And the Golden Globes goes to… press freedom

Los Angeles, United States | AFP |  The organization behind the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday announced $2 million to a journalism consortium and a media rights group as it hoped to combat growing threats to press freedom.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which runs the first gala of the awards season, announced $1 million each to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The association’s president, Indian journalist Meher Tatna, said that the group had been founded to cover entertainment but had expanded its mission to defend journalists amid rising attacks on their work.

“As artists, you bravely tell stories that enable us to see the world through the eyes of another. These stories are our best hope of reflecting the kind of world we want to live in,” she said.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a Washington-based network that supports in-depth cross-border probes into corruption and abuse of power, said the grant would support “the public’s need for openness and transparency.”

“This generous donation will allow us to bring scrutiny to repressive and dangerous regimes and to systems designed to channel more and more of the world’s resources into the hands of the rich and powerful,” the consortium’s director Gerard Ryle said in a statement.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, which defends the rights of journalists worldwide, also voiced gratitude for the donation.

The Golden Globes come amid growing concern over the preservation of a free press, with President Donald Trump incessantly denouncing “fake news” and journalists facing an array of dangers as they report out of conflict zones.

“The Post” — one of the nominees for best drama at the Golden Globes — depicts The Washington Post’s publication in brazen defiance of then president Richard Nixon of The Pentagon Papers, the US Defense Department’s secret history of the Vietnam War.

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Here is the list of winners for the 75th Golden Globe Awards, which were handed out on Sunday in Beverly Hills:

– FILM –
Best film, drama: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best film, musical or comedy: “Lady Bird”

Best director: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”

Best actor, drama: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”

Best actress, drama: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best actor, musical or comedy: James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”

Best actress, musical or comedy: Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”

Best supporting actor: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best supporting actress: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”

Best screenplay: Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best foreign language film: “In the Fade”

Best animated feature: “Coco”

Best original score: Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water”

Best original song: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman”

– TELEVISION –
Best drama series: “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Best drama actor: Sterling K. Brown, “This is Us”

Best drama actress: Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Best musical or comedy series: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Best musical or comedy actor: Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”

Best musical or comedy actress: Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Best limited series or TV movie: “Big Little Lies”

Best limited series or TV movie actor: Ewan McGregor, “Fargo”

Best limited series or TV movie actress: Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies”

Best supporting actor in a series, limited series or TV movie: Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies”

Best supporting actress in a series, limited series or TV movie: Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies”