2009 VODACOM JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The victorious winners of the eighth annual Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards
were announced at a glittering function held at Vodaworld tonight,
attended by South Africa's leading editors and journalists.

Talk Radio 702's Nomsa Maseko was named the 2009 Vodacom
Journalist of the Year winner and received R125 000, as well as
being given the opportunity to donate an additional R125 000 to the
official charity of her choice.

Maseko won South Africa's journalism's top honour for her moving
coverage of the xenophobic attacks in Gauteng last year, and
broadcast on Talk Radio 702. The judges praised Maseko for her
ability to make a difficult subject accessible to the listening
public.

Xenophobia was the subject of a number of winning entries
including Beauregard Tromp's The Burning Man - published in The
Star - which won him the award in Print News category and
Thanduxolo Jika for Dying to Live published in the Daily Dispatch
which won in the Print Feature category. A team from the Daily
Dispatch also won in the Online Journalism category for Dying to
Live

The grand prize is in addition to the R15 000 each national
category winner received and the

R7 500 every regional category winner was given earlier this
year. Each national winner also received a Nokia E71.

The Lifetime Achievement Award - nominated by the judges - was
awarded to veteran journalist Khaba Mhhize. Mkhize was recognised
for his relentless contribution to great journalism during the pre-
and post-democratic phases of South African history. He is a
prolific writer, whose contributions have graced some of the most
influential news publications both in this country and abroad.

Editors throughout South Africa were encouraged to identify
their most promising journalists with the prize a three-month all
expenses paid journalism course with an overseas journalism school.
The winner, selected by the judging panel for 2009, was Sikonathi
Mantshantsha from Finweek.

The full list of winners who earned national winning status in
the following categories is:

a.. TV news: Nonkumbelo Sithole for Camps in eTV Prime Time News
· TV feature: Joy Summers for Water aired on M-Net's Carte
Blanche
a.. Print news: Beauregard Tromp for The Burning Man in The Star
b.. Print feature: Thanduxolo Jika for Dying To Live in Daily
Dispatch
c.. Radio news: Nomsa Maseko for Xenophobia in Gauteng on Talk
Radio 702
d.. Radio feature: Siphiwe Cyril Mnguni for Utrecht on SABC News
e.. Financial/economic: Claire Bisseker for On Pins and
Needles in Financial Mail
f.. Columnist: Brian Hayward for One Wedding, Two Cultures And.
in The Weekend Post
g.. Cartoonist: Jonathan Shapiro for Rape of Justice in The
Sunday Times
h.. Photography: Alon Skuy for Living Inside A Bridge in both
The Times and Mail & Guardian. (There was a commendation by the
judging panel to Ronelle Ramsamy for the photograph Head Hunted of
the Zululand Observer.)
i.. Sport: Johann Russouw for reportage of the terrorist attack
on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan on RSG
j.. Community Media: Munadia Karaan for the Muslim marriage act
that made global history in Voice of the Cape
k.. Online Journalism: Tegan Bedser, Shadley Haupt, Jan Hennop,
Theo Jephta, Thanduxolo Jika, Rudi Louw, Sino Majangaza and Andrew
Trench for Dying To Live posted on the Daily Dispatch site.
l.. Editors' Choice: Sikonathi Mantshantsha from Finweek

Said Bob Collymore, Chief Officer of Corporate Affairs for the
Vodacom Group: "As a total communications company, we believe in
upholding the principles of great journalism - truth, honesty and
integrity. Our heartiest congratulations go to all this year's
winners as their outstanding reporting has successfully captured
change in our society. We also extend our thanks to all the
participating journalists who submitted their best reporting."

The judging panel are Melanie Chait, Johann de Wet; Victor
Matom, Rich Mkhondo, ZB Molefe, Maud Motanyane, Collin Nxumalo, Len
Maseko, Mary Papayya, Lizette Rabe and convener of judges, Robin
Sewlal.

The Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards is sponsored by
Vodacom in association with 1Time Airline, Southern Sun, Sandton
Sun, Nokia, Media Express and the JSE (Johannesburg Stock
Exchange).

NOTE TO EDITORS:

THE FULL LIST OF ALL WINNERS WITH JUDGES' COMMENTS:
Vodacom Journalist of the Year: Nomsa Maseko for Xenophobia in
Gauteng on Talk Radio 702's Eyewitness News

There are two basic problems with the news industry today.
Reporters and editors are required to know much too much. Every day
the topic changes, and every day they must become a new type of
expert. Yet they're not supposed to write like an expert; the words
must be composed for a layman. The nature of the job dictates that
a reporter is not an expert. He/she is a jack of all trades, king
of none. Writing for the layman is harder than you think. Of course
specialisation helps. This second problem is inherent in the
business is also concerned with making a profit, growing market
share, advertising spend, balanced with personal ambition. Sloppy
reporting is often the result. Journalists are encouraged to go for
the good sound bite or the poignant quote, not the insightful
explanation. The Vodacom Journalist of the Year winner displayed
excellent journalism and good public service. Nomsa Maseko proved
that journalism of the highest order can to be practiced in
newsrooms across South Africa.

Lifetime achievement: Khaba Mkhize

Khaba Mkhize is recognised for his relentless contribution to
great journalism during the pre- and post-democratic phases of our
country's history. He is an award winning and well respected
journalist in SA, on the continent and abroad. He began as a cub
reporter at The Natal Witness in KwaZulu-Natal nearly 30 years ago
and went on to become one of the publication's most revered and
celebrated editors. He epitomised the credibility of the
traditional craft of journalism. He brought honour to those he
worked with. He is a prolific writer whose contributions have
graced some of the most influential news publications in our
country and abroad. He is an author, artist, poet and a cultural
commentator. His name is synonymous with a passion for great story
telling, fearless reporting, a more than worthy contribution to the
transformation of newsrooms and to media freedom during an era of
apartheid's most fierce and draconian stranglehold on the fourth
estate. Even so, his role went beyond KwaZulu-Natal and the realm
of reporting. He contributed to debates and discussions that would
go on to have a profound realisation in our democracy. He was one
of the few media leaders of his time who understood the great gift
of story-telling and its ability to reflect the truth when it
mattered most. Yet, it was his humility and quest for unselfishly
teaching, mentoring and nurturing young journalists that makes him
one of the most respected media icons of our country today.

Editors' Choice: Sikonathi Mantshantsha from Finweek

Editors' Choice recognises a special individual who has the
potential to become an outstanding journalist and a great
ambassador and asset to the profession. The judges gave the award
to Sikonathi Mantshantsha from Finweek who will now spend three
months studying abroad and interacting with journalists from
different countries. The judges' were impressed by Mantshantsha's
ability to succeed against all odds in an area of journalism which
is highly specialised. He started as a messenger in a financial
institution where a passion for financial journalism was developed.
The winner unmasked blatant racism at a recruitment agency,
predicted the demise of a transport company and exposed the
extraordinarily high remuneration packages of people working at a
multinational company.

TV news: Nonkumbelo Sithole for Camps in eTV Prime Time News

Localism should be the benchmark by which most of the media
should be judged. Broadcasters and newspapers should have a
vigilant journalistic mission at their core to make a reader or a
listener feel part of the story wherever the story is covered and
wherever they are. Nonkumbelo Sithole's story on post-apartheid
military camps stands out in its originality in finding a story not
often told.

TV feature: Joy Summers for Water aired on M-Net's Carte
Blanche

Joy Summers did an excellent piece of investigative journalism,
tracking down and speaking to all role players to get a complete
picture. The subject of water, does not appear to be instantly
riveting, until you're told that the water you are drinking is
contaminated. That's when you start asking questions. Not only did
Summers' work highlight the dangers inherent in the water we drink,
but also called for government to account for their lack of concern
for such an important subject.

Print news: Beauregard Tromp for The Burning Man in The Star

This year the judges had a particularly challenging time with
this category. Not only was the standard of entries high, there was
also a substantial increase in the number of entries from previous
years. This meant that the competition was rigorous. Beauregard
Tromp is someone who walked more than the extra mile with his
excellently executed reportage on xenophobia.

Print feature: Thanduxolo Jika for Dying To Live in Daily
Dispatch

Thanduxolo Jika's entry portrays a compelling and revealing news
item that was well researched, gripping and exploratory. It is a
piece that hooked the reader from start to finish. It had the
perfect ingredients for an excellent news feature: great
story-telling, quotes, sources, an in-depth perspective and a
chilling account of the naked truth. It was a heart-wrenching
account of how the search for a better life became the most
horrific fight for survival. The writer lived with the victims of
xenophobia and met with the perpetrators. The reader was presented
with an amazing insight into the xenophobic attacks in SA, and the
murders of Somalians in the Eastern Cape.

Radio news: Nomsa Maseko for Xenophobia in Gauteng on Talk Radio
702's Eyewitness News

A journalist or reporter putting together a radio newscast has
to figure out how they can incorporate the kind of news the public
is looking for, not just to report the headlines of the day or to
use a reference or two sourced from their network. The challenge is
to localise those issues. The world becomes smaller all the time,
and there are many ways to take national and international stories
and make them relevant for local audience with the core mission
still being journalism and informative reporting. Nomsa Maseko did
exactly that. She managed to get the listener hooked in her
subject, xenophobia, by telling the plight of victims in such a way
that one felt emotionally affected.

Radio feature: Siphiwe Cyril Mnguni for Utrecht on SABC News

In the hands of a professional, radio is an excellent medium for
telling stories. Siphiwe Cyril Mnguni's piece is a beautifully told
human interest story. No blood, no gore - this story, which is
simply told, captures the side of post apartheid South Africa's
often overlooked -ordinary rainbow people, leading ordinary rainbow
lives.

Financial/economic category, sponsored by the JSE: Claire
Bisseker for On Pins and Needles in Financial Mail

Writing under the financial economics category calls for a much
deeper understanding of the source of the story. This is because
economics refers to the well-being or state of living of a
particular community or location. Claire Bisseker, while looking at
the effects of job losses, also focused on other interventions that
further mitigated against any form of recovery. Overall, a very
informative piece of journalistic work that paints a picture of the
exact financial state of the affected communities.

Columnist: Brian Hayward for One Wedding, Two Cultures And. in
The Weekend Post

A good columnist draws from their years of experience to pen an
award-winning column However, sometimes an issue on your very
doorstep needs to be aired. It is true that many issues stay in the
closet for fear of adverse consequences. Brian Hayward,
notwithstanding the full awareness of the controversy that his work
would generate, was undeterred. He chose to explore a sensitive
issue; that of the inter-cultural wedding between his white sister
and her Xhosa fiancé. The column challenged Hayward professionally
and personally.

Cartoonist: Jonathan Shapiro for Rape of Justice in the Sunday
Times

Entries in the cartoonist category were of a very high standard.
The publication of Jonathan Shapiro's winning cartoon brought about
all kinds of reactions: attack, praise, debate and analysis on
public platforms, on TV, on radio and in the print media and
online. The controversy surrounding the cartoon was also conveyed
in the international media, including the BBC, CNN and Le Monde. We
salute his courage.

Photography: Alon Skuy for Living Inside A Bridge in both The
Times and Mail & Guardian

As life drifts by everyday, little thought is sometimes spared
for those who live on the fringes of society, condemned to
substandard existence. Alon Skuy's picture essay deftly uses the
power of the camera to sketch a compelling story of poverty in
unnerving, graphic detail. This is the world of nothingness where
living under a highway affords a drifter a semblance of dignity and
a sense of belonging.

a.. There was a commendation by the judging panel to Ronelle
Ramsamy for the photograph Head hunted in the Zululand Observer.

Sport: Johann Russouw for reportage of the terrorist attack on
the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan on RSG

Whether we like it or not, sport and politics often can't be
separated. Johann Russouw's winning entry gave listeners a factual,
thorough, extensive and timeous report. The care taken with the
technical aspect of the story, as well as the use of eye-witnesses
was outstanding.

Community Media: Munadia Karaan for the Muslim marriage act that
made global history, in Voice of the Cape

Community media is playing no small role in giving meaning and
purpose to a democratic South Africa. The rise in the various forms
of such media is indicative of society's need for news that is
directly impactful and local. Munadia Karaan's piece stands out not
only because of its huge relevance but also the manner in which it
was covered. The judges were impressed by legislation which was
crafted into a piece of writing that speaks eloquently to its
target audience. The time, energy and effort put into this article
speak volumes for the journalist.

Online Journalism: Daily Dispatch online team - Tegan Bedser,
Shadley Haupt, Jan Hennop, Theo Jephta, Thanduxolo Jika, Rudi Louw,
Sino Majangaza and Andrew Trench for Dying To Live posted on the
Daily Dispatch site

The xenophobic violence that gripped South Africa last year
shocked and took the world by surprise while revealing a slip so
uncharacteristic of a nation imbued by ideals of humanism or
"ubuntu". In this series, the team plumbed the depths of the
horrors of xenophobia with skilful purposefulness. This was
communicated using the electronic medium to its fullest, giving
readers a full sensory essay of sights, and sounds covering the
story from every angle in a most compassionate way.

Over 1 300 entries were received from participating journalists
countrywide for this year's Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards
which was a significant increase on last year. Established by
Vodacom in 2001, these awards have continued to support excellence
in journalism.