Big news for our newsroom: Only three months after we launched our new Unbias the News website, the first published multimedia story was awarded the ‘Digital Storytelling and Social Media Award’ at the 2026 Voices Festival in Florence, Italy. The category recognizes excellence in how a story is crafted using digital tools and media.
Congratulations to the journalists Róbert Báthory, Zsófia Fülöp, Ernő Kadét, Ronald Rodrigues, Mihail Mishev and Vittoria Torsello, who brought outstanding collaborative and human-centered digital storytelling to our newsroom! Thank you for trusting us with your dedicated work.
Special credit is due to Unbias the News web designer Sofia Kounti, who beautifully upscaled our website and created the space for multimedia stories like this.
For the winning report, “We can only get out of here if we die”: How EU funds to help Roma communities are reinforcing isolation, prejudice and exclusion, the journalists collaborated across four countries to investigate how over a billion euros in EU funds dedicated to support Roma communities are in reality reinforcing isolation, prejudice and exclusion.
This was not a small undertaking. It took months of research, cross-border collaboration, and the kind of stubborn commitment to a story that only kicks in when you know it truly matters. Discrimination against Roma communities is systemic, widespread, and chronically underreported.
I’m deeply grateful to my colleagues Vittoria Torsello, Ronald Rodrigues, Zsófia Fülöp, who brought both journalistic rigor and genuine humanity to every step of this investigation. Winning is sweeter when you share it with people like that.
And to the Roma individuals and families who trusted us with their stories – no award captures the weight of that. Thank you.
Mihail Mishev
At Hostwriter and Unbias the News, we love to see journalism taking center stage that sensibly and thoroughly approaches a community that is pervasively both underrepresented by and misrepresented in the media.
Accountability journalism can also be visually rich, engaging, and laser-focused on the people hurt the most by government failures. We are delighted to see this important cross-border investigation receive well-deserved recognition
Tina Lee, Editor-in-chief at unbias the news
The extent of anti-Roma racism in Europe is as shocking as the sums of money involved in this investigation. But it’s the journey the reporting team takes us on – through communities across Europe, into family homes, and in step with activists defending their right to dignified lives – that brings home what’s at stake. Great to see such powerful storytelling getting the recognition it deserves.
Ruby Russell, Climate and Migration Editor at Unbias the News
From relocations that deepen isolation to housing projects that maintain segregation and “counter-radicalization” programs targeting Roma families, the investigation´s findings raise critical questions about how public money is used and who truly benefits.
🔗 Read the full investigation here
With support from Journalismfund Europe
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