Overview
- BR announced that Sophie von der Tann (Tel Aviv) and Katharina Willinger (Istanbul/Tehran) will receive the Hanns-Joachim-Friedrichs-Preis, with the ceremony on 4 December 2025 in Cologne.
- Von der Tann has reported on the Middle East for ARD since 2021 and became a prominent voice after the Hamas attack of October 2023 and the ensuing Gaza war.
- Willinger leads ARD’s Istanbul studio and Tehran office run by BR, reporting from Turkey, Cyprus and regularly from Iran despite heavy restrictions.
- WELT published an opinion piece criticizing von der Tann’s Israel–Gaza coverage, citing her Al-Shifa hospital reporting and asserting later evidence supported Israeli military claims.
- Israel’s ambassador Ron Prosor condemned the award as biased against Israel, while BR responded that its coverage names and contextualizes sources and attracts both praise and criticism from pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian audiences.