'The hijacking of Pompeii' hijacks Advocaat.be press award
The jury of the Advocaat.be press prize has selected 'The Hijacking of Pompeii' as the winner. "The three-part documentary illustrates very well how a rule of law works," explains Sofie Demeyer, spokesperson Advocaat.be. "The makers also took a very nuanced approach in their reporting, also highlighting the side of the perpetrators, the Somali hijackers, in a particularly respectful way."
'The Hijacking of Pompeii' aired last autumn on Canvas, VRT. The series was made by directors Lennart Stuyck and Maarten Stuyck and producers Barbara Dyck and Maarten Bernaerts at production house Diplodokus.
Second and third place go to De Coke Lijnen, a series by Lars Bové and Piet Depuydt at the newspaper De Tijd, and De zaak Carlo, a Panoreportage (VRT) by journalist Dirk Leestmans, director Jeremy De Ryckere and cameraman Stijn De Moor.
About the Press Prize, worth 7,500 euros
Advocaat.be awards a Belgian-Dutch-language journalistic publication or media production on law and justice in general or on court reporting every three years.
"Media and lawyers share certain ideals and aspirations, such as independence, the willingness to denounce abuse and violation of rights, the right to information and protection of fundamental freedoms. For this reason and to encourage quality journalism on law, justice and court reporting, we as Advocaat.be award a press prize every three years."
There were a total of 22 entries for the Press Prize 2023. A five-member jury scrutinised the entries: Linda De Win (former VRT journalist), Prof Catherine Van de Heyning (UA and substitute public prosecutor in Antwerp), mr Claire Buggenhoudt (lawyer attached to the Antwerp Bar), Pol Deltour (national secretary professional association of journalists VVJ-AVBB) and jury president Sofie Demeyer (spokesperson Advocaat.be).
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