Press Releases

Budapest, March 5, 2008 10:00

From 2008 the Pulitzer Memorial Prize rewarding the most outstanding Hungarian journalists will be given with the exclusive sponsorship of Magyar Telekom under a recent agreement between the Joseph Pulitzer Memorial Prize Foundation and the market leading telecom service provider.

Magyar Telekom, as exclusive sponsor, will put 21 million HUF over three years into the fund to assist the continued operation of this most prestigious award of Hungarian journalism. The relevant agreement will be signed by Magyar Telekom CEO Christopher Mattheisen and by the president of the board of trustees of the Joseph Pulitzer Memorial Prize Foundation Lajos Sipos on March 9 at this year’s awards ceremony.

“The Pulitzer memorial prize, which rewards modern, high-quality communication, talent, value-oriented and ethical journalism represents values whose fostering is of high priority for Magyar Telekom as well. As leading telecom service provider, we consider it our duty to support this initiative encouraging high-standard journalism,” stressed Christopher Mattheisen when announcing the sponsorship agreement. Magyar Telekom decided to act as exclusive sponsor of the prize from 2008 to ensure the survival of the award associated with the name of Joseph Pulitzer.

The prize is named after József Pulitzer, an American press baron of Hungarian origin. Considered to be the world’s most prestigious journalism award, it was first given on June 4, 1917 and has been given every year since that time in the United States. In the meantime, music and literary categories have been added. The Hungarian memorial prize was established jointly by Pál Fábry, a Hungarian businessman who lives in New Orleans and the Magyar Hitelbank Rt. in 1989. Similarly to the international prize, the Hungarian Pulitzer was started after the change of regime in Central and Eastern Europe as a worthy reward of outstanding Hungarian journalistic merit.