On the back of the recent Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards in Johannesburg on Wednesday, 6 May, the awards committee has announced the addition of two new categories - Journalism Twenty-Ten and Editorial Cartoons.

 Professor Guy Berger, convenor of the judging panel, said the additions arose out of feedback by editors attending the awards ceremony. The head of Rhodes University's School of Journalism and Media Studies, said the new categories would cater to particular strengths in the press, and would stimulate new entries that could surpass the record number of 600 submissions received in January this year.

Ahmed Haffejee, CEO of Mondi Shanduka Newsprint, reiterated the group's support of the prestigious newspaper journalism awards, saying, "Mondi Shanduka Newsprint has for the past eight years supported the recognition of excellence in the various disciplines of South African newspaper journalism. And while the coming year will be no different, we are encouraged that the competition is adapting to the needs of the industry that we serve."

The Journalism Twenty-Ten category marks the importance of the FIFA World Cup football tournament being staged in South Africa in 2010. The award is for a journalist who is able to 'own' the story through first-rate coverage of its many angles. Coverage may range from relevant matters around the games and players themselves, through to access issues, infrastructure and development, politics, environment, tourism, culture, sponsorship, money and intellectual property, among other aspects.  The category will cover journalism during 2009, and be repeated again for work in 2010.

"This is a first for South African journalism awards, and we expect it will encourage many press people to achieve even greater excellence in reporting this wide-ranging story," explained Berger.

The Graphical Journalism category has been changed to exclude Editorial Cartoons, allowing for the latter to be a category on its own.

Editorial Cartoons will be assessed for graphic imagery, originality, cleverness and political or social punch. Simplicity, topicality and humour will be considered. Entrants would need to motivate why their work scores on these criteria.

For the Graphic Journalism category, info-graphics and illustrations will be eligible here. Such graphics should add value to a story, conveying meaning in a way that photos or text alone do not. Creativity and originality in concept, and the quality of execution will be considered. Clarity, vividness and communicative power are also factors. A maximum of five entries may be submitted.

"We urge journalists to begin collecting and preparing their prize work for the next competition which will call for entries in October/November," added Berger.

All newspaper journalists and photographers are eligible, irrespective of whether they serve a national or community-based newspaper. Entries for the next round of the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards must consist of material originated and published in a South African daily or weekly newspaper during the period January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2010.

Call for Entries

Prize Money: R20 000.00
Deadline: 22 May 2009

The Print Media SA’s Awards Committee, SANEF and the Nieman Society of Southern Africa are now accepting nominations for the 2009 Nat Nakasa Award for Media Integrity.

Nat Nakasa was a prominent journalist and writer who died in exile. This annual award recognises any media practitioner - journalist, editor, manager or owner - who has:

* Shown integrity and reported fearlessly;
* Displayed a commitment to serve the people of South Africa;
* Tenaciously striven to maintain a publication or other medium despite insurmountable obstacles;
* Resisted any censorship;
* Shown courage in making information available to the SA public;
* Any combination of the above.

If you think anybody fits this definition, please submit your nomination before May 22, 2009 accompanied by a motivation to:

malesedid@printmedia.org.za or at the PMSA offices.

For Attention: Malesedi Dlamini

The Award is open to all journalists irrespective of whether they serve a community / national newspaper, magazine or an electronic medium (including online publishers).
Previous winners of this Award are, however, not eligible for entry. The winner will receive R20 000 in prize money and a certificate.

The winner will be announced at the Nat Nakasa Awards ceremony in Durban on June 27, 2009.

Print Media South Africa (PMSA) awarded Sarel du Plessis and Mike Robertson with Print Media Fellowships in recognition of their tireless contribution to the print media at the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards ceremony on Wednesday, 6 May.

Congratulating du Plessis and Robertson, Prakash Desai, president of PMSA, said, "This award is regarded as the industry's most prestigious. It serves as recognition of key decision-makers who are identified through nominations from their peers and industry stakeholders." 

Du Plessis, CEO of RCP Media, the publisher of Rapport, City Press and Sondag, has worked in advertising and marketing for almost four decades.  He is also CEO of Ads24 - the advertising and trade marketing business unit of Media24 - and senior general manager and publisher of Media24's Sunday newspapers, Rapport, City Press, Sunday Sun and Sondag.

In addition, du Plessis chairs Mooivaal Media, which publishes 10 newspapers in the Vaal Triangle and North West.  He also serves on the board of Natal Witness Printing and Publishing.

Du Plessis served on the Print Media SA board and NASA board for five years from 2003, the South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) and the South African Press Association.

Du Plessis has always encouraged and promoted the co-operation of the major media players to the advantage of the print and publishing industry.

Robertson is publisher of the Sunday Times and managing director of Avusa Media. He serves on the board of PMSA, the Newspaper Association of South Africa (NASA) and SAARF.

A former deputy-editor and editor of the Sunday Times, he was instrumental in leading South Africa's largest and most influential publication through the democratic transition and into the 21^st Century with a passion for excellence, constant innovation and absolute integrity.

As Sunday Times publisher and MD of Avusa, Robertson sustained his passion for this newspaper and extended it to other titles, including Sowetan, Sunday World  and regional newspapers, as well as other mediums such as the Internet.

