Colombia
Colombian journalist wins award for encouraging human rightsPosted Oct 5 2011
Colombian journalist Hollman Morris was awarded the International Nuremberg Human Rights Award Sunday Sept. 25 for his work with the investigative television program Contravia, according to Germany international broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
Morris started the television program in 2003 and according to the Nuremberg jury, has since provided “visibility to the victims of the terrible armed conflict in his native Colombia and gives them a voice on the his television show.”
The Nuremberg Human Rights Award, as stated in its edicts, “honours individuals or groups who have in an exemplary manner, committed themselves to the respect of Human Rights, sometimes at considerable personal risk.”
First starting in 1995 as a response to Germany’s history of human rights violations during World War II and the National Socialist Racial Policy, the award has been endowed every two years to outstanding defenders of human rights.
According to an article by the Knight Center, Morris said during his acceptance speech that it is the job of journalism to make the voice of the weak and poor heard. He said that Contravia believes that well-informed citizens will be more independent and free and that peace and freedom of expression are fundamental rights of the men and women of the world.
In another move to give Contravia and its viewers more independence, earlier this year, Morris turned to the citizens of Colombia and abroad to make Contravia “the first viewer-funded television show in Latin America”
http://www.revistaarcadia.com/periodismo-cultural-revista-arcadia/articulo/contravia-busca-primer-programa-financiado-televidentes-a-latina/24801.