Rhodes University’s Highway Africa programme and its partners are pleased to announce the opening of the nomination process for the prestigious Highway Africa New Media Awards.
For 11 years these unique awards within the profession of journalism on the continent, have been rewarding pioneering, innovative and creative use of technology in journalism and the media. The Awards were established reward and recognise African innovation in the area of digital media and to highlight the role that digital technologies play in journalism and the media at large.

The Highway Africa New Media Awards are in three categories:
Individual – awarded to individual persons who design or appropriate new affordable applications of communication technologies to overcome the limitations of existing infrastructure and / or capital resources.
Not – for – profit – awarded to users of appropriate media technology to advance and assist communities and persons limited by infrastructure and / or technological access.
Corporate – awarded to corporate groups for creative and appropriate adaptation of technologies within the continent to complete effectively in the wider environment.

Submissions can be made electronically to awards@highwayafrica.com copied to m.letlhaku@ru.ac.za and b.jacobs@ru.ac.za.
The closing date for entries is August 2011, 16:30 South African time.
The winners will be announced at the prestigious SABC-Telkom-Highway Africa New Media Awards gala dinner on the evening of 18 September 2011 during the 15th edition of the Highway Africa Conference.
For more information contact Bronwyn Jacobs (b.jacobs@ru.ac.za ), Mobile:
or Visit www.highwayafrica.com to download entry forms.

(Johannesburg 23 June 2011) The Board of Print Media South Africa (PMSA) recently commissioned an internal review of BEE and transformation in the print media industry. Called the BEE Strategic Review of Print Media Industry, it takes an honest look at the state of play in the print media industry.

The Board of PMSA has adopted for the industry the B-BBEE Codes of Good Practice as the common transformation measurement and for goal setting. The DTI codes are a legislated document and print media’s communication on the benchmarking against them will be solid and consistent.

The wide-ranging Review has taken an unflinching look at the industry as a whole, transformation in terms of ownership and control as well as skills development, and the standards of compliance with the Department of Trade and Industry’s broad based black economic empowerment codes of good practice.

The Review provided for the print industry a solid basis - a roadmap - from which concerns are to be addressed and provides a measurement of what has been achieved to date.

It acknowledges the difficult relationship with the political establishment and also that the print media industry itself doesn’t have a common vision. It recognises that, at its core, it is a competitive business and the major players compete for stories, sales, staff, advertising – everything.

Members of the print media industry are far from being the biggest media owners in South Africa. The Review acknowledges the fact that while print media is an important player, real power in the media resides in government’s hands, as in reality, radio and television reaches the largest number of the South African population.

However, PMSA is aware that media ownership and control remains a key point for the government. The ANC believes, rightly or wrongly, that ownership and control influences diversity of views and content of the media.

The print media reality is that the space between owners and management is one jealously guarded by editors who continue to uphold the independence of the newsroom.

In terms of ownership, it is a global fact that the business model of print media, with its high print and distribution costs, is difficult for new entrants without incredibly deep pockets. Breaking even can take between five to seven years. And that doesn’t take into account the tough conditions in which the newspaper industry is currently operating.

The current print media status on transformation is encouraging with, one listed entity at level 3 (125% recognition level), another at level 4 (100% BBEE recognition) and two have level 5 recognition.

Prakash Desai, chairman of PMSA, points out, “Avusa has now more than 50% black ownership when it introduced, in November 2010, a new 16.5% black shareholder. Ownership in print media is a mixed bag with three of the four majors being listed entities.”

Print Media South Africa has committed itself to setting industry wide goals within timeframes to deliver transformation targets, honestly and transparently.

Ends

For further information please contact:
Ingrid Louw
CEO Print Media South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 11 551 9600
Email: ingridl@printmedia.org.za

Or
Prakash Desai
Chairman Print Media South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 11 280 3000
Email: desaip@avusa.co.za

By Guy Berger, convenor judge

==

Over the decade of the Mondi-Shanduka newspaper journalism competition, it’s clear that the best of the country’s newspaper journalism just keeps getting better. That’s a fine result to have in a year when the 10^th anniversary of the contest coincides with 20 years of the Windhoek Declaration.

It’s because of the 1991 Windhoek Declaration that the United Nations now recognises 3 May as annual World Press Freedom Day, which was celebrated in over 100 countries this year. The same declaration helped inspire the media freedom clause in the South African constitution.

Today, it’s because of the improving quality of journalism in South Africa that we can stand firm and confident in resisting those people who want to reduce journalistic freedom.

There can be no doubt that a state-appointed media appeals tribunal would eliminate the kinds of public interest stories that have won awards in this year’s competition – like the exposes of stories like the maladministration in the leasing of police headquarters in Pretoria, the “Zuma Inc” family business relationships, and even acid mine drainage.

Press freedom is also essential to public interest elsewhere. Just last year, Zambian editor Fred M’membe was sentenced to jail for a column in his newspaper – and not just jail, but four months hard labour. My own research (see www.misa.org) has found that since Windhoek 1991, Africa as a whole has taken two steps forward, but one step back.

That backwards move took place in the last decade, and the fear now is that it could become a trend.  So the question for African journalism is whether in 2011 it is still facing forwards, or if governments have forced an about-turn that will further erase the post-1991 progress.

Amongst the grim places for journalist practice is Libya. There, South African photojournalist Anton Hammerl appears to remain trapped in the not-too-respectful hands of Gaddafi’s government – an entity not exactly known for respecting a free flow of information. 

If the South African government is in fact doing anything to help get him released, they’re failing to tell us. That’s without even having passed the draconian Secrecy Bill, which could block out any information about Pretoria’s unpleasant ties with the likes of Tripoli.

Some progress may be made, however, at the Pan-African Conference on Access to Information, planned for Cape Town in September. This event aims to produce a statement that is as powerful as the original Windhoek Declaration, and to lead to a global Day of Access to Information recognised by the United Nations and UNESCO.

Meanwhile, the first line of defence of press freedom, and of advancing the right to know, remains quality journalism. And what the Mondi-Shanduka competition shows is that a great deal of our output is of superb standard.

It is noteworthy that this high quality output, which contributes so much to public interest, comes especially from one sector of the media industry: the printed press.

If newspapers have their wings clipped, particularly from political forces, the knock-on significance for society could be devastating. So, newspaper journalism must continue to thrive – both on paper and on screen.

Awareness of all this was part of the context in which 15 outstanding South African journalists spanning several generations did justice to assessing the 2011 Mondi Shanduka entries. The judging team includes award-winning former editors and senior correspondents: Tyrone August, Jodi Bieber, Paula Fray, Pippa Green, Joe Latakgomo, David Wightman, Liesl Louw, Tumi Makgabo, Juby Mayet, Arrie Rossouw, Adrienne Sichel, Mike Siluma, Peter Sullivan and Mathatha Tsedu.

Because of their commitment to journalism, they gave willingly of their time to scrutinise a record 760 entries (as compared to last year’s total of 601 submissions). The entries came from 37 newspapers from across all nine provinces, including the community press.

Yet, while celebrating the winning work, the judges were also far from being starry-eyed about the entries. In some categories, no runners-up were identified. And some of the best work could have even been better. Journalists at large, in all media, would do well to look closely at the judges’ comments for tips towards further improvement. They’re available at www.themedia.co.za

South Africa is fortunate to have a rising tide of quality for our journalism. But it needs to keep lifting if press freedom is going to be cherished as a value that is unassailable.  The quality should be high enough to attract the broadest possible political, social and economic support.

Meantime, the 2011 Mondi Shanduka contest has helped to maintain the momentum towards ultra-excellence, and to ensure that not only does journalism face forward, but that it can move forward as well.

 

Over the decade of the Mondi-Shanduka newspaper journalism competition, it’s clear that the best of the country’s newspaper journalism just keeps getting better. That’s a fine result to have in a year when the 10^th anniversary of the contest coincides with 20 years of the Windhoek Declaration.

It’s because of the 1991 Windhoek Declaration that the United Nations now recognises 3 May as annual World Press Freedom Day, which was celebrated in over 100 countries this year. The same declaration helped inspire the media freedom clause in the South African constitution.

Today, it’s because of the improving quality of journalism in South Africa that we can stand firm and confident in resisting those people who want to reduce journalistic freedom.

There can be no doubt that a state-appointed media appeals tribunal would eliminate the kinds of public interest stories that have won awards in this year’s competition – like the exposes of stories like the maladministration in the leasing of police headquarters in Pretoria, the “Zuma Inc” family business relationships, and even acid mine drainage.

Press freedom is also essential to public interest elsewhere. Just last year, Zambian editor Fred M’membe was sentenced to jail for a column in his newspaper – and not just jail, but four months hard labour. My own research (see www.misa.org) has found that since Windhoek 1991, Africa as a whole has taken two steps forward, but one step back.

That backwards move took place in the last decade, and the fear now is that it could become a trend.  So the question for African journalism is whether in 2011 it is still facing forwards, or if governments have forced an about-turn that will further erase the post-1991 progress.

Amongst the grim places for journalist practice is Libya. There, South African photojournalist Anton Hammerl appears to remain trapped in the not-too-respectful hands of Gaddafi’s government – an entity not exactly known for respecting a free flow of information. 

If the South African government is in fact doing anything to help get him released, they’re failing to tell us. That’s without even having passed the draconian Secrecy Bill, which could block out any information about Pretoria’s unpleasant ties with the likes of Tripoli.

Some progress may be made, however, at the Pan-African Conference on Access to Information, planned for Cape Town in September. This event aims to produce a statement that is as powerful as the original Windhoek Declaration, and to lead to a global Day of Access to Information recognised by the United Nations and UNESCO.

Meanwhile, the first line of defence of press freedom, and of advancing the right to know, remains quality journalism. And what the Mondi-Shanduka competition shows is that a great deal of our output is of superb standard.

AS the media world changes with almost frightening rapiditywith the onset of the digital revolution and new technologies, the survival of print will be more contingent than ever before on journalistic excellence and connectivity with the people.

I've been at several conferences where new media practitioners - note I do not call them journalists – have all but buried newspapers as something from a bygone era. As someone with over 3 decades in print, I've been called a dinosaur because I remain a 'believer', but I have nevertheless tried to listen intelligently as smart young men in suits talk about algorithyms, stealth models, fast flips, going viral, and wondering where that leaves us. And I've looked around at the audience - and seen the often puzzled faces of idealistic journalists who believe in their craft; in the need to keep their readers, listeners and viewers informed, and who, especially under draconian regimes, have often paid heavy prices for doing so – and seen that they are wondering too!

At the same time I find myself grudgingly acknowledging that freedom of speech can never have enough defenders, and that the digital revolution, with all it entails, including Facebook and Twitter and other social media tools, are irrevocably with us, and have helped give voice, for example, to 'people revolutions' in situations on our own continent where vibrant and independent print and other traditional media, are prohibited.

So, resistant though I may be to the prospect of a totally online world, I also acknowledge that it is not an 'either-or' situation.

A world in which there are no newspapers, would be a joyless and dare I say uniformed world indeed. But those of us who've started our careers in the era of hot lead, and have witnessed the changes from typewriters to computers; landline telephones to mobiles and from telex machines to e-mail; and who believe in the power and the ability of the pen to change the world, simply need to adapt in order not to die.

I do believe that our survival depends on us; rests on the shoulders of those like many of you finalists and prizewinners for journalistic excellence in this room tonight. The biggest threats to traditional journalism are undoubtedly the loss of public support as a result of loss of passion and commitment on the part of ourselves.

And this is why, whenever I talk to students, aspirant journalists, and my colleagues in the profession and at my own newspaper, I emphasise the need for us to up our game all the time and enhance our levels of journalistic excellence, commitment to ethics and sense of responsibility to the people we serve.

In several countries in southern Africa, including my own, we submit ourselves to self-regulation, and I have no problem with this, but it also happens in the face of constant pressure on the part of governments to control us. The online world, on the other hand, does not always feel the same sense of accountability and journalistic thoroughness.

I remain concerned about the fact that so many young people entering the profession are doing so simply because they want jobs and not because they believe in what they do. They are the 8-5 generation, often content just to do events-reporting and sloppy journalism with scant regard for the ethics which so vitally underpin what we do. If print media does die, and I hope I never see the day, then we must be prepared to shoulder a large portion of the blame.

Many will talk about objectivity and neutrality, but in my view good journalism cannot be achieved without both passion and principle, which in turn I believe, will continue to engender public support.

While there have been some successes in terms of media freedoms in southern Africa in the recent past, we all know that this is a fight that can never be completely won. As you all know, we have just recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, which was a groundbreaking achievement for media in Africa. Among others, it called for a diverse independent and pluralistic media and the removal of government controls.

The decades which followed saw a much more vibrant media landscape, with the growth of new initiatives leading to more choices for our people.

But SADC governments, while paying lip service to among others, the Windhoek Declaration on an independent and pluralistic media, have never been entirely comfortable with press freedom, and generally continue to harass independent press and muscle their own agendas onto the public through control of state broadcasters and other media. In most countries of the sub continent journalists have opted for self-regulation in an attempt to stave off Government control of the media, and to varying degrees of success.

At the same time I often ask myself the question whether online media, while they have as many and perhaps more rights than practising journalists in traditional media, are helping to share the responsibilities of protecting media freedoms, and adhering to ethical frameworks. In terms of the latter, a speaker from the London School of Economics recently described online journalism as a 'race to the bottom in terms of ethical standards'. While this may not always be the case, it needs to be said that what are now referred to as traditional media – namely print, radio and television - are not exempt from this criticism either. Perhaps because so many are now entering media simply to have a job, their commitment to high standards and professionalism can be found wanting. And so we all know that there are those among our ranks who have misconstrued, deliberately or otherwise, the rights to free speech and press freedom, abusing these rights at the expense of our responsibilities. And in so doing, they have played into the hands of those governments already reluctant to accept the role and necessity of a fiercely independent media, so vital for any democracy.

But we mainly have a lot to be proud of. Brave pioneers in independent media in the sub-continent and elsewhere in Africa, have paved the way for many of the freedoms that we now enjoy today. The adoption of the Windhoek Declaration in 1991 also largely helped break the stranglehold and control of African Governments over the media. In turn the adoption of the Windhoek Declaration paved the way for similar initiatives in other parts of the world, and as you all know, culminated in the UN General Assembly marking My 3, the day on which the Windhoek Declaration was adopted, as Press Freedom Day worldwide.

But to get back to my concerns about print media, newspapers in particular.

In Africa we are in the fortunate position that print seems to be growing rather than the contrary. In many parts of the world, newspapers continue to struggle to survive and many haven't made the cut. While the spread and growth of internet access, opening up a host of new media possibilities, is generally given credit, if that is the right word, for print's demise in countries in Europe and in the US, I would vouch to say that a loss of public support is a primary reason.

Internet access in Africa, in my view, and I think the statistics will bear me out, remains a fairly elitist thing, and I believe this status quo will remain for some time to come. The cellphone, rather than the computer, is clearly far more accessible to a majority of our people.

So for print media to survive in Africa, and to rise to even greater heights in the future, I believe we have a few things we need to do, and these include:

raising the standards of our journalism, making excellence our goal, because with the loss of professional journalism, we will never be able to hold power accountable;

looking at ways and means to interact with our readers, and in this regard we can also try to converge with online and digital media to reach a wider audience, and in turn, give our audience a greater access to what remains a largely static media.

Our mission remains to inform our readers, to provide arena for debate, cultural expression and to take on the role of public watchdog. We remain vital constituents in the democratic process.

It is not only independent reporting which is important, and the absence of restrictions on our work, but also the extent to which especially marginalised communities can access the media and make their voices heard.

We continue to call on governments to promote a pluralistic and diverse media environment, and to divest themselves of the media they continue to control. The battle for press freedom and access to information continues and I hope that all of you will be in the forefront of that fight.

Finally I commend the spectrum of finalists and prizewinners here today – from writers to columnists, cartoonists, graphical journalists. I am encouraged to note that the outlook cannot be so bad for our craft when there are still journalists of calibre who consider their calling as more than just a job!

Print Media South Africa announced the winners of its first ‘Design an Ad’ competition which seeks to raise awareness among young people of the benefits of the print media at the 10th annual Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards at Turbine Hall, Johannesburg on 10 May 2011.

[Image: (From the left - click on the name to view the student's entry) Junior Kayembe, Nkululeko Skhosana and Marvin Kowa]

The competition uncovered the talents of historically disadvantaged second-year design students in Johannesburg, while also commemorating World Press Freedom Day on 3 May and drawing attention to the importance of a free media which is embedded in our Constitution.

The entry brief was to research World Press Freedom Day and the Windhoek Declaration and use their findings to create a print advert promoting the newspaper industry. They were asked to emphasise the importance of the press, the value of its freedom and make a valid argument for its continuation as a viable means of communication and news coverage. Work was judged on the strength of the advertising message, creativity, production, design and typography.

The 20 entries received in the new competition were adjudicated by press ombudsman Joe Thloloe and copywriter Mohlalifi Lentsoane and art director Archibald Malinga, both of DRAFTFCB.

Winner Marvin Kowa’s print work stood head and shoulders above the rest. The judges said that it was ‘engaging and seized the reader’s interest by taking the names of major papers and weaving them into an entertaining story about the importance of press freedom’. “It was a superb, well-executed piece, thoroughly deserving the award,” added the judges.

Kowa explains: “I am not a man of many words but I feel most comfortable talking through my designs. I have ideas about the world I can only express on paper. With the poster presented I chose to convey what newspaper titles represent in our every lives.”

Runner-up Nkululeko Skhosana’s entry drew praise from the panel for the ‘bold and simplistic energy’ of his work, especially the line which read, “When print media ink dries, propaganda flourishes. Don’t let this be the reality.”

Skhosana shares that his designs are inspired by the people around him and the energy of the city of Johannesburg. “When discussing this project with my father, I came up with the copy for this poster.”

Junior Kayembe was commended by the judges for fulfilling all the requirements of the brief. The verdict acknowledged that he has great potential.

The top three entrants are all students at City Varsity Design College.

Although the judges reported stiff competition in the Newspaper Association of South Africa’s annual newspaper publishing awards, three clear winners emerged: Beeld, Die Volksblad and Mail & Guardian. The winners were announced tonight (10 May 2011) at Johannesburg’s Turbine Hall during the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards.

The Frewin, Joel Mervis and McCall competitions, which are collectively more than 120 years old, recognise newspaper excellence in advertising, printing and production, layout and typography as well as balance between the use of pictures and graphics.

Convenor of judges and creative faculty head of the AAA School of Advertising, Clive Loxton, said: “Even though there was stiff competition, three clear winners emerged. We congratulate these winners, who we are proud to reward for going to extraordinary lengths in achieving an end result that can compete anywhere in the world.”

The Frewin Award, which recognises urban daily newspapers with a circulation above 50,000, was won by Beeld. Judges described the publication as ‘classic, conservative and colourful’.

Die Burger was announced as the runner-up in this category, while the Cape Argus was commended.

The McCall Award winner was Volksblad which the judges felt was ‘elegant, modern yet classical in style’. This category honours daily newspapers with a circulation of 50,000 or less.

The runner-up in this category was The Mercury, while Daily News and The Witness each received a commendation.

The winner in the Joel Mervis category, which recognises urban daily newspapers irrespective of their circulation, was Mail & Guardian. Judges had this to say: “A quest for excellence; a newspaper for people who love reading.”

City Press was announced as the runner-up in this category. Rapport, Sunday Independent and the Naweek Beeld were commended.

Joining Loxton on the judging panel were Linda Rademan, lecturer at the AAA School of Advertising; Logan Naidu, learnerships and apprenticeships specialist at MAPPP-SETA; and Tebogo Serobatse, head of department at the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA).

Mail & Guardian’s amaBhungane investigative team, headed by Sam Sole and Stefaans Brümmer, clinched the prize for South African Story of the Year, while Matuma Letsoalo earned himself the title of South African Journalist of the Year, at the 10^th annual Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards at Turbine Hall in Johannesburg tonight (10 May 2011).

Sole and Brümmer, with contributions from Ilham Rawoot, Adriaan Basson, Jackie Mapiloko and Mahlatsi Gallens, were acknowledged for their extensive investigative series on ‘Zuma Inc’, the Zuma family’s business empire featured in the Mail & Guardian. Sole and Brümmer are not new to the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards winners’ roll, having won the Investigative Journalism category in 2003.

The amaBhungane are the Mail & Guardian Centre for Investigative Journalism which is a non-profit initiative that aims to develop investigative journalism in the public interest. This initiative seeks to produce better investigative stories and to plough back into the profession through internships and advocacy.

“The team sank their teeth into the issue and did not let go. Instead, they systematically worked their way through the many complex stories they unearthed and which they summed up as the rise of the ‘Zuma Inc’. This journalism set the agenda which other media could not but follow,” said Rhodes University’s Professor Guy Berger, convenor of the judging panel.

Matuma Letsoalo won the South African Journalist of the Year and Investigative Journalism category for his series of articles related to Noluthando Vavi, wife of COSATU general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.

Letsoalo impressed judges when he single-handedly blew the lid off an important story relating to the corrupt business activities of Mrs Vavi. He was also the winner in the Investigative Journalism category for the same series of articles.

“Letsoalo broke an important story at a time when its indirect subject, Zwelinzima Vavi, could be described as having become endeared to the media through his anti-corruption stance,” said the judges. “It was a story with consequences, and it entailed excellent follow-up as it unfolded,” they added.

Letsoalo demonstrated that even outside of an investigative team, an individual journalist can win honours by diligent persistence and high ethics.

The winners walked away with R15,000, a premier Mondi Shanduka nib trophy and framed certificate.

Berger rallied the experience and expertise of Pippa Green, Jodi Bieber, Joe Latakgomo, Tyrone August, David Wightman, Juby Mayet, Liesl Louw, Mathatha Tsedu, Tumi Makgabo, Paula Fray, Peter Sullivan, Mike Siluma, Adrienne Sichel and Arrie Rossouw.