Judges in the Newspaper Association of South Africa's annual Frewin, Joel Mervis and McCall awards found that although the competition was intense, Die Burger, Volksblad and Naweek Beeld were the clear winners.
The competition, which has been in existence for a collective 120 years, recognises newspaper excellence in advertising, printing and production, layout and typography as well as the balance between the use of pictures and graphics.
The convenor of judges, Clive Loxton, expressed his amazement at how little effect the economic recession had on the visual aspects of the journalist's craft, as one would have expected to discover far more caution.
"We congratulate the winners. As we emerge from the recession with the World Cup boosting circulations by stimulating interest in ‘immediate' news coverage as well as in-depth analysis, we expect to be judging some very exciting work next year," he added.
Die Burger won the Frewin Award which recognises urban daily newspapers with a circulation above 50,000. Beeld was announced as runner-up, while the Daily News and Cape Times were commended in the same category.
The judges had this to say about the winner, "Overall this paper presents a solid visual delivery, with an extremely neat and tidy appearance. A worthy winner."
The McCall Award, which honours urban daily newspapers with a circulation of 50,000 or less, was clinched by Volksblad. The runner-up in this category was The Witness, while Pretoria News received a commendation.
"A professional-looking paper with a very good, consistent visual delivery," said the judges.
The Joel Mervis Award which recognises urban weekly newspapers irrespective of their circulation was presented to Naweek Beeld. City Press followed as runner-up, and the Mail & Guardian was commended.
"Good, sound visual presentation. Interesting pictures, well-presented to support news articles. Beeld has proved to be one of the country's top newspapers for 2010.The skills employed to maintain such a fine paper are phenomenal," commented the judges.
The panel was comprised Loxton, Linda Rademan, Marylin du Toit and Logan Naidu. Loxton conveyed his gratitude to his fellow judges for their commitment and dedication, describing them as experts in their respective fields.
