First EU Investigative Journalism Award 2015, Macedonia

Journalist Sashka Cvetkovska won the first prize in the contest for the “EU Award for Investigative Journalism“ in Macedonia, for „The Spy-landowner“ story, published on the internet television „Nova TV“. The winning story reveals that the former director of the Administration for Security and Counterintelligence owns millions worth property in Prague, which has not been declared in his property declaration form.

In the opinion of the jury, the author handled an extremely important topic related to the transparency of officials’ property, which raises the issue of abuse of power. The story presents a comprehensive and thorough investigative endeavor, by offering extensive information that are effectively and systematically presented and visualized. The story is presented through an easy narrative, in an attractive and understandable manner. The aspect of cooperation with a journalist from Prague, Czech Republic, where the properties of the respective official were investigated, augments its significance. The very fact that the story focuses on one of the most powerful people in the country, speaks about the challenges that investigative journalism is facing, but also about the courage and professional integrity that a journalist should possess, in order to be able to uncompromisingly criticize the imperfections of the system.

Sashka Cvetkovska is one of the leading investigative journalists in Macedonia. Many of her stories were several times awarded on domestic and international contests for investigative journalism. Furthermore, she was part of numerous international investigative projects and some of her stories were published in relevant and influential international media, such as Austrian magazine "Datum" and the daily "Der Standard", the leading Swiss newspaper "Neue Zeitung Cihter", and many others. Cvetkovska covers mostly topics related to corruption and to the rule of law, while her specialty is searching public databases in Macedonia and the foreign registers. Most of her stories are based exactly on such research techniques.

In the past, she worked as journalist in A1 TV broadcast media and the daily newspaper “Fokus”. In 2012, she became part of the team of the internet television “Nova TV”, as editor of the newsroom for investigative journalism. “Nova TV” is one of the most prominent informative web sites in Macedonia. Since its establishment, “Nova TV” has produced and published around 100 investigative stories on different topics related to corruption and wrongdoing of the government.