The Illustrious Official College of Administrative Managers of Madrid (ICOGAM) handed out last Saturday the Watermelon and Melon Awards 2026, honors that recognize the work of journalists who, from various media outlets, help bring to citizens the economic, legal, and administrative issues of particular social importance.
In this third edition, the Watermelon Award went to Carlos Berbell, while the Melon Award was given to Beatriz García. Additionally, the jury awarded the Watermelon Slice to Javier de Antonio and the Melon Slice to Carlos Capa.
During the awards ceremony, the president of ICOGAM, Fernando Jesús Santiago Ollero, highlighted the extraordinary quality of the nominations presented this year and stressed that the selection of the winners was particularly complex due to the high level of the works analyzed.
“These awards do not recognize only a single article. They recognize a way of doing journalism, a special sensitivity toward the real problems of citizens, freelancers, small businesses, and families, and a constant willingness to explain reality with rigor, independence, and courage,”
he said.
Fernando Santiago recalled that during the deliberations numerous high-quality works signed by leading professionals in economic, legal, and social journalism appeared, noting that “the winners this year are who they are because a decision had to be made, but they could perfectly have been other colleagues whose works also contributed to explain reforms, expose problems, bring injustices to light, or give a voice to those who often do not have one.”
The president of the administrative managers wanted to emphasize that these awards do not aim to recognize ideologies or political positions, but the practice of independent journalism committed to society.
“We reward well-done work. We reward independence. We reward the ability to ask uncomfortable questions and to help citizens understand better how the economic, legal, and administrative decisions affect them,”
they stated.
The Watermelon and Melon Awards were created with the aim of recognizing the work of information professionals who help bring to the public complex issues related to the economy, taxation, business activity, justice, public administration, or citizens’ rights.
Since their inception, these awards have established themselves as a meeting place between journalists and professionals, with the purpose of underscoring the importance of rigorous, independent information that is useful to society.
