The annual award of the Croatian Journalists’ Association was awarded to Nova TV in two categories – the reporter of the show “Provjereno” Barbara Majstorovic Ivezic won the Marija Juric Zagorka award for television journalism, and cameraman Marino Grgurev the Zarko Kaic award for camera work. HND awarded the Otokar Kersovani Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously to Mislav Baga.

The Otokar Kersovani Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded posthumously by HND to Mislav Baga, a multiple award-winning journalist, reporter, editor and political commentator of Nova TV. Mislav Bago was synonymous with elections – for almost 30 years he participated in the creation of all election shows and actively followed all processes related to elections – from presidential, parliamentary, local to the European Parliament elections. He is the winner of four HND awards, including the one for journalist of the year. “He was fully committed to the journalistic profession 365 days a year.” He knew all the secrets of Croatian politics in the last 30 years. About every prime minister, president, minister or parliamentary representative. Always excellently prepared for every story or interview” – the explanation of the HND award reads.

The Marija Juric Zagorka award for television journalism was awarded to reporter Barbara Majstorovic Ivezic for a series of articles about the illegal home for the elderly in Stupnik. Having discovered the inhumane conditions in which the residents live, but also the illegal work of the owner of the home and her assistant, in order to prove it, the reporter enrolled her own mother in the same home. She received a confirmation that she was enrolled and with that document she went to the Ministry of Family and Social Policy. As soon as the story was announced, the police and inspectors went out on the field. While researching this topic, Barbara Majstorovic Ivezic also found out about the contract on life support that the owner signed with the ward and registered to her apartment and then sold it to her lawyer, which she was not allowed to do by law. In June of last year, the owner of the house and two workers received three criminal reports and three indictments filed by the Ministry of Social Welfare and DORH, for criminal offenses – abandonment of a helpless person, criminal offense of fraud and criminal offense of self-interest.

“I did not expect the award, because the competition is always great. However, I must admit that I am very glad that I received it because it is the greatest recognition of the profession, that is, colleagues who do the same work as me. This is not only my award, but also the team of cameramen who worked on this series of features about an illegal home for the elderly, editors, and of course, my entire „Provjereno” editorial staff. Thanks to the editor Mata Barisic and the director of the information program Ksenija Kardum, who recognized the importance of this story, I really don’t know how many times we went to the field and followed the entrances of the police and the inspectorate. The effort paid off, the home was closed, and criminal charges were filed against the owner and two workers,” said Majstorovic Ivezic.

Cinematographer Marino Grgurev won the Zarko Kaic award for cinematography, for his contribution to „Provjereno” about mother Nada and daughter Dragana Boromisa from the vicinity of Dvor on Una river. Together with the reporter Maja Medakovic, he portrayed the life of these two women who lived on the edge of existence in a dilapidated house, forgotten by the world. What is incredible in the whole story is that the interlocutors, despite the ecstatic life in Banija, still remain modest, never removing the smile from their faces. The cameraman Grgurev was able to show all this in the smallest details with his lens. With his camera, knowledge and talent, and above all with his effort and will, he conjured up and drew viewers into the lives of those two women.

“Rewards are not what motivate me in this job, although they are a nice recognition for years of effort, work and investment in myself. I didn’t even know that I was nominated for this award, but when I found out, I was aware of one thing, and that is if this piece is nominated for an HND award, it will win it in this category. My dear colleague Maja Medakovic and I talked a lot, while we were driving to that remote part of the Sisak-Moslavina County to the village of Kosna, about how to film and show this story, with the fact that we didn’t know in detail what we would find there. We decided on longer and quieter shots that will fully immerse the viewer in the atmosphere of the everyday life of two almost forgotten women – a mother and a daughter in need of a more dignified life. Maja’s text and my shots turned out to be a winning combination. Today, Nada and Dragana are finally in an apartment where the ceilings don’t need to be taped, and I hope that we also helped make it all happen,” said Marino Grgurev, who, together with Zoran Marinovic, won the HND award in 2018 in the same category, for the recording feature “Mosul, the first front line”, broadcast also in the show „Provjereno”.

In the editorial office of „Provjereno”, there is satisfaction with the awards won. “We are extremely proud of our colleagues who won these prestigious HND awards, which only confirmed the quality and value of many years of work in the field of investigative journalism. I must certainly point out that along with our own Barbara Majstorovic Ivezic, three other journalists from the newsroom have, over the years, received the Marija Juric Zagorka awards for television journalism – Maja Medakovic, Danka Derifaj and Ana Malbasa, who received this very award last year. Also, our videographers have won awards for videography. This is the second time that Marino Grgurev will receive the HND award, and the year before last, the award in this category went to our Miroslav Bokan”, said Mato Barisic, editor of the show „Provjereno” and added: “We are one of the most awarded newsrooms in Croatia, and that success was only possible thanks to the extraordinary commitment and effort of our team working on the show. These awards are particularly important for the journalism profession in Croatia as we face many challenges in terms of media freedom and pressures on journalists investigating topics of public interest. They also remind us of the strength and value of investigative journalism, as well as our important role in uncovering the truth and informing the public about key issues. Therefore, we will continue our dedicated work and strive to justify the trust placed in us by our viewers and fellow journalists.”