Prof. Horst Knapp Prize 2019 awarded for the 25th time this year
- The prize winners for 2020 are Paul Lendvai, who received an honorary prize for his extensive publication work over many decades, and Kamil Kowalcze, business editor at the daily newspaper Die Presse, who was awarded a supporting prize
- The prize winner for 2019, Manfred Schumi, business editor and columnist at Kronen Zeitung, was also formally honoured at the award ceremony at Bank Austria Kunstforum, as no festive award ceremony took place last year
In extraordinary times, many things are different. Last year – due to the pandemic – no festive award ceremony could take place. Therefore, yesterday evening at Bank Austria Kunstforum, the prize winner for 2019, Manfred Schumi, business editor and columnist at Kronen Zeitung, was once again honoured in front of the colleagues and guests present.
In awarding the Prof. Horst Knapp Prize for 2020, the independent jury chaired by Ewald Nowotny decided to award an honorary prize to the renowned publicist Paul Lendvai and a supporting prize to Kamil Kowalcze, business editor at the daily newspaper Die Presse.
Robert Zadrazil, CEO of UniCredit Bank Austria, on the three prize winners for 2019 and 2020: “Manfred Schumi shows through his journalistic work that serious and at the same time wide-reaching business reporting does not have to be a contradiction in terms. Paul Lendvai is not only one of the best-known faces and one of the most incisive voices on ORF radio and television, but also a renowned columnist and author of numerous books, which time and again convey complex economic and socio-political topics to readers in an easily understandable way. And Kamil Kowalcze is an economic journalist who, in his work, lives up to his own claim of delivering complex and socially significant economic issues in an accurate, insightful and comprehensive manner to a high degree.”
Jury chairman Ewald Nowotny, former governor of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank, emphasises: “Manfred Schumi is a highly experienced business journalist who knows how to present complex economic issues in a generally understandable way. Paul Lendvai is honoured with the Prof. Horst Knapp Prize for his significant journalistic work. He is a journalist and author with a committed humanistic view of the world, based on an eventful life and extensive education. Lendvai is a highly competent analyst, but also a committed admonisher with regard to political and economic developments in Europe. Kamil Kowalcze is awarded a supporting prize. He is a younger business journalist who has already distinguished himself through his factual reporting, especially with regard to new international developments, and through very informative interviews.”
The keynote speech was given by economist Dalia Marin from the TUM School of Management (TU Munich). She spoke about “Future Perspectives of Globalisation”, a topic that could not be more relevant in view of the many challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.
About the prize winners for 2019 and 2020 respectively
Prize winner for 2019: Manfred Schumi has been a member of the business editorial team of Kronen Zeitung since 1986. In addition to his daily editorial work and his significant involvement in Kronen Zeitung's business section, Manfred Schumi, who holds a doctorate in journalism and communications science, has increasingly appeared as a columnist in recent years ("Am Rande notiert", "Offen gesprochen"). His main topics are economic policy, tourism and industry.
Honorary prize for 2020: The publicist Paul Lendvai held leading positions at ORF (public Austrian radio/tv) for many years, among others as director of shortwave and editor-in-chief of the Eastern Europe editorial department. He was also editor-in-chief of the magazine “Europäische Rundschau”. He is a book author, columnist for the daily newspaper Der Standard and head of the ORF “Europastudio”.
Supporting prize for 2020: Kamil Kowalcze has been a member of the business editorial team at the daily newspaper Die Presse since 2019, focusing on reporting on the banking industry as well as central banks and the financial markets. Previously, the graduate of the Journalism, Content Production and Digital Media Management degree programmes at the FH Wien University of Applied Sciences worked for the business magazine Trend and for the daily newspaper WirtschaftsBlatt, among others.
Prof. Horst Knapp Prize has been funded by UniCredit Bank Austria every year since 1996
The Prof. Horst Knapp Prize is awarded for outstanding achievements in Austrian economic journalism, which present complex economic and sociopolitical issues in a particularly clear and comprehensible manner. An independent jury awards the prize, funded by UniCredit Bank Austria in memory of Prof. Horst Knapp, the doyen of Austrian economic journalism who passed away in 1996.
The jury is chaired by Ewald Nowotny, the former governor of the Austrian Central Bank. The jury also includes the following members: Karl Aiginger, director of the Policy Crossover Center: Vienna – Europe; Michael Csoklich, freelance journalist; Martin Halama, head of Corporate Communications at UniCredit Bank Austria; Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger, rector of the Vienna University of Economics and Business; Andrea Helige, PR consultant; Veit Sorger, chairman of the Supervisory Board at MONDI AG; Josef Zechner, professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and – as last year’s prize winner – Manfred Schumi, business editor and columnist at the daily Kronen Zeitung.
Enquiries
UniCredit Bank Austria Media Relations
Matthias Raftl, Tel. +43 (0) 50505-52809
E-mail: matthias.raftl@unicreditgroup.at
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