The 1st for Women Insurance Brokers’ Women in the Media Awards, now celebrating its decade anniversary, will have all 41 past winners and runners-up as finalists in this year’s awards ceremony.
There will be no public nomination process this year as in previous years. Instead, judges will decide on the winner out of 41 women who were previous winners and finalists since the awards’ inception in 2002. This year will be a significant celebration of all previous finalists and winners that culminated in a selection of 2012 finalists and where an overall winner will be chosen.
“It is certainly going to get the conversation going as to which woman has made the most significant contribution to the media. The judging criteria will be based on what each finalist has achieved in their careers to date, and so is not limited to the last ten years,” said Sandra Gordon, CEO of Wag the Dog Publishers and founder of the event.
Said Robyn Farrell, managing director of 1st for Women Insurance Brokers, “It is going to be a really tough judging process, but it is going to benefit the industry and indeed, South Africa, to see how far women have come and how they have flourished in the media. We also hope that young people will be inspired to follow careers in media based on the finalists’ stories.”
In the meantime, nomination forms for the Rising Star and Lifetime Achiever awards are available on www.wagthedog.co.za under The Women in The Media Awards tab.
Readers can also access the nomination page through www.themediaonline.co.za. A banner ad will link you to the process.
Past Rising Stars have included Mandy Wiener, author and journalist, Nikiwe Bikitsha, journalist and news anchor of eNews; Sbu Mpungose, editor of Bona magazine, Radio 702 presenter Redi Tlhabi, and Siki Mgabadeli, then presenter on CNBC. The Lifetime Achiever Award has recognised Kate Turkington, Barbara Ludman, Gwen Gill, Joyce Sikhakhane, Barbara Cooke and Jane Raphaely.
The closing date for nominations is 30 April 2012.