Artificial intelligence, the achievements of German SMEs, excessive bureaucracy, international trade and tariffs are some of the themes shaping business reporting. Out of around 250 applications, the final juries have selected the sixteen nominees for the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry Award for Business Journalism "Ernst Schneider". In the categories of Audio, Video, Clear Reporting Regional and Clear Reporting National, the entries were chosen for their relevance of topic, research quality, presentation appeal, and clarity. Additionally, three young journalists have been shortlisted for the Starter Award.

The winners will be announced at the award gala on 07.10.2026 in Mainz, attended by around 250 guests. The gala is jointly organised by the DIHK and the IHK Rheinhessen. The total prize money is 52,000 euros. The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry Award for Business Journalism "Ernst Schneider" is supported by all German Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the DIHK.

The nominees by category:

Video

Carlotta Roch:
What's going wrong at Haribo?, funk (Editors: Lukas Meya and Andrej Reisin) 2025.

Andrea Schäfer, Antonia Schaefer and Florian Neuhann:
The Future of Trade: Tariffs, Wars, Free Markets?, ZDF Wiso Doku (Editors: Catherine Kipp and Michael Wiedemann) and SpiegelTV (Robert Wortmann and Kirsten Höhne), 24.11.2025.

Klaus Scherer:
Economy Under Stress: A Year Among SME Owners, ARD Story, NDR (Editor: Ben Bolz) and HR (Editor: Julia Klüssendorf), 14.11.2025.

Audio

Mary Abdelaziz-Ditzow, Florian Görres, Charline Schreiber, Jan-Paul Götze:
China Special, 3 parts, podcast "Im Loop", www.finanzfluss.de. (only available in German)

Annelen Bergenthum:
Merchandise, Marketing and Music – The Business with Fans, WDR (Editor: Frank-Christian Starke), 28.09.2025. (only available in German)

Sandra Pfister:
Crash Course: Economy Meets History, podcast series, Deutschlandfunk, 2025.

Clear Reporting Regional

Dirk Stelzl:
Bureaucracy: Does Your Company Really Need a Supervisor, Mr. Seidel?, HAZ, 23.11.2025.

Jan Georg Plavec:
AI Cloning the Boss, in: Stuttgarter Zeitung, 02.06.2025.

Jacqueline Westermann:
I Would Like to Work More, in: Südwest-Presse, 28.05.2025.

Wolfgang Würth:
Ziegler, Rise and Fall, in: Der neue Tag, 22.11.2025.

Clear Reporting National

Monika Dunkel:
The Miracle of Lüdenscheid, in: Capital, 17.05.2025.

Felix Holtermann, and Thomas Jahn:
Data as a Weapon: Insights into Palantir's Secrets, in: Handelsblatt, 23.11.2025.

Katja Michel:Reshuffling Seats, in: Capital, 16.08.2025.

Starter Award

Dominik Jäger, FAZ

Nicolas Killian, Zeit

Clara Suchy, Zeit