N1 Croatia journalist Nataša Božić Šarić has been honored with the Journalist of the Year award by Croatian Journalists’ Association.

The Croatian Journalists’ Association (HND) held an award ceremony to celebrate the best journalistic works of 2022 on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day. Božić Šarić won with 125 out of 454 valid votes from HND members. Other nominees in the category for Journalist of the Year were Ilko Ćimić from Index, Dora Kršul from Telegram, and Hrvoje Šimičević from Novosti.

The journalist Nataša Božić Šarić was behind the story that exposed the callousness and cynicism of the head of state. Her years-long media initiative finally led to the resolution of the issue of compensation for parents and caregivers after the death of a child. Precisely due to the media questioning of this journalist, the relevant minister Marin Piletić, and the ruling coalition decided to cancel the claim on the only immovable property of the beneficiary of social assistance.

The award recognizes Božić Šarić’s work in the magazine “TNT” and its focus on responsible journalism that benefits the public and citizens. The explanation of the award states that her work is an example of how responsible journalism can change society for the better.

Regarding the award, Nataša Božić Šarić said that she was surprised because of the strong competition. She expressed her happiness that the award was on N1, whose newsroom is primarily focused on political stories, but opened space for social events and those who are neglected in society without any argument. She also stated that after 25 years in the profession, she is glad to have received the award for this very topic.

The Lifetime Achievement Awards were posthumously awarded to Nova TV journalists Mislav Bago and Index journalist Vladimir Matijanić. They were honored for their passionate commentary and reporting from the political arena, as well as for being uncompromising fighters against injustice and lies. The Marija Jurić Zagorka award for television journalism was awarded to Nova television reporter Barbara Majstorović Ivezić for a series of articles about the illegal home for the elderly in Stupnik. Nova’s cinematographer Marino Grgurev won the Žarko Kaić award for cinematography, for his contribution to the show Provjereno.