The Herald staff shortlisted for awards

THE Herald has been shortlisted as a finalist in two categories and commended in another for the 2013 Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards.

Reporters Michael Kimberley, Yoliswa Sobuwa and Hendrick Mphande were named as finalists for their "Doctors in sick note shame" article in the enterprise news category.

The report exposed a Nelson Mandela Bay-wide scam of doctors who were easily persuaded to book off reporters, posing as patients, even though they openly said they were not sick but needed time off to do other things such as attend weddings and birthday parties. Kimberley, Sobuwa and Mphande were also commended for "Doctors in sick note shame" in the investigative journalism category.

Sobuwa was also named as a finalist in the hard news category for her report, "It's silent genocide", which highlighted the effects of xenophobia on Somali families in Nelson Mandela Bay.

The finalists were drawn from 683 submissions across 14 award categories. Only 70 finalists managed to progress to the final rounds.

Print and Digital Media SA chief executive Ingrid Louw said: "All finalists are remarkable reporters who have displayed their passion and substantial editorial experience in their work. Their entries have positioned them as assets to the journalism industry."

Judging panel convener Paula Fray said members had been impressed by the range of stories and themes received this year.

"In fact, the entries signalled a growing recognition of the multiplatform nature of the news.

"This year's selection was tougher for both entrants and judges.

"However, the tighter entry rules meant that the overall quality of entries improved," she said.

The awards ceremony takes place on May 21. – Herald Reporter