Awards wrap: Arena journos score at Vodacom awards, Joburg Film Festival awards, CCPB top employer, entries open for The Radio Awards

The Media Online’s weekly column delivering news of award wins, entries, competitions and winners in the media industry.

Arena journalists scoop numerous national and regional Vodacom Journalism Awards

Journalists from Arena Holdings (previously known as Tiso Blackstar Group) have been awarded top honours at the 2019 Vodacom Journalism Awards, which were held in Johannesburg on 21 November. Arena Holdings’ journalists won two national, as well as 10 regional categories.

“The awards are well deserved and reflect the journalists’ dedication and commitment to delivering top quality journalism. Their jobs are challenging, and require a level of commitment to the truth that may often put them in harm’s way, yet they carry on regardless. They embody journalistic integrity, and we congratulate all our winners for their outstanding work,” said Andy Gill, managing director of Arena Holdings.

National winners

Karabo Ledwaba of Sowetan was announced as the national Young Journalist of the Year, where the Vodacom adjudication panel described her as showing “commitment to the vocation of news well above the norm”.

The Financial Mail’s Lisa Steyn received the overall national award in the Financial/Economic category for a body of work entitled, ‘The Death of Gold Mining.’

Both national winners were also the Gauteng regional winners in their respective categories in 2019.

Regional winners

In the Eastern Cape, Malibongwe Dayimani of Daily Dispatch was the regional winner in three categories: Investigative for his articles on ‘Frere Hospital’s beds of horror’; Multi-platform for ‘The Siege of Stutterheim’; and Financial/Economics for ‘The Great Eastern Cape ATM Scam.’

Mamela Ndamase also of Daily Dispatch was the Eastern Cape regional winner in the Politics category for ‘Councillor Accused of Dodgy Home Sales’ which exposed a councillor and her husband for selling houses that did not belong to them.

Naziziphiwo Buso of The Herald was Vodacom’s Young Journalist of the Year nominee for the Eastern Cape.

The Western Cape regional winner in the Live Reporting/Breaking News category was Aron Hyman of Sunday Times and TimesLIVE for a broad body of work that covered the murder of Cape Town lawyer Pete Mihalik, the gang-related shooting of a Gift of the Givers volunteer, as well as an analysis of why Cape Town is regarded as the world’s most dangerous city.

Nivashni Nair of Times Select was recognised as the KZN regional winner in the Opinion category for ‘Penny for my Thoughts.’

Nair was also part of the Sunday Times and TimesLIVE team which included Orrin Singh, Lwandile Bhengu, and Suthentira Govender, in winning the KZN regional Multi-platform for their body of work entitled ‘Durban’s Easter rain of terror’.

Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages recognised as a Top Employer for 2020

The Top Employer’s Institute has unveiled its Top Employers 2020 for South Africa. Bottler and distributor of the products of the Coca-Cola Company in the Western and Northern Cape, Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages (CCPB) was once again been recognised as one of South Africa’s top employers for the tenth consecutive year.

CCPB forms part of a list of 99 companies in the country that were assessed on having exceptional employee conditions and environments.

“It is such a privilege and honour to be recognised as a Top Employer for 2020,” said Bryn Morse, culture and people development director at CCPB.
“What sets CCPB apart is the organisation’s focus on its team members, its culture and the values laying the foundation for the way we do things.”

The Top Employer’s Institute evaluates organisations based on their talent strategy, workforce planning, on-boarding, learning and development, performance management, leadership development, career and succession management, compensation and benefits.

Joburg Film Festival honours African storytellers at Awards Gala

Flatland, Proper Film (PhotoGabriella Achadinha)

The Joburg Film Festival, sponsored by the MultiChoice Group, named Rocks (UK) as Best Film at the festival Awards Gala, held at The Inanda Club this week. South African film, Flatland, took home the Best African Film award, and Our Lady of the Nile (France) received a Special Recognition Award from the festival’s prestige jury. Legendary Producer Richard Green was recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the festival.

