The media awards are presented by the Norwegian Media Businesses’ Association (MBL) during the Nordic Media Days in Bergen. It was a celebratory evening for Schibsted’s media houses, which took home a total of 10 awards on Thursday night.
However, as early as the official opening of the conference on Thursday morning, E24 struck gold. In front of a packed audience in Grieghallen, E24 received the “Grand Journalism Award” for exposing stock scandals in Norwegian politics in 2023.
“This award, along with the SKUP awards, represents the highest recognition one can receive for excellent journalism in Norway. The award is particularly meaningful as it acknowledges the work of our entire editorial team. We don’t have any divas, just a team that works incredibly well together,” said Lars Håkon Grønning, publisher at E24.
The “Grand Journalism Award,” valued at 100,000 kroner, is presented by the Norwegian Press Association. The award is supported by the Norwegian Journalists’ Union, the Norwegian Editors’ Association, the Media Businesses’ Association, the Trade Press, NRK and TV 2.
It wasn’t long before Grønning and the rest of the E24 delegation could celebrate again when a large part of the media industry gathered at the Ole Bull Scene for the awards ceremony.
E24 was called to the stage twice to receive the awards for “National News Coverage of the Year” and “Niche Site of the Year.” The jury emphasised how young, ambitious journalists challenged established media houses by shedding new light on political eligibility, leading to one of the largest political scandals in recent Norwegian history.
“E24 aims to be a leader in investigative business journalism. A few weeks ago, we won a SKUP diploma, and now receiving these awards shows that we live up to that ambition. In just a few years, we have moved from being largely a reporting editorial team to setting the agenda with our investigations. I am truly proud of this,” said Grønning.
Asked how the team would celebrate, Grønning said, “We will savour this moment for a while and take the award as confirmation that we’ve done much right. We’ll build on this. E24 is the country’s largest business newspaper, and our readers can expect us to continue delivering important, agenda-setting journalism. I am certain this is not the end but the beginning of a series of significant reports from E24 in the years to come.”
Bergens Tidende also celebrated on home ground, as they went up on stage to receive the “Innovation of the Year” award for their Breakingbot. “This year’s innovation has changed the work methodology in the media house, raised competence throughout the editorial staff, and developed new tools and ways to present news. The product has allowed the media house to win more news battles and provide readers with the most important news first in an understandable way. Having access to the same information – whether in the field, at the desks, or among leaders – makes the editorial team stronger and more agile. By prioritising user needs, they have increased traffic and subscription sales and set new engagement records,” said the jury.
Bergens Tidende also received an Excellence Award in the category “Visual Story of the Year” for “The Shots in Ibsen Street,” which they also won the SKUP award for in April.
VG also took home several awards from Bergen, including “National News Site of the Year.” The jury particularly noted VG’s impressive daily news operation, combined with solid investigative projects, demanding war coverage, and entertainment. “VG has something for everyone. In 2023, it positioned itself as a world leader in AI in journalism and broke new ground for the benefit of all. Everyone becoming better also makes VG better. Impressive.”
Here are all the winners from Schibsted:
- National News Coverage of the Year: E24 for “Politicians’ Stocks and Eligibility”
- National Sports Coverage of the Year: VG for “The Ingebrigtsen Drama”
- Local Story of the Year: Stavanger Aftenblad for “The Hunt for the Family Man”
- Magazine Photo of the Year: Tomm W. Christiansen, Aftenposten for “After the Landslide”
- National News Site of the Year: VG
- Niche Site of the Year: E24
- Excellence in the Visual Story of the Year category: Bergens Tidende for “The Shots in Ibsen Street”
- Web TV Series of the Year: VG for “Thanks for Everything”
- Innovation of the Year: Bergens Tidende for “Breakingbot”
