The Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Award finalists have today been announced. The judging panel noted the high standard of the submissions and believed that the finalists chosen aptly underscored this year’s theme – perfect balance.
The judging panel, convened by Paula Fray, had an intense two-day session deciding on the finalists. Fray said, “We assessed a very large sample of South African newspaper journalism, and were able to conclude that the best entries were of superb standard.”
These are the comments and finalists for each category:
Hard news: “As always, there was great reporting. We are lucky we live in a country with so much hard news, and so many brilliant reporters with the right words to convey the moment. As judges we were struck by the intensity of feelings about politicians squandering tax on luxury homes, on security, on a village, on diverting roads, on expensive cars – while subjecting their subjects to ever greater tax burdens. These stories brought different tears to our eyes.”
Hard News FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Adriaan Basson | Inside Heath’s World | City Press | FINALIST |
Louise Flanagan | 92 million: Zuma’s political elite benefit | The Star | FINALIST |
Angelique Serrao | “Gauteng tollroads” | The Star | FINALIST |
Boitumelo Tshehle | Hunger Killed them | Sowetan | COMMENDED |
Mpume Madlala | Drug woman’s sister talks | Daily News | COMMENDED |
Analysis, commentary and background: “Many of the submissions were distinguished by their ability to present complex or unfamiliar issues in such a way that it appeals to the reader and makes fairly dense information accessible and even pleasurable reading. In general, the entrants displayed a commendable willingness to tackle complicated topics and present the results in uncluttered writing.”
Analysis, commentary and background FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Mia Malan | “Abduction” | Mail & Guardian | FINALIST |
John Yeld | “Cop 17” | Cape Argus | FINALIST |
Sam Sole | “Making Meaning” | Mail & Guardian | FINALIST |
Craig McKune | “Lease fleece” | Mail & Guardian | FINALIST |
Yusuf Omar | “Cope 17” | The Mercury | COMMENDED |
Enterprise news: “This category awards journalists who identify important, original stories that would perhaps otherwise remain under the radar were it not for the reporter’s enterprise.
Enterprise FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Sue Blaine | “Dismay as Department sits on FET results” | Business Day | FINALIST |
Yolande Stander | “Death over the counter” | Weekend Post | FINALIST |
Lebogang Seale | “Raped by the justice system” | The Star | FINALIST |
Liesl Pretorius | “Size Matters” | City Press | COMMENDED |
Liesl Pretorius | “Phuza Nation” | City Press | COMMENDED |
Feature Writing: “In a category of 125 entries, which included some of the country’s finest narrative journalism and feature writing, reaching consensus on a winner was expectedly difficult.”
Feature Writing FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Tanya Pampalone | “In a Dainfern state of mind” | Mail & Guardian | FINALIST |
Mia Malan | “Saved by township treatment” | Mail & Guardian | FINALIST |
Beauregard Tromp | “The weight of water” | The Star | FINALIST |
Mary Corrigall | “The silent war” | Sunday Independent | FINALIST |
Hanlie Retief | “Melanie Steyn, My man di Sondag – verkragter” | Rapport | FINALIST |
Tanya Farber | “Corrective rape portrait of a survivor & perpetrator” | Cape Times | COMMENDED |
Jonathan Ancer | “Adventures of an AWOL Chequebook” | The Star / Cape Times | COMMENDED |
Investigative journalism: “At a time when newsrooms are confronted by all sorts of economic and political challenges and threats, investigating journalists continue to produce journalism of the highest standards and can hold their own anywhere in the world. This year a total of 44 entries were received – of which by far the majority were of a high standard and deserving of some merit. The judges had a tough time deciding which of the entries were to go through as finalists and which ones were to be, sadly, left out.”
Investigative journalism FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Adriaan Basson and Piet Rampedi | “Malema’s secret fund” | City Press | FINALIST |
Michael Kimberly and Msindisi Fengu | “Dead on Arrival” | Daily Dispatch | FINALIST |
Mzilikazi Wa Afrika and Stephan Hofstatter | “Shiceka: The One and Only” | Sunday Times | FINALIST |
Stephan Hofstatter, Mzilikazi Wa Afrika and Rob Rose | “Shoot to kill: Inside a South African police death squad” | Sunday Times | FINALIST |
Glynnis Underhill | “Godongwana and the missing union millions” | Mail & Guardian | COMMENDED |
Julian Rademeyer | “Bloedspoor na die ooste” | Beeld | COMMENDED |
Sam Sole and Stefaans Brummer | “The memo that sank the arms probe” | Mail & Guardian | COMMENDED |
Creative Journalism: “Columnists dominated the creative journalism section, which had 63 entries, many of high calibre. Judges wanted the writing to be clear, engaging, and persuasive with readability and relevance to readers taken into consideration. Reading good columns is a delight, and indeed your judges found this a delight-filled task.”
Creative journalism FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Tanya Pampalone | “Confessions of Walmart shopper” | Mail & Guardian | FINALIST |
Jonathan Ancer | “Angry utterances” | Cape Times | FINALIST |
Murray la Vita | Various – “Tuin van aardse luste” | Die Burger | FINALIST |
Thomas Falkiner | “Kings of Fire” | Sunday Times | COMMENDED |
Helen Warne | “Monster Move” | Sunday Tribune | COMMENDED |
Editorial Cartoons: “The standard of editorial cartooning in this country improves every year. Most newspapers can count on having at least one sophisticated editorial cartoon in each edition. The major improvement has been to the quality of the draughtsmanship. The more difficult trick, making a sharp point while avoiding the obvious, is more elusive.”
