World Press Photo winner Luis Tato has demanded protection for reporters, using the platform that comes with one of photojournalism's most visible prizes to call for stronger safeguards for journalists working under threat.

The Spanish public broadcaster RTVE reported Tato's appeal, which ties the recognition of his photography to a broader argument about the conditions journalists face in the field.

Tato's demand lands at a moment when the safety of reporters — photographers in particular, who must work close to their subjects rather than from a distance — remains a live concern across conflict zones and unstable regions.

What does Tato's demand amount to?

According to RTVE, the World Press Photo laureate is asking explicitly for protection measures for reporters. His statement frames press safety not as an abstract rights issue but as a practical precondition for the work that prizes like World Press Photo exist to honor.

The available report does not specify the particular incidents or assignments behind Tato's call, nor the institutional channels through which he is pressing it. What it does establish is that Tato — a photographer whose work has now been validated at the highest level of the profession — is directing attention toward the risks his colleagues run.

Why the timing matters

A World Press Photo award gives a photographer an unusually large audience. Tato is using that audience to argue for protection rather than to promote his own portfolio — a choice that places institutional weight behind a demand many local and freelance reporters have made with far less visibility.

How far the call travels, and whether it translates into concrete protections for journalists in the field, will depend on the response from press organizations, governments and the institutions that commission and publish conflict photography.