The panel comprised multi-award winning author, Zakes Mda; NCIS: New Orleans and Avatar actress, CCH Pounder, South African screen star Florence Masebe, renowned Nigerian documentary filmmaker, screenwriter and cinematographer Femi Odugbemi and Canadian academic and writer, Nataleah Hunter-Young.

The winner of the Joburg Film Festival’s Youth and Audience Development Programme were also recognised. The programme was designed to encourage and empower young emerging filmmakers across Gauteng. The JFF, in partnership with the MultiChoice Group and Gauteng Film Commission (GFC), embarked on a province-wide skills transfer initiative that reached more than 100 young people in a series of workshops in Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Mogale City and Sedibeng. The overall winner was Sedibeng’s Malefetsane Masitha.

Joburg Film Festival headline sponsors, the MultiChoice Group, also recognised some of Africa’s finest storytellers with the inaugural ‘MultiChoice Africa’s Most-Loved Storytellers Awards’. Activist, actress, storyteller, poet, playwright, director and author Gcina Mhlophe received the ‘Legend Award’ for her longstanding contribution to continental storytelling and internationally-acclaimed author Deon Meyer was honoured with the ‘Global Storyteller Award’ for his work in spreading stories from Africa around the globe. Creative duo Jahmil X.T. Qubheka and Layla Swart were honoured with the inaugural ‘Emerging Storyteller Award’ for their status as exciting new voices in African storytelling and investigative journalist Karyn Maughan claimed the ‘Fearless Storyteller Award’.

Boomtown creativity applauded at the Zambia Institute of Marketing

Lafarge Zambia was recently awarded Most Creative Outdoor Advert and Most Creative TV Commercial (TVC) by the Zambia Institute of Marketing for its outdoor adverts and TVC created by Boomtown’s creative team.

The outdoor advertising campaign and heartwarming TVC were made to mark Lafarge Zambia’s 70-years celebration. The outdoor advertising campaign highlighted the landmarks that Lafarge Zambia has helped to construct, such as the Kariba Dam and the University of Zambia – structures built for the people that ensure the on-going progress of Zambia.

Talking about the creative execution, Glen Meier, Boomtown Strategic Director said, “By using the line Building Dreams, we reference the dreams of Zambians. It gives Lafarge a greater purpose because, yes, they are constructing buildings, dams, monuments and houses, but all of these structures began as a dream in the mind of a Zambian. Once built, these dreams create a stronger, better Zambia, for future generations.”

Boomtown partnered with local teams in Zambia, resulting in collaboration with a local activation company, a TV production company and local actors to produce a high-quality final product that is genuinely Zambian.

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Ready. Set. Go! Entries for The Radio Awards 2020 have opened!

Entries for The Radio Awards 2020 have opened to radio stations across the country – be they commercial, public broadcasters, community or campus. They are invited to start submitting their entries of excellence for The Radio Awards 2020, via the online entry portal at www.radioawards.co.za.

“The Radio Awards has cemented itself as the longest running and most prestigious recognition event for radio professionals in South Africa. Not only is it a credible, transparent and well-judged programme, the Awards gala dinner has become a highly anticipated opportunity for station managers, producers, presenters and their teams to come together, let their hair down, and cheer themselves and their colleagues at one of the most significant celebrations of the year,” said Taryn Westoby, head of events for Arena Holdings (formally known as Tiso Blackstar Group).

The online entry system provides comprehensive details of entry requirements and criteria. Stations have until 24 January 2020 to submit their potentially award-winning work.

STEP 1: Register your profile via The Radio Awards website, www.radioawards.co.za, complete the registration form and click submit. Already have a profile from last year? Use your username and password to login via the website – www.radioawards.co.za

STEP 2: Once logged in, you will be redirected to The Radio Awards dashboard. Use the toolbar on the left side to navigate your way around the entry system.

STEP 3: Select and complete the appropriate entry form for the category you wish to enter by clicking the ‘New Entry’ button on the toolbar on the left of the screen. Ensure that you complete all the fields required for each entry you wish to make.

The complete list of categories for which entries have already opened is: