The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) has presented the “Dejan Anastasijević” awards for investigative journalism. Ivan Radak, editor of Forbes Serbia, received a special award for his coverage of the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station. The same recognition was awarded to Nova Ekonomija journalists Aleksandra Nenadović and Filip Rudić for their investigative article series, also focusing on the causes that led to the accident in Novi Sad.

According to the jury’s explanation, the special awards this year were given to journalists from Nova Ekonomija and Forbes Serbia who, due to the specific nature of their media outlets and daily production routines, were not included in the shortlist. The jury felt they deserved special recognition for opening many important topics through their reporting.

“The astonishing speed with which they mastered an extremely complex, yet crucial topic in Serbia did not affect the high standards of their continuous uncovering of key facts about what we were all feverishly interested in – the reconstruction of the Novi Sad railway station and its tragic collapse. In short, they demonstrated why democracy and justice cannot exist without free and professional media,” stated the jury in its explanation.

The jury was composed of journalists Branko Čečen, Gordana Igrić, Mirjana Jevtović, and Saša Leković (Croatia).

In addition to the Forbes Serbia editor, our company also had N1 Television journalist Miodrag Sovilj among the shortlisted nominees.

The “Dejan Anastasijević” investigative journalism award was given to BIRN journalist Aleksa Tešić for his article series “BIA Hacking Activists’ Phones.” The articles reveal how the security agency obtained data from activists’ and journalists’ devices, highlighting violations of the right to privacy and the ways in which state institutions use surveillance tools.