El Diario/La Prensa journalist wins NAHJ’s GUILLERMO
MARTÍNEZ-MÁRQUEZ Award
for Latin American Reporting
Prize-winning articles tell the story of the courageous men and women who lead a peasant and indigenous movement against illegal
logging in Honduras
New York, N.Y. (August 14, 2008) – The National Association of Hispanic Journalists have selected “War in the Honduran forests/Guerra en los bosques de Honduras” by Eva Sanchis, of El Diario/La Prensa, as the winner of the 2008 MARTÍNEZ-MÁRQUEZ Award for Latin American Reporting.
In a series of three articles, Sanchis profiles the clandestine logging that is destroying environmentally protected pine and hardwood forests in eastern Honduras, and the life and death struggles of hundreds of peasants and indigenous people who stood up to logging interests, corrupt government officials, and narco-traffickers in order to save their homes, woods and livelihoods.
After winning a fellowship to the International Reporting Project at Johns Hopkins University to prepare this project, Sanchis spent almost two months traveling through Honduras to document the bloodshed, violence and corruption associated with illegal logging. Once in the United States, she reunited with some of these peasants who were forced to go into exile escaping from this violence. According to the judges…“this impressive package on such a critical issue facing Honduras was well-researched, with striking photography and strong graphics. The U.S. mainstream press has long ignored the plight of murdered Honduran environmentalists who died fighting to stop the illegal lumber trade.”
“The ‘War in the Honduran forests/Guerra en los bosques de Honduras’ by Eva Sanchis is a sterling example of a new global journalism that reflects the challenges and opportunities of a globalized world. It draws a straight line between violence against peasants in a poor, rural corner of Honduras and the forest of McMansions that dot our suburbs,” says Alberto Vourvoulias-Bush, Executive Editor of El Diario/La Prensa. “We could not be more proud of Eva and her work.”
“I am grateful to the National Association of Hispanic Journalists for recognizing the importance of this project. I hope that this draws needed attention to the poverty and the violence inflicted on peasant and indigenous communities of Honduras as a result of illegal logging –a traffic that can be stopped though more effective regulation of wood imports into the United States and a greater awareness on the part of consumers” says Eva Sanchis, Metro Editor of El Diario/La Prensa.
About El Diario/La Prensa:
El Diario/La Prensa is the fastest growing major newspaper in the United States. Founded in 1913, El Diario/La Prensa is also the oldest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the country. El Diario/La Prensa has won numerous prizes for its investigative and community journalism and was co-recipient of the José Martí Award as best Spanish-language newspaper in the United States in 2005 by the National Association of Hispanic Publishers. For more information, visit our website at: www.impre.com/eldiariony.
About ImpreMedia:
ImpreMedia is the nation's leading Hispanic news and information company, online and in print. ImpreMedia provides advanced multi-platform media solutions for marketers to reach the rapidly growing and influential Hispanic market. Operating 26 online and print properties specifically targeted at the U.S. Hispanic population, impreMedia recently announced the launch of the multi-media national Latino web destination, www.impre.com, which combined with the company's print properties, reaches 41% of all U.S. Hispanic adults every month. ImpreMedia is also the nation's largest Hispanic newspaper publisher with publications in the top 10 Hispanic markets, reaching 17 markets in total, which represent 65% of the U.S. Hispanic population. Leading publications include La Opinion in Los Angeles and El Diario La Prensa in New York. For more information, visit their website at: www.impremedia.com.
ImpreMedia portals and publications websites: www.impre.com, www.lavibra.com, www.impreautos.com, www.laopinion.com, www.eldiariony.com, www.hoynyc.com, www.laraza.com, www.laprensafl.com, www.elmensajero.com, www.diariosrumbo.com, www.vistamagazine.com, and www.contigola.com.
For more information contact:
Mike Cano at (214) 223-7791 or mike.cano@impremedia.com.
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