Stefaans Brümmer and Sam Sole from the Mail & Guardian won first prize in the investigative journalism section of the Mondi Newspaper Awards on Thursday.
In the words of the judges, Brümmer and Sole ”cleaned up” in the investigations section of the competition. The pair won the award for their in-depth series of articles on the major South African oil purchase scandal, titled ”Mega oil scandal rocks SA”. Wisani wa ka Ngobeni and Matuma Letsoalo, also from the M&G, were finalists in this category.
”The judges were heartened by the increased entries to the competition for the 2003 year. It indicates that many journalists feel proud of, and committed to, their craft. In addition, that they respect the credibility of this competition and the assessment of the panel,” says Professor Guy Berger, panel convenor and head of the Department of Media Studies and Journalism at Rhodes University.
”However, while there were some excellent entries, many still have a way to go. Consequently, and due to the high standards maintained by the judges, some categories have only a winning entry, and no finalists. A number of commendations were nevertheless made.”
Berger urged entrants not to be disheartened if they did not feature on the shortlist, ”It is not easy to win a Mondi, be a runner-up, or even to get a commendation. The challenge is to learn from the quality acknowledged in the line-up, and especially that of the winners. It’s then up to entrants to try to beat the competition next time around”.
The winners in the news writing category were Estelle Ellis and Jeremy Gordin from The Star with ”Pressure mounts on Nguka’s accusers”, a series on the Hefer Commission. No finalists were nominated in the news writing category, but Clinton van der Berg from the Sunday Times and Vuyisile Ngesi from the Diamond Fields Advertiser each received a commendation.
The Star’s Nalisha Kalideen was named winner in the feature writing category with ”A fall of sparrows”, a three-part series on the lives of two women living in a hospice. The finalists in this category were Fred Khumalo from ThisDay and Lizel Steenkamp from Beeld.
Ruth Helen Walne of the Daily News secured the winning spot in the creative and opinionated category for ”The Dying Man”, a series of three articles on the death of an Aids-sufferer and its effects on herself and her parents. Finalists in this category were Jeremy Gordin from The Star and Willemien Brümmer from Die Burger.
The winner in the graphical journalism category was Jonathan Shapiro, creator of Zapiro, for his series of cartoons on an array of political and social issues. Anton Vermeulen from Beeld received a commendation. No finalists were nominated in this category.
Taking first prize in the photographic category was Rian Horn of ThisDay for his series of images on the Hefer Commission. Debbie Yazbek (The Star) and Lisa Skinner (Beeld) were finalists.
Arlene Prinsloo of Rapport clinched first place in the presentation category for her entry ”Die Groot Uitskud van Afrikaner-organisasies”. Andries Gouws (Beeld) was a finalist and Johan du Plessis (Diamond Fields Advertiser) was commended.
The winner in the special category of the South African story of the year, was Nalisha Kalideen of The Star for her feature writing winning entry ”A Fall of Sparrows”.
The awards are made in conjuction with the Newspaper Association of South Africa (Nasa). President of Nasa, Trevor Ncube said: ”While the standard of the entries varied considerably the judges were unanimous that the winning entries stood out in the quality of their writing, design and layout, or photography and deserved recognition in their respective categories.
”We trust that 2004 will be a year where editorial departments reflect on the standard of journalism within their specific disciplines and will encourage editors to dedicate time in developing journalists to ensure that standards are improved and maintained and that readers are engaged through accurate and intellectually stimulating journalism.”
A total of 692 entries were received in this year’s awards. The judging panel included Professor Berger, Portia Kobue (news editor for Kaya FM), Ruth Seopedi Motau (freelance photographer), Johan de Wet (former editor of Rapport), Ken Owen (former Sunday Times editor) and Joe Thloloe (editor of news at e-tv).