25.09.2024

Prof. Horst Knapp Prize 2023 goes to Manfred Neuper and Uwe Sommersguter

  • Manfred Neuper is head of the business section for Styria at “Kleine Zeitung”
  • Uwe Sommersguter is head of the business section and deputy editor-in-chief for Carinthia and East Tyrol at “Kleine Zeitung” 
  • The Prof. Horst Knapp Prize has been awarded annually since 1996 for outstanding achievements in Austrian business journalism

The Prof. Horst Knapp Prize 2023, which commemorates the doyen of Austrian business journalism who died in 1996, was awarded to Manfred Neuper, head of the business section for Styria at “Kleine Zeitung”, and Uwe Sommersguter, head of the business section and deputy editor-in-chief for Carinthia and East Tyrol at “Kleine Zeitung”.

Marion Morales Albiñana-Rosner, Board Member Wealth Management & Private Banking at UniCredit Bank Austria, on the award winners: “With Manfred Neuper and Uwe Sommersguter, we are honouring two accomplished journalists, business experts and media managers who have made a significant contribution to the success of one of Austria's most important regional media, the ‘Kleine Zeitung’ - especially in the all-important digital sector. The Prof. Horst Knapp Prize honours their outstanding journalistic work.”

Jury chairman Gottfried Haber, Deputy Governor of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB), said in his statement: “This year's award winners have made complex economic relationships understandable and comprehensible through their outstanding reporting and in-depth analyses. Their long-standing commitment contributes significantly to the promotion of public discourse and financial literacy.”

The award ceremony took place on Tuesday evening at the Bank Austria Kunstforum and was lauded by the jury chairman, Deputy Governor Gottfried Haber. The keynote speaker was Sigrid Stagl, Head of the Institute for Ecological Economics at the Department of Socioeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. She spoke on the highly topical subject of “Economic growth and the climate crisis”.

About the 2023 award winners
Manfred Neuper (born 1982) began his journalistic career as an intern at the “Kleine Zeitung” while studying at the University of Applied Sciences in Graz (FH Johanneum). He initially worked in the foreign affairs department and in the initiative “Schüler machen Zeitung / Die Kleine macht Schule.” From 2006, he worked in the business section of the “Kleine Zeitung”. In 2011, he became deputy head of the business department and took over as Head of the Styrian business desk in 2016. He was also involved in setting up the business award and the business supplement “Primus” as well as relaunch projects. Neuper is Vice President of the Styrian Press Club and Chairman of the Editorial Board of “Kleine Zeitung.”

Uwe Sommersguter (born 1970) began his career as a journalist while studying at the University of Klagenfurt as a freelancer in the business editorial department of “Kleine Zeitung”. He was later editor-in-chief of “Kärntner Monat” and “Kärntner Woche” as well as “Steirer Monat” in Graz. He returned to the “Kleine Zeitung” in 2012, among other things as news manager and project manager for print and digital relaunches. He has been a member of the editorial team since 2015, head of the business editorial team for Carinthia and East Tyrol since 2021 and deputy editor-in-chief of the “Kleine Zeitung” for Carinthia and East Tyrol since 2022. Sommersguter also teaches at the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (FH Kärnten) and the University of Klagenfurt (Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt).

The Prof. Horst Knapp Prize has been awarded annually by UniCredit Bank Austria since 1996 
The Prof. Horst Knapp Prize honours outstanding achievements in Austrian business journalism that present complex economic and socio-political issues in a particularly clear and easily understandable way. An independent jury awards the prize, which is sponsored by UniCredit Bank Austria, in memory of Prof. Horst Knapp, the doyen of Austrian business journalism who died in 1996. The jury is chaired by Gottfried Haber, Deputy Governor of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB). 


Enquiries:
UniCredit Bank Austria Media Relations
Matthias Raftl, Tel. +43 (0)50505-52809
E-mail: matthias.raftl@unicreditgroup.at      


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