The number of competition entries totalled 58 publications authored by 26 journalists, including audiovisual materials. Following a spirited debate of the Competition Jury composed of the representatives of the Patrons and Partners of the event, the 6th edition winners were selected.
‘Year by year we are seeing an increasing involvement of the media in building public awareness of the key role the energy sector plays in the development of our country. This is confirmed not only by the ever better quality of media materials but also the growing professional expertise of the journalists. For this reason, the Jury’s deliberations are becoming increasingly difficult and at the same time more and more gratifying. I am convinced that this year’s selection will contribute to further increase of interest in the energy sector, especially as it is becoming an important area of economic recovery in the COVID-19 era and the EU institutions' efforts to implement the European Green Deal’ said Paweł Pikus, Director of the Power Sector Department, Ministry of Climate, Chairman of the Jury in this year’s edition of the Competition.
The winners of this year’s edition of the Competition are:
‘When we evaluated the materials, already for the sixth time, we noticed a growing media interest in clean air and green energy issues. They are relevant for each of us, whether we live in a pandemic era or in “normal” times. We have also noticed that more and more regional media are entering our Competition, which means that energy and the related issues are closer and closer to everyone. We are very pleased with this because every reliable publication in the press, TV or internet is equally important and valuable’ commented Piotr Zawistowski, President of the Management Board of Towarowa Giełda Energii.
The Platinum Megawatts Media Competition was initiated by TGE in 2014 and is addressed to journalists from national, regional and industry media. In this year’s edition publications related to broadly defined energy, gas and renewable energy market which appeared in 2019 could be entered between 6 and 29 May.
‘The Platinum Megawatts’ is an extremely demanding competition, where professional integrity, accuracy of expression, knowledge and analytical skills all come into play. The substance the participating media representatives are dealing with on a daily basis is not trivial and simple conclusions are not an option in this case. The energy sector is a complex and dynamically developing field. That is why ‘Platinum Megawatts’, organized for the sixth time by TGE, is one of the most prominent competitions for national, regional and industry journalists. When covering such topics as energy consumption, distributed and conventional power, energy independence, clean air or mobile revolution, media professionals have an opportunity to show journalistic artistry combined with experience and in-depth knowledge. Their audiences, on the other hand, have access to reliable materials explaining the complex issues of the Polish and global energy sector’ said Wojciech Krysztofik, Deputy Director of the Analytics and Reporting Department, Ministry of State Assets.
The main objective of the Competition is to promote the highest standards of objective and ethical journalism and to spread knowledge in the field of energy, gas and renewable energy sources. The status of the Competition is evidenced by the fact that each year key governmental institutions and major energy sector players become Patrons and Partners of the event. As a complementary element, the Competition features educational workshops for the media organized by TGE and the Partners, during which key topics concerning the energy market in general are discussed. To date, 265 publications have entered the Competition and 21 journalists from national and regional media have received the awards.
Winners of 6th edition of the Platinum Megawatts Media Competition:
Karolina Baca-Pogorzelska
Journalist focusing on mining and energy issues since 2007. Author of four books. For the most recent one, titled Black Gold: Wars About Donbass Coal, written together with Michał Potocki and tackling the topic of anthracite imports from the occupied Donbass region entitled she received the prestigious Grand Press Award and Dariusz Fikus Award. Winner of the 2018 Journalists for Climate competition and the 2018 PWEA Wind Energy Personality Award. Karolina Baca-Pogorzelska is a second-degree mining engineer by education.
Jakub Wiech
Lawyer, journalist and columnist, deputy editor-in-chief of Energetyka24 website, focusing on the questions of energy and information security. Winner of the Student Nobel Prize in the Journalism and Literature category, nominated for the MediaTory journalist award and for the Grand Press award in the Specialist Journalism category. James S. Denton Transatlantic Fellow, author of the book Energiewende. A New German Empire.
Tomasz Furman
Journalist, associated for over a decade with Gazeta Giełdy i Inwestorów Parkiet and Rzeczpospolita. He writes on diverse markets, including gas, oil fuels, construction materials, plastics and transport. Graduate in management at the University of Warsaw and alumnus of postgraduate studies in investment consulting at the Higher School of Banking in Poznań, licensed securities broker.
Barbara Oksińska
Journalist with 13 years of experience, since 2011 associated with Rzeczpospolita and Gazeta Giełdy i Inwestorów Parkiet, where she focuses on the energy, mining, metals and chemical industries. For the last two years he has been co-hosting the Prosto z Parkietu programme on Parkiet TV. She is particularly interested in topics concerning the impact of the economy on local communities.
Adrian Kowalczyk
For over 4 years, a journalist of the Polish Television branch in Katowice. Previously he worked for Telewizja Zabrze and Imago PR Agency. His focus is on topics related to the economy and social issues. Graduate of the University of Economics in Katowice with a degree in Journalism and Social Communication.