friday, March 15th at the grand Mariusz Walter Award Presentation Gala. The event will take place at the renowned POLIN Museum. The official media partner for this esteemed recognition is TVN Warner Bros. Discovery.