Estadão and DW Brasil win the 2022 IMPA Journalism Prize.

The newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo and the broadcaster Deutsche Welle were the big winners of the 5th edition of the IMPA Journalism Prize in 2022. The report " How artificial intelligence revealed the secrets of the Beatles , " by journalist Bruno Romani in partnership with Marcos Muller and William Mariotto , published in Estadão, was chosen as the best publication in the Mathematics category. In the Science Communication category, the series " The Scientists of the Amazon , " by Nádia Pontes, from Deutsche Welle, was the first place winner. The competition had 105 entries from 13 states.

The winners in each category receive R $ 10,000 (first place); R $ 3,000 (second place); and R $ 2,000 for third place, as well as a certificate. They will participate in webinars on the topics of the award-winning reports in January.

"How Artificial Intelligence Revealed the Secrets of the Beatles" explains how AI works and its application in "demixing" algorithms that revealed "hidden" conversations of the Beatles. To do this, it explains how AI works and its application in "demixing" algorithms. The text is complemented by visual representations of how AI analyzes music, and also offers the user a player where they can experiment with demixing algorithms and break down a song in real time with the help of AI. " The report is an original and interesting insight into the use of artificial intelligence. It makes excellent use of art and has an element of user interaction, with a player that allows isolating instruments with AI." For juror Helena Nader, president of ABC, the article is "sensational" and "exciting".

Aired on Deutsche Welle, the video series "The Scientists of the Amazon" addresses, in three episodes, the work of female researchers who dedicate their professional lives to studying the Amazon rainforest. The piece was unanimously chosen by the jury as the winner in its category. " An excellent and solid report, in three very well-made videos with beautiful images, on a very relevant topic, with interviews that tell and value the work of the Amazonian researchers," assessed the Judging Committee.

In the Mathematics category, “ Elementary school students learn mathematics and statistics by making skirts,” by journalist Sthefanie Piovezan from Jornal da USP , came in second place. The text discusses the use of statistics and geometry topics in skirt making and shows how elementary school students learn the subject through creative initiative. In third place was the report from TV Liberal (an affiliate of TV Globo in Pará), “ Pedagogical practices have tools in the virtual world for learning mathematics and geometry , ” by Lucas Duarte Matos, Mônica Chagas da Silva (reporter), Antonio Wanderley Da Luz Prestes (cameraman), André Luis Mousinho da Costa e Silva (assistant editor), and João Lucas Pimentel Rodrigues (video editor).

In the Science Communication category, the Habitat Podcast – by Natália Belizário Silva, Jéssica Maes, Magê Flores, and Maurício Meireles – from Folha de S.Paulo, came in second place. The audio and text series discusses the human impact on biodiversity loss on the planet and the possibility of a mass extinction. Third place went to the series “Other Faces of Independence ,” from Revista Pesquisa Fapesp (Glenda Mezarobba, Christina Queiroz, Carlos Fioravanti, Yuri Vasconcelos, Ana Paula Orlandi, Danilo Albergaria, and Diego Viana). The reports show how science was treated as a state policy during the Empire, with economic and diplomatic benefits for Brazil, including the maintenance of its territory. The material also includes an excellent video interview with the director of the Ipiranga Museum.

The winners were selected by a jury of scientists and journalists, comprised of the Director-General of IMPA, Marcelo Viana, the President of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Helena Nader, and journalists Sabine Righetti, researcher at Labjor-Unicamp and founder of Agência Bori, and Raphael Gomide, Communication Coordinator at IMPA.

Honorable mentions

As in the previous edition, the jury selected five entries to receive Honorable Mention. In Mathematics, the selected works were: “Time is not passing any faster” , from the magazine Questão de Ciência, by the physicist and professor at IFSC, Marcelo Girardi Schappo, and the series “What are STEAM courses, which are growing with the digital and technological revolutions” , by Vanessa Fajardo, from Estadão.

In the Science Communication category, honorable mentions went to the 24-part series from the Ceará newspaper O Povo, "World of Fossils," represented by the articles "World of Fossils: The true story of the 'four-legged snake'" and "Antarctica in flames: the forest fire 75 million years ago," by Catalina Leite; "Unequal Science," from Galileu Magazine, by Larissa Ferreira Lopes Beani and edited by Luiza Monteiro; and to the podcast Prato Cheio, produced by "O Joio e O Trigo," with"Fish, flour and instant noodles," by Victor Augusto Dias Matioli, João Peres, Marina Yamaoka, Victor Oliveira, Denise Matsumoto, Clara Borges, Juliana Mastrascusa, and Amanda Flora.

IMPA Award

In total, 105 journalistic works from media outlets across Brazil were submitted. The selection of reports published and broadcast between October 2021 and September 2022 in any media outlet followed the criteria of journalistic relevance of the topic, originality, depth, clarity, and quality of execution of the story.

Launched in 2018 to bring mathematics closer to society and expand scientific dissemination in Brazil, the award aims to value the work of the press and encourage the production of reports on Mathematics, Science and Technology. The selection recognizes reports that address the topics in an interesting and original way, provoke reflection on these areas of knowledge and stimulate their popularization in the country.