‘We might end up like the boxing fraternity,” said Joel Netshitenzhe, CEO of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), announcing the latest addition to an outsized list of journalism awards. “If your boxer cannot win the WBC title, then establish the WBA or IBO.”
Netshitenzhe’s quip, delivered during a keynote address at the launch of the local leg of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Media Awards, was a fitting reference to a curious trend — it appears every second organisation with a moderate marketing budget wants to “recognise” journalists. But the joke did not (nor was it meant to) hide the fact that the new kid is an atypical specimen.
Unlike the various corporate events sponsored by the likes of Mondi, Vodacom, Telkom and Sanlam, the SADC Media Awards is a government initiative, the culmination of a process that began in 1996 at the SADC Council of Ministers. Although the awards’ stakeholders include vigilantly independent civil society bodies such as the Freedom of Expression Institute and the South African National Editors’ Forum, the government connection is maintained through a GCIS representative on the six-member adjudication panel.
Unfortunately for the GCIS judge, it is precisely this association with state officialdom that puts the awards’ target market in a cautious frame of mind. “A win may not be something you want to include in your resume,” one editor reacted on first hearing of the competition.
For his part, Netshitenzhe is dismissive of such an attitude. “Scepticism among journalists is unfounded. Our belief is that it is better to participate in the process than stand on the sidelines and throw stones.”
Netshitenzhe’s stance is hard to fault when taken in the context of the “values” the awards aim to promote — “media freedom, tolerance of divergent views and opinions, and democracy, accountability and transparency”, among others. As Netshitenzhe has it, these values will be forced on to the agenda in SADC countries experiencing media repression.
And while it will soon be clear whether these values find expression in the judging process, there’s another question that warrants consideration: should journalists be any more wary of government-backed awards than of those sponsored by corporates?
Marina Bidoli, associate editor of Financial Mail, was recently named the most “negative” journalist by Telkom, a ranking she views as “something of a compliment”.
Bidoli points out that at the time of the ranking, Telkom was preparing for its listing and was desperate to put a positive spin on media articles.
“Other journalists who did not criticise Telkom for its heavy-handed attitude towards potential competitors and the [Independent Communications Regulatory Authority of South Africa], or who failed to slam the monopoly for unilaterally withholding bandwidth from the Internet firms and for its hefty 2003 tariff increases, should be embarrassed for not doing their jobs properly,” she says.
Not that Bidoli boycotts the telecommunication giant’s awards. She was recognised as the top Telkom ICT Journalist in 2001, and was the overall runner-up and best magazine journalist in the competition for 2000 and 2002.
“It’s important to have been recognised,” she says. “Financially I could earn a lot more elsewhere, so getting this recognition is a nice booster. However, I will only enter competitions if I believe the judges to be fair, competent and independent of the competition’s sponsor.”
Given the values of the SADC Media Awards, it’s unlikely that the newest member of the sponsorship fraternity is exposing itself to charges of foolishness. The GCIS judge, Netshitenzhe says, is only on the panel to serve as a “link”. Going a step further, he promises that the judging process “will take place independently of government”.
As soon as journalists accept this, the entries will start pouring in.
Kevin Bloom is editor of The Media magazine