French Prize 2025: Competition Notice for Schools on “Investigation, denunciation, and truth”
The Order of Journalists of Sicily, in collaboration with the Giornale di Sicilia, the association Uomini del Colorado, under the patronage of the National Council of the Order of Journalists, with the patronage of the Municipality of Palermo and the Metropolitan Area of Palermo, organizes the new edition, related to the school year 2024-25, of the Mario and Giuseppe Francese journalistic award, born in 1993 with the aim of honoring the memory of the crime journalist of the Giornale di Sicilia killed by the mafia on January 26, 1979. A special edition that will take place on February 6, 2025 to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of his birth.
The award dedicated to schools aims to introduce the new generations to the figure and value of the courageous journalist. Mario Francese, in fact, deserves a prominent place in the history of investigative journalism: author of numerous scoops, he was the first to report on the rise and business of Totò Riina’s mafia, paying with his life for his commitment and professional intuitions.
With the murder of the journalist in January 1979, Totò Riina’s Corleonesi began their ascent to the top of Cosa Nostra, setting fire to Palermo and Sicily, killing anyone who tried to resist. Magistrates, policemen, carabinieri, journalists, doctors, entrepreneurs, and politicians fell one after the other. An impressive number of victims until the massacres of ’92-93.
“Investigation, denunciation, and truth” is the title chosen for the 2025 edition, which aims to pay tribute to Francese’s journalism, committed to digging deep into the news in search of the truth and to stimulate students’ curiosity, inviting them to look at the reality that surrounds them with different eyes, seeking original ideas that deserve to be brought to people’s attention. A challenge for true reporters, hunting for news, in continuity with the theme of the previous edition, “Go, see, tell. The challenge of journalism.” In a rapidly changing world, students are asked to be attentive observers and also critical.
The competition is open to secondary schools. Each school can participate with multiple groups, and schools united in a network, students from different classes, and/or different schools can also participate. It is allowed to rely on external skills and professionalism for the project’s realization. Investigations can be developed in the form of articles, video stories, photographic reportages, mini documentaries, and short films: for these two types of works, only original short films or mini documentaries created specifically for the Francese Prize and received by the Order of Journalists of Sicily ([email protected]) by no later than December 10, 2024 will be considered. This deadline applies to all works, regardless of the chosen form. Specifically, the short films must have a minimum duration of 4 minutes and a maximum duration of 10 minutes, a maximum duration of 15 minutes for mini documentaries. The best work will receive a cash prize of 500 euros for the purchase of equipment for school activities.
Premio Francese 2025, ecco il bando di concorso riservato alle scuole: il tema è «Inchiesta, denuncia e verità»
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