Cybertorial: Thorough investigations and attention to the most minute of details saw City Press walk away with the Story of the Year Award at the 2013 Standard Bank Sikuvile Newspaper Journalism awards.
The Marikana tragedy will forever be etched in the memories of all South African’s regardless of social standing, race, colour or creed. The events leading up to that fateful day on 16 August 2012 are well documented and the media was at the forefront, providing up-to-the-minute updates on the deteriorating situation at the Lonmin mine.
“The tragedy of Marikana was a platform for some of the most compelling storytelling this year, while there were strong individual entries, many newspapers rose to the challenge of telling the story well. City Press, with their photography entries, feature story coverage including, ‘The Faces of Marikana’ – shares this award as a team,” the judges said.
Many newspapers and media outlets told the story of the tragedy from various view points, none of which can be disputed but the City Press entry to the 2013 Standard Bank Sikuvile Newspaper Journalism awards by Lucas Ledwaba stood head and shoulders above any other as the most complete and comprehensive story for 2012.
In choosing this as the Story of the Year at the prestigious 2013 Standard Bank Sikuvile Newspaper Journalism awards held in Sandton on 8 May, the judges also observed “Ledwaba entered eight pages of features on the Aftermath of the Marikana tragedy. The judges were struck by the consistent attention to detail and ability to share the minutia of the massacre, while evoking the emotions of the tragedy. Using language and narrative style that was compelling, his pieces were powerfully written, informative, and conveyed the horror and the tragedy of the event and on-going impact on local communities affected and the families left behind.… consistent attention to detail and ability to share the minutia of the massacre, while evoking the emotion of the tragedy … pieces powerfully written, informative and conveyed the horror and the tragedy of the event and on-going impact on local communities affected and the families left behind … Ledwaba’s eye for detail is rivaled by his narrative skill …”
The judging panel, tasked with finding winners for 18 categories, included Paula Fray (convenor), Henry Jeffreys, Irwin Manoim, Mike Siluma, Peter Sullivan, Matthew Buckland, Tumi Makgabo, Gail Smith, Pippa Green, Thabo Leshilo, Sbu Mpungose, Zubeida Jaffer and Debbie Yazbek
The awards; run under the auspices of Print and Digital Media South Africa (PDMSA), honour print and online journalists and Sim Tshabalala, joint chief executive of the Standard Bank Group, presented awards in 18 categories.
The City Press dominated the event and emerged with seven awards from the various categories.
“Our hard work over the past year has been recognised by the Sikuvile awards and we are so proud of our staff. We thank our journalists for the dedication, tenacity and courage to deliver a top quality product for our readers every week,” said City Press editor Ferial Haffajee, who was named Editor of the Year at awards.
Media24’s investigations unit, complemented by City Press’s own in-house investigative capability, provides the paper with a steady diet of strong investigative news stories, competing for and setting the news agenda.
Ingrid Louw, chief executive of PDMSA, summed-up the high achievements of the 2013 winners. “More entries, high quality journalism, and an increase in the digital submissions … we are delighted to see these awards going from strength to strength. At a time when both transformation and editorial freedom are the hot topics of the day, we can only applaud the excellent results of this year’s awards and congratulate winners and finalists alike.”
MAIN IMAGE: Standard Bank joint CEO Sim Tshabalala with Lucas Ledwaba and convening judge, Paula Fray.
Deaan Vivier (above) won feature photograph of the year for his Springbok rugby photo for Foto24. Judges said the action photo showed “grit and poise in a picture of Duane Vermeulen escaping an ankle tackle by Australian Kane Douglas. It captured the moment superbly and the composition, from bottom right to top left had the judges searching for superlatives”.
Note: Cybertorial is paid-for content
