The first-ever Belize Prize for Investigative Journalism was awarded on Saturday night in Belize City at the Government House. Channel 7 News had two of the top three finishers: Cherisse Halsall for her story on Bricks and Cones at the Immigration Department, and Jules Vasquez for his four-part series on the Disaster at the Social Security's David L Mckoy Building. Marion Ali from Channel 5 was also nominated for her story on Contraband in Northern Belize.
It's the first and only journalism prize given in Belize and it is for stories that employ the tools of investigative journalism to, as the organizers put it, "recognize and reward courageous and dedicated journalists who watch, chronicle, reveal and hold to account the people and forces that work against equity, transparency, civility and good governance in our nation."
That's a tall task - with a rich prize: 10,000 dollars to the top finisher.
And the winner is...? Cherisse Halsall has the story:
Saturday night saw a soiree to recognize Journalists, a first-of-its-kind award ceremony to recognize the best piece of Belizean Investigative Journalism in 2022.
Award coordinator and veteran journalist Holly Edgell shared some remarks on the profession and this brand new but all-important initiative:
Holly Edgell, Award Coordinator
"Beyond the daily news investigative journalism holds a magnifying glass to complex issues that can undermine democracy and subvert the values of civil society in Belize investigative journalism reveals bad actors and actions across the spectrum, governance, the economy, the environment, crime, healthcare education and everything. So, the Belize Prize for Investigative Journalism recognises and rewards courageous and dedicated journalists who hold to account the forces that work against equity, against transparency, civility, and good governance."
And the first Belizeans to win the prize were Cameramen and editors Codie Norales and James Ayala and the man often called the dean of the press corps, Channel 7's News director and 29-year veteran, Jules Vasquez.
After claiming the prize he gave some very spirited remarks.
Jules Vasquez, Winner, Journalism Prize
"Our job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable and so when a minister or a wealthy person, or someone goes to sleep at night disturbed that mean this expletive Jules or this expletive Cherisse, or this expletive Marion. When we are lifting the curtain on the backstage of our great democratic experiment when we are moving the curtain and saying watch what is happening in there, that is when our work matters the most."
"So I have to encourage other media houses, although it is hard we have to make the time we have to be worthy of being journalists so we force people to fear us. I want them to go to sleep at night worrying what will the media know because there are so many things happening behind that curtain."
"I want them to lose sleep and I want all of them, it is obviously non-partisan, I want all politicians forever to be in fear of an over-powerful, of media that is too strong that they worry about that they start to say there are limits to freedom of expression, my brother, my sister, are there limits to campaign financing? are there limits to people whose votes you can buy? are there limits to what you can do to distort a democracy? Well don't tell me about freedom, limits to freedom of expression. There are limits as we defined them and if you want to incarcerate or report or have complaints, run it. We will do our best to resist and to constantly defy, because that is our job."
And the hope is that the Belize Journalism Prize spurs journalists in general no matter their level of experience to push the boundaries of truth, freedom, and passion to produce the type of journalism that truly makes a change.
The contest was judged by a panel of 3 international judges from NBC, The New York Times, and the ZNS network in the Bahamas and former Journalist Janelle Chanona.
A commitment has already been made to award the prize again next year for stories produced in 2023.
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