He was the driving force behind the launch of The Times, a South African first, and has ensured that Avusa products remain not only relevant and critical in a democratic South Africa, but sustainable and profitable in an increasingly competitive media environment.

He was tasked by the PMSA and NASA boards to champion the restructuring of the Press Council/Press Ombudsman's office and played a critical role in this.

Click here to other Fellows of Print Media SA>

The Star earned a double win in the categories for ‘South African Newspaper Journalist of the Year' and ‘South African Story of the Year' in the eighth annual Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards presented in Johannesburg on Wednesday, May 6.

Beauregard Tromp was named ‘Mondi Shanduka South African Newspaper Journalist of the Year' for his coverage of the outbreak of xenophobic violence in South Africa in 2008, and was described by the judges as a person who went an extra ‘many miles' in covering these events.

"We chose this journalist for getting beyond the viewpoint of generalised observation and capturing the individuality of people caught up in the carnage," said the panel headed by Professor Guy Berger of Rhodes University's school of journalism and media studies.

The judges described Tromp's series as ‘highly enterprising journalism, showing commitment and sensitivity on an emotionally testing subject'.

"The narration was poignant and appropriate to the content without being over-written or clichéd in any way."

The South African Newspaper Journalist of the Year Award recognises outstanding performance by a newspaper journalist for work that demonstrates exceptional endeavour and world-class quality.

Antoine Ra Des' photographic account of the xenophobic violence earned him a win for ‘Mondi Shanduka South African Story of the Year'. De Ras was applauded for his compelling and vivid portrayal of the huge impact the xenophobic attacks had on tens of thousands of people.

"This was a story told in many genres of words as well as in imagery and presentation. While many South African citizens are ashamed about what happened, extensive and exemplary coverage is at least something from which we can take some solace," said the judges.

"While many journalists did amazing documentation, often with daring and dedicated exertion, Ras was able to render the crisis in extremely compelling, vivid and varied detail."

This category of the competition honours agenda-setting and original journalism which contributes to society by giving new insight into the changing character of South Africa.

Both winners were selected from the 601 entries submitted by 37 South African newspapers. They were each presented with a Mondi Shanduka Premier Award of R15,000 cash, a trophy and a certificate.

Click here to see all the winners.

 

Beeld, Business Day and Rapport were the front-runners in the Newspaper Association of South Africa’s annual Frewin, Joel Mervis and McCall awards announced at the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards in Johannesburg on Wednesday, May 6.

The competition – which has been in existence for a collective 119 years – recognises newspaper excellence in advertising, printing and production, layout and typography as well as the balance between the use of pictures and graphics.

Clive Loxton, convenor of the judging panel, said that the work entered in this year’s awards demonstrated that the industry could be proud of the high standards it has achieved.

“With the global economic recession threatening our prosperity, it is reassuring to know the fundamentals of our craft are in place. Even though the competition was fierce, the winners were clear with the judges all reaching the same conclusions independently.”

The Frewin Award

The Frewin Award, which recognises urban daily newspapers with a circulation above 50,000, was presented to Beeld (94 points). 

The judges said: “It is a pleasure to page through this paper and enjoy the attention to detail. It is a solid package with a high visual standard. Colour densities are kept consistent and pictures appear radiant. There is a comfortable weighting between advertising and the news. Immaculate, measuring up to the highest standards anywhere.”

The runners-up in this category are:

Second place: Daily News and The Star (83 points)

Third place: Die Burger (81 points)

Fourth place: Daily Sun (80 points)

The McCall Award

The McCall Award recognises urban daily newspapers with a circulation of 50,000 or less and was won by Business Day (91 points).

“A stunningly focused example of a paper designed for speed reading. An extraordinarily high standard is maintained from day to day, and images do a great job of supporting the news content. It gives one pleasure to read because of the quality and aesthetics, and adverts are neatly combined in the layout and appear to give a sense of space other newspapers did not manage to achieve,” said the judges.

The runners-up in this category are:

Second place: Volksblad (86 points)

Third place: The Witness and Pretoria News (80 points)

Fourth place: The Mercury (77 points)

The Joel Mervis Award

The Joel Mervis Award recognises urban weekly newspapers irrespective of their circulation and was won by Rapport (99 points).

“What a visual pleasure! Great colour, graphics, images and creative flair. The pictures support the news well, and make for an exciting read. Rapport was head and shoulders above competitors in this category. Its attention to consistency throughout each edition also put this paper at an advantage over others,” were the judges’ comments.

The runners-up are:

Second place: Mail & Guardian and Sunday Independent (89 points)

Third place: Naweek Beeld (87 points)

Fourth place: Post (85 points)

A total of 16 daily and 24 weekly newspapers entered this year’s awards.

The judging panel is made up of recognised industry experts Clive Loxton, creative faculty head of the AAA School of Advertising; Logan Naidu, learnerships and apprenticeships specialist at Mappp-seta; Marilyn du Toit, lecturer in Graphic design at the AAA School of Advertising, and Linda Rademan, lecturer in art direction at the AAA School of Advertising.