The winners have been named in this year’s African Digital Media Awards, at an awards ceremony in Johannesburg last night (11 September).
South African media houses shone brightly, taking home the majority of the accolades.
The awards took place on the first day of the two-day Digital Media Africa conference hosted by WAN-IFRA.
The judges applauded the winners for compelling, eye-opening, and in-depth projects in all eight categories.
“We’re really excited to see the success of African news startups like Daily Maverick and Food for Mzansi, alongside impressive projects from bigger players like the BBC and Media24,” said Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of WAN-IFRA, after meeting the winners. “These awards show the potential for digital news to be not only engaging and innovative, but also financially sustainable.”
Here are the winners from the 2019 African Digital Media Awards:
Best Data Visualisation – Dominion, Code for Africa, South Africa
Runners-up: News24 elections: live data coverage, Media24, South Africa
Digital News Start-up– Farmers for Change, Food for Mzansi, South Africa
Runner-up: The Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh Xperience (#SMWX), The Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh Xperience, South Africa
Best Digital Project to Engage Younger and / or Millennial Audiences – M&G 200 Young South Africans, Mail & Guardian, South Africa
Runners-up: Netwerk24 Die Student, 24.com, South Africa
Best Native Advertising / Branded Content Campaign – The Anthem Project, 24.com, The Anthem Project, South Africa
Runner-up: I’m a First Grader, Media24, South Africa
Best News Website or Mobile Service – Daily Maverick, Daily Maverick – South Africa
Runner-up: Netwerk24.com, 24.com – South Africa
Best Paid Content Strategy (incl. pay wall, membership or crowd funding models) – 2019 – Maverick Insider, Daily Maverick, South Africa
Runner-up: Vrye Weekblad, Tiso Blackstar Group (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
Best Use of Online Video (including VR) – Buried Truth: Unearthing the story of murdered farmworker Adam Pieterse, News24, Media24 – South Africa
Runner-up: How a gifted young girl was kidnapped and murdered: The Siam Lee story, Tiso Blackstar Group (Pty) Ltd, South Africa
Best in Social Media Engagement – BBC Media Action Arewa Facebook page, BBC Media Action – Nigeria
Runner-up: Food for Mzansi, Farmers for Change, South Africa
The winners of the African Digital Media Awards are automatically entered into the World Digital Media Awards competition, to be announced in Spain during the World News Media Congress on June 17-19, 2020.
The judging panel
WAN-IFRA extended a special thanks to the judges, which included the following thought leaders from across the continent:
- Sheena Adams, Accountability Lab global communications manager, South Africa;
- Astrid Ascar, consultant and trainer, South Africa;
- Catherine Gicheru, country lead, Code for Kenya, ICFJ Knight Fellow, Kenya;
- Dapo Olorunyomi, Premium Times Newspaper publisher and CEO, Nigeria;
- Herman Manson, founder and editor, marklives.com, South Africa;
- Jude Mathurine, independent consultant and new media lecturer, Media and Communications Department, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa;
- Murithi Mutiga, International Crisis Group Horn of Africa project director, Kenya;
- Anna Nimiriano, Juba Monitor editor in chief, South Sudan;
- Angela Quintal, Committee to Protect Journalists Africa program coordinator, USA;
- Chris Roper, deputy CEO at Code For Africa, South Africa;
- Gus Silber, award-winning journalist, author, scriptwriter, speechwriter and media trainer, South Africa
- Nomusa Taylor-Dube, senior strategy consultant, Kenya.
The official hashtag for the conference is #DMAfrica19. Follow it on Twitter for more information from the event.
