Journalist Association gives out Watchdog 2018 awards

The award ceremony wrapped up Naprej/Forward!, the annual media festival organised by the DNS. Udovč received the Debutant Watchdog Award, given to young journalists, for her wide knowledge and skill set, the judging panel said.

"She approaches science with an extraordinary level of responsibility and professionalism. She strives to present science achievements in a way that is easy to understand and interesting, but steers clear of sensationalism."

Another Debutant Watchdog went to Matej Zwitter of Radio Študent for an in-depth analysis of one of the country's biggest newspapers and how it is run.

Bobovnik, one of the most acclaimed journalists in Slovenia, got the Lifetime Achievement Watchdog Award for his contribution to Slovenian journalism. The judging panel said that he has left an indelible mark over the course of more than forty years.

Now a host of TV Slovenija's late night news show, he has created and co-authored a number of documentaries, election face-offs, referendum and election shows, interviews, charity shows and annual reviews.

He always seeks new ways to address the audience, encourage democratic dialogue and strengthen good and unbiased journalism, the panel said.

Special achievement Watchdogs went to four journalists and journalistic teams: Blaž Petkovič of Večer got it for revealing a contentious loan taken out by the Democratic Party (SDS), and the team of Globus, TV Slovenija, for its international affairs reporting.

Primož Cirman and Vesna Vuković of Siol.net were honoured for their reports about Slovenia's business and economy, while a team of POP TV journalists was honoured for its work on a project launched as response to fake news. A similar project of Radio Slovenija received a special mention of the judging panel.

The panel also honoured photographers Andrej Petelinšek of Večer, and the photo teams of the newspaper Delo and Plac portal.