Tomer Urwicz, a professor and graduate of the Bachelor of Communication program at Universidad ORT Uruguay, won third prize in the international journalism contest organized by the agricultural equipment manufacturer Massey Ferguson.
Urwicz submitted “The Controversy That Got Out of Hand, ” published on September 11, 2016, in the “Qué Pasa” supplement of the newspaper El País. “It’s halfway between a feature story and a special report,” he says. The contest rules did not specify the journalistic genre of the entries, but they did require that they address “agribusiness, productive activity, technology, and the sector’s evolution.”
The dispute between neighbors over agrochemicals in Paso Picón, Canelones, served as the inspiration for Urwicz’s article. “It illustrated what was happening in other parts of the world and also hinted at what Uruguay can expect on this issue in the coming years,” says the professor.
When he arrived in the town, accompanied by photographer Fernando Ponzetto, the first thing he did was speak with the doctor accused of dumping agrochemicals. “There had been news reports about this case in various media outlets, but the doctor had never been interviewed,” Urwicz notes.
The contest is now in its 16th year and attracted some 700 participants this time around. It was divided into the following categories: Television, Magazine, Multimedia, Newspaper, Photography, Student, and South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. In the latter category, Urwicz was recognized, along with journalists Carmen Victoria Inojosa (“Cosecha de hambre,” El Nacional, Venezuela) and María Eugenia Fernández (“A Renovarse o Morir,” Mundoagro Magazine, Chile).
For the South America, Central America, and the Caribbean category, the first prize is a five-day trip for two to the town of Porto de Galinhas in Pernambuco, Brazil; the second prize is a tablet; and the third prize is a smartphone. On November 21, a pre-event session was held for the finalist journalists, and the awards ceremony took place the following day, during which the winners were announced.