This year's Werner Holzer Prize for Outstanding Foreign Journalism was awarded to three German correspondents, including DW's reporter in Israel, Tania Krämer. 

During her acceptance speech in Frankfurt's historic town hall, Krämer thanked all the Israelis and Palestinians who had "opened doors" for her over the past 15 years. This was not something she took for granted, she told the audience of several hundred invited guests.

Krämer added that some residents in Israel and the Palestinian territories are of the opinion there is little use speaking with journalists. The conflict in the Middle East has been going on for decades, she explained. All the analysis and commentary has in no way brought peace any closer, Krämer conceded. 

Centering on people and their fates

The jury praised Krämer's reporting, stating that Krämer looks behind the headlines and impressively explains what particular events mean for people's lives, and that "her experience and her network allows her to give viewers a deeper understanding of events, to show that there are many realities and gray areas of everyday life."

DW's Director-General Peter Limbourg said Krämer's work "reflects the great commitment of our dedicated colleagues who face enormous challenges." He added that Krämer had been working "objectively and unpretentiously in an enormously difficult region for many years."

"People and their fate have always been at the center of her work," he said. "I am very pleased with the jury's decision."

Striking a delicate balance

German-French author and DW television moderator Michel Friedman is co-founder and chair of the Werner Holzer Institute, which awards the prize of the same name. He spoke of the importance of foreign correspondents, and the difficulties reporting on topics in the Middle East.

Friedman also praised correspondents working in crisis regions: "I am grateful for the work journalists do reporting from war zones." At the same time, he criticized Germany's "deafening silence" in the face of Hamas' brutality towards Israeli Jews.

Correspondents reporting from Israel and neighboring countries are under particular scrutiny, said Jan Kuhlman, head of DW's Middle East department. He illustrated the difficulties of reporting from the region by telling the story that several years ago, two readers complained to a leading German daily about what they felt was the paper's biased Middle East correspondent.

One reader accused the reporter of being biased in favor of Israel, while the other complained the correspondent was siding too closely with Palestinians. 

Kuhlmann added that reporters in the Middle East should try to take as neutral a view of events as possible. There are repeated outbreaks of death and suffering on both sides, he added.

The department head praised the DW journalist as being one of "only a few correspondents in the Middle East who know the region as well as Tania Krämer, partly because they have lived there for so long." There are two kinds of correspondents in this region, he added, those who pretend to know what they are talking about, and those, like Krämer, who actually do.

Confirming old beliefs?

Arthur Landwehr, who teaches journalism at the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences in Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt am Main, speculated that not all users, listeners, or viewers nowadays really wanted to learn more about other countries. Instead, he believes, many prefer to have their own beliefs confirmed.

This is particularly true for highly politicized topics, Landwehr, who spent a number of years working as a foreign correspondent and editor-in-chief at the German radio and television network Südwestrundfunk (SWR), said. 

Landwehr went on to explain that Middle East correspondents were often expected to position themselves in favor of one side or the other. In addition, he added, German history and the historic guilt Germany bears for atrocities committed by the Nazis also play a role when reporting from this region.

Promoting diversity

Krämer was presented the award in Frankfurt, alongside two other laureates: Ulf Röller, bureau chief at the Brussels office of the German public service television broadcaster ZDF and Michael Thumann, long-time Moscow correspondent for the German weekly Die Zeit.

The Werner Holzer Prize was established in 2022 to honor the work of foreign correspondents and to highlight their contribution to the diversity of opinion. With the award, named after the editor-in-chief of the German daily Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper from 1973 to 1991, the Institute wants to send a clear message that reporting from foreign countries should not be reduced, nor journalistic diversity restricted. 

This article was translated from German.