Irish Times journalist Fintan O’Toole has been shortlisted for the European Press Prize.
O'Toole, a previous winner of the award, was shortlisted for his column 'Trial runs for fascism are in full flow', a piece on Donald Trump, Brexit and the rise of the far-right. The article has been viewed more than 1.3 million times on irishtimes.com since its publication on June 26th, 2018.
On the article – one of five shortlisted in the opinion category – preparatory committee member Konstanty Gebert said: "This is a lucid presentation of the very probable consequences of our current complacencies, which we dismiss for being too awful to contemplate. Logical, un-hysterical and to the point." Also shortlisted in the category are journalists from the Netherlands, Romania, the UK and Slovakia.
O'Toole's shortlisted article, the most-read in the history of irishtimes.com, had a global readership. Almost half of its page views came from the United States and 16 per cent from the United Kingdom, while it was read in virtually all countries in the world, including Angola, Andorra, South Sudan, Vanuatu, Guinea and North Korea.
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The European Press Prize, which celebrates the highest achievements in European journalism, is awarded annually in four categories: distinguished reporting, innovation, opinion, and investigative reporting. In 2017 O’Toole won a European Press Prize for his Brexit columns, and he was a finalist in 2015.
Journalists from 15 countries have been nominated for awards this year. O’Toole is the only Irish finalist.
The winners will be announced in Warsaw on May 23rd.