On January 29, the Central House of Journalists hosted the jury session and the award ceremony of the nationwide Contest for Young Foreign-Affairs Journalists held by the Russian International Affairs Council jointly with International Affairs magazine and Russian Union of Journalists. Winners were found in nominations for the Best Foreign-Affairs Analytical Article, Best Foreign-Affairs Report, and Best Foreign-Affairs Interview.
On January 29, the Central House of Journalists hosted the jury session and the award ceremony of the nationwide Contest for Young Foreign-Affairs Journalists held by the Russian International Affairs Council jointly with International Affairs magazine and Russian Union of Journalists.
The jury included RAS Full Member Yevgeny Primakov, Member of RAS Presidium; RIAC President Igor Ivanov; RIAC Director General Andrey Kortunov; Chairman of the Russian Union of Journalists Vsevolod Bogdanov; Editor–in–Chief of Russia in Global Affairs magazine Fyodor Lukyanov; Editor-in-Chief of International Affairs journal Armen Oganesyan; political observer of The Voice of Russia radio Valentin Zorin; Editor–in–Chief of Russian Gazette Vladislav Fronin; Director General of Interfax Information Agency Mikhail Commissar; Editor-in-Chief of Russia Today TV channel Margarita Simonyan; Dean of International Journalism Department at MGIMO-University Yaroslav Skvortsov; and Director of the Russian-Polish Center for Dialog and Understanding Pyotr Stegny.
Winners were found in nominations for the Best Foreign-Affairs Analytical Article, Best Foreign-Affairs Report, and Best Foreign-Affairs Interview:
Winners received diplomas and awards, while the jury decided to place the Contest on the annual basis. After the event, renowned Russian journalists offered young journalists some parting words and advice.
Valentin Zorin, political observer of The Voice of Russia radio
- Just one point. My young colleagues seem to be keen on multiplicity, writing about anything. Sometimes they are too much in a hurry, sometimes skin-deep. In my days, foreign policy journalists used to describe the situation while specializing on problems, countries and regions. For example, Yevgeny Primakov was and still is an expert on the Middle East. Stanislav Kondrashov is a U.S. scholar, his latest book is titled Americanist. Vsevolod Ovchinnikov was a classic of international journalism, especially in the field of Sinology and Japanese studies. His Branch of Sakura is a must-read for everyone who is going to Japan. I am also deep in American studies, combining journalism with research at the RAS Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies. Believe me, specialization of such kind has never damaged writing. I would like the current generation of journalists to be able to both quickly respond to global events and concentrate on a country, a region or a problem, having a command far better than that of the readers, viewers and listeners.
Armen Oganesyan, Editor-in-Chief of International Affairs journal, RIAC Member
- I would like to see young journalists out of the mainstream, working hard, inquisitively and knowledgeably. Life is getting more complicated, hence one should not lose the scan points and vision that make one creative, talented and, primarily, humane. Be who you are even under the avalanche of information and opinions, no matter how varied they are.
Pyotr Fyodorov, Head of Foreign Department at Russian State TV and Radio Company
- The journalist's must is thinking, asking oneself questions, and learn history – be it country studies, diplomacy, philosophy or economics – because history makes an excellent source for diverse knowledge. To attain something, one should not believe but research, swimming against the current.
Sergey Brilyov, Anchorman and Deputy Director on Special Information Projects, Russia TV Channel, RIAC Member
- I would prefer young foreign policy journalists begin with traveling around Russia in order to understand one's whereabouts and only then switch to international issues. This has been my way.