Editorial cartoons FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Themba Siwela | “Corruption cripples SA” | The Citizen | FINALIST |
Jonathan Shapiro | “Mac Maharaj side-order” | Mail & Guardian | FINALIST |
Cuan Miles | Polar Bear – “chillin’ in Durbs” | Daily Dispatch | FINALIST |
Graphic journalism: “The finalists all submitted examples of sophisticated and hugely ambitious work.”
Graphic journalism FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Jaco Grobbelaar | “South African’s global arms exports” | City Press & Rapport | FINALIST |
Rudi Louw | “U2 – Rock Revolusie” | Rapport / Graphics 24 | FINALIST |
Morne Schaap | “Die pil vir amper Alles” | Graphics 24 | FINALIST |
John McCann | “Mugabe Headlock” | Mail & Guardian | COMMENDED |
Popular Journalism: “As this is a relatively new category of journalism in South Africa the number of entries were disappointing despite the increasingly dominant presence of tabloid publications. But what we received was an excellent indication of the potential of this kind of journalism.”
Popular journalism FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Prince Chauke | “Mbalula: My sex, my shame” | Sunday Sun | FINALIST |
Yolanda Barnard | “Mark Fish en die strippers” | Sondag | FINALIST |
Warda Salvester | “Little hands do devils’ work” | Daily Voice | FINALIST |
News Photographs: “Always a tough category which this year had overwhelming entries on one of the biggest stories – service delivery protests. The finalists all deserve the highest accolades.”
News photographs FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Antoine de Ras | “Mogadishu Madness” | The Star | FINALIST |
Alon Skuy | “Desperate for aid – Stampede” | The Times | FINALIST |
Courtney Africa | “Congo Protest” | Cape Times | FINALIST |
Simphiwe Nkwali | “Crawling” | Sunday Times | FINALIST |
Chris Collingridge | “The Great Divide” | The Star | COMMENDED |
James Oatway | “Wrong Place, Wrong Time” | Sunday Times | COMMENDED |
Feature photographs: “The most beautiful work submitted this year.”
Feature photographs FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Alon Skuy | “Somalia Famine” | The Times | FINALIST |
Antoine de Ras | “The Long Road Home” | The Star | FINALIST |
Antoine de Ras | “Mogadishu Madness” | The Star | FINALIST |
James Oatway | “Land of Veils & War” Afghanistan | Sunday Times | COMMENDED |
Sports Photographs: “This year, there was a notable lack of entries from the country’s top sports photographers. Nevertheless, the finalists’ entries were of the highest calibre.
Sports photographs FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Matthew Jordaan | “Super Steyn” | Cape Times | FINALIST |
Deaan Vivier | “Untitled” Butch James somersaults over Pat McCabe | Rapport | FINALIST |
Theana Breugem | “Disabled Bowling” | Beeld | FINALIST |
Adrian de Kock | “Polo Pigeons” | The Star | FINALIST |
Denvor de Wee | “Watch it Dude” | City Press | COMMENDED |
Presentation (Layout and Design): “The current fashion for template-driven newspaper design does ensure certain minimum standards, and a consistent professional feel.”
Presentation FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Arlene Prinsloo | Various – “Tsunami” | Rapport | FINALIST |
Quincy Tsatsi & Robyn Comley | “Stampede” | The Times | FINALIST |
Rudi Louw | “2011 The good, the bad and the great” | City Press | FINALIST |
Online Reportage: “This year was the first year we had an online category. Online reportage is more than just repurposing print content. It’s a category that honours reporters who present content for the online medium that recognises the medium’s characteristics (interactivity, social, multimedia).”
Online reportage FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Tegan Bedser | “I am Eastern Cape” | Daily Dispatch | FINALIST |
Xolisa Hackula / Michael Kimberley / Tegan Bedser | “Exhuming the Truth” | Daily Dispatch | FINALIST |
Nadine Theron/ Le Roux Schoeman / Werner Erasmus | “Matrieks in Margate” | Touchlab / Beeld / Die Burger – Media 24 | FINALIST |
Online Multimedia: “ The Online Multimedia with either audio and/or video entries were of high quality and were mostly produced by print publications seeking to extend a story.”
Online multimedia FINALISTS and those COMMENDED:
Demelza Bush and Nickolaus Bauer | “Marching for Malema” | Mail & Guardian online | FINALIST |
Demelza Bush / Vuvu Vena | “Hillbrow – The danger some call home” | Mail & Guardian online | FINALIST |
Lauren Clifford Holmes and Kwanele Sosibo | “Farming for the Future” | Mail & Guardian | FINALIST |
The South African Story of the Year and, the Newspaper Journalist of the Year will be announced on the night of the awards ceremony.
The Standard Bank Sikuvile Newspaper Awards’ judging panel consists of:
Paula Fray (Convenor)
Tyrone August
David Wightman
Liesl Louw
Tumi Makgabo
Peter Sullivan
Mike Siluma
Henry Jeffreys
Juby Mayet
Irwin Manoim
Gail Smith
Matthew Buckland
Robin Comley