The winners of the all-Russian contest 'SMIrotvorets 2016' awarded in Moscow today. The contest is held since 2008 on the initiative of the Interethnic Journalism Guild. It brings together federal, state and national-cultural media. The NTV channel took the first place in the 'Television' nomination in the category of federal and regional mass media. 'Rossiyskaya Gazeta - Weekly: South Russia' (Rostov-on-Don) took the first place in the 'Press' nomination in the category of federal and regional mass media. The 'Ogonyok' magazine took the first place in the special nomination 'Actual tradition'. The TASS Dv.land media project won in the 'Internet' nomination in the category of federal and regional mass media.
This year's competition took place in the framework of the Federal Target Program 'The unity of the Russian nation and ethno-cultural development of Russia's peoples in 2014-2020', and journalists from 759 media from all regions of Russia claimed the 'SMIrotvorets' title.
The head of the Federal Agency for Nationalities, Igor Barinov, said that it has already become a good tradition to award the journalists working in the sphere of international relations in the end of the year: "In addition to our traditional categories - 'Internet', 'Television', 'Press' - we also have a special nomination. Last year, it was dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory. This year it was the 'Actual tradition' nomination. We want the journalists, working in the field of international relations, talk to people in the modern language. It will attract additional interest to the ethnic and religious theme".
Barinov noted that this year the number of participants, which work is focused on interethnic relations, reduced: "This is due to the fact that they cannot compete with the Internet and the economic situation in the country. And we have to do a lot of work with the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications and the regional authorities to support this important social function of journalism, to maintain maximum of media outlets which dedicate their work to strengthen the unity and preservation of interethnic peace and accord in our country".
The deputy head of the Russian presidential staff Magomedsalam Magomedov expressed confidence that the mass media play an important role in strengthening the unity of the Russian nation and international relations: "Very much depends on the work of journalists, on how they cover these relations, on their language. This competition is designed to support those journalists and media outlets, which help to achive an interethnic peace and harmony in our country, strengthen the unity of the Russian nation. The high-quality ethnic journalism, the journalistic community is being formed in Russia today. And much of the credit for this belongs to the Federal Agency for Nationalities and the Interethnic Journalism Guild".
Magomedov has vowed that the country's leadership will support this kind of event, "because are positive and contribute to achieving the goals set by our strategy of the state national policy - strengthening the unity of the Russian nation."
The chairman of the Organizing Committee of the SMIrotvorets' contest, Margaret Lange, said that the contest is held not only to reward the people: "It has become a tool for identifying problems that need to be addressed. We were able to see a lot of things and decide on them with the help of the contest. The school of inter-ethnic journalism was created. We have prepared nearly 500 young journalists in 18 regions. And there are a lot of such steps. The contest is developing, it changes its environment. This is the main reason why it was created".
