The reporter Juan Moreno has been awarded the title of "Journalist of the Year". It was thanks to him that "at the end of 2018 the SPIEGEL journalist Claas Relotius was exposed as a notorious fraudster", a jury commissioned by the industry magazine "Medium Magazin" explained on Wednesday in Frankfurt.
"As a reporter, Moreno showed the tenacity of the thorough researcher and honest journalist craftsman. He also showed the courage to personally put a lot at risk for the truth, because at first nobody wanted to believe him." The undoped price is to be presented to the 47-year-old on February 17, 2020 in Berlin.
DER SPIEGEL went public at the end of 2018 with the counterfeiting scandal. The previously renowned and honored SPIEGEL author Relotius had invented scenes, discussions and events in numerous articles. Moreno got the case rolling with persistent research.
"Ultimately, Moreno's story of disclosure has changed the journalistic standards for authenticity, transparency and documentability of research across the country," the jury said. "Medium Magazin" has been awarding the prize since 2004.
Juan Moreno has already been awarded the Lighthouse Prize by the Recherche network. He published a book about the Relotius case in autumn 2019: "A thousand lines lie". Based on this, the case should also be made into a film.
Read the final report of the Clarification Commission commissioned by SPIEGEL on the Relotius case here.