The Israeli press has been nominated for the Golden Pen International Award for outstanding achievements in the struggle for freedom of the press. The nomination was made by Finnish and Scandinavian journalists to the International Association of Newspaper Publishers, which gives the award.
They nominated the Israeli press collectively, in honor of its coverage of the Lebanon war, noting that despite difficulties the Israeli press succeeded in informing its readers of the massacre in the Beirut refugee camps and played an important part in forcing the government to set up a judicial commission of inquiry.
The executive committee of the publishers association is to meet in Italy next week and decide whether to accept the nomination. An Israeli representative on the publishers body told his colleagues the decision should have no political tint or significance.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
