The former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt ✝ and former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing are honoured with the 2014 Franco-German Media Prize for their outstanding services to Franco-German and European relations. Both statesmen have played a pioneering role for Franco-German cooperation and European integration and lastingly influenced them. Across party lines, they succeeded in injecting Franco-German relations with new vigour and shaping Europe decisively.

The Video Prize goes to Sabine Jainski and Ilona Kalmbach for the moving documentary “Superwomen Wanted – Juggling Work, Children and Parent Care”.

The film captivates with its sensitive and professional style. In a multi-facetted and understanding manner, the authors succeed in highlighting the multiple workloads of their female protagonists in France and Germany who, besides trying to balance their job with the education of their children, also have to cope with caring for their parents. In the process, they develop the various Franco-German mentalities as much as the importance of this issue for the future.

The Audio Prize is awarded to Clemens Hoffmann for “The Cartel of Pearls – How the Champagne sets the Prices”, shown by WDR 5.

The jury appreciates the journalistic treatment and insights into the commercial backgrounds of the champagne business. This world of pearls is not only unlocked for the listener from a consumer’s perspective, but also that of the producers and the marketing. The jury was also impressed by the very comprehensive and wide-ranging research that enables a familiar consumer product to be examined from a new angle. The report caters to a broad audience.

The prize in the Text Contribution category is awarded to Marie-Pierre Lannelongue and Elisabeth Raether, representing the authors of “France-Allemagne – Ich Liebe Dich (moi non plus)”.

The jury welcomes the initiative of this joint venture between a German and a French magazine – be it in the editorial or illustrative approach. Unanimously highlighted was the article “Scenes de ménages”, which describes the cultural intricacies between German and French natives with great tact and without succumbing to cliché. The overall production draws life from the abundance and variety of the contributions and takes a precise look behind the scenes of the Franco-German partnership.

In the Multimedia category, the prize goes to the authors of the online magazine “paroli” who contributed to the “Head or Tails” project.

The project documents the lifeworlds of young Europeans in a refreshing, emotional manner. The “Head or Tails” idea is impressively realized in content as well as design terms. Just as successful is the visual language of the videos, photos and infographics. Although the presentation only works on a small number of operating system-browser combinations, the jury decided after intensive discussions to honour the project for its innovative character.

The Young Talent Prize donated by the Franco-German Youth Office is awarded to Hanna Gieffers and Alain Le Treut for “Imprisoned / Liberated”.

The authors relate in a moving manner how personal contacts from war captivity brought German and French natives closer together after the Second World War. The multimedia dossier casts light on a little-known aspect of Franco-German post-war history, banking on contemporary witness reports and documents in the process.