The Herald and its sister publication, Daily Dispatch, walked away with top honours at the 2022 edition of the Vodacom Journalist of the Year (VJOY) awards for the Eastern Cape region, scooping seven of the 12 categories between them.
The winners were announced during an intimate awards ceremony in Gqeberha on Thursday, where VJOY convener Mapi Mhlangu praised reporters and photographers for the role they play in uncovering harsh truths and keeping the public informed.
“Journalists demonstrated their ability to unearth what is hidden, ask the questions that need answering, before packaging it all in a compellingly told yet all-too-real and sobering story,” Mhlangu said.
“Eastern Cape journalists have always excelled in telling stories about the daily challenges facing the people of this largely rural province, and this year was no different.”
In the politics category, The Herald’s team of Michael Kimberley, Yolanda Palezweni, Mandilakhe Kwababana, Ntsikelelo Qoyo and Siyamthanda Capa won for their body of work covering the collapse of the coalition government in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Kimberley, Palezweni, Qoyo and Capa also walked away with a win in the sustainability category for their body of work entitled “A city in drought”.
The piece drew attention to Nelson Mandela Bay’s dwindling water supply, growing concerns over the water quality and the municipality’s vague information and guidance that had residents ill at ease.
The Herald’s Riaan Marais won the sports category with his account of how two family men from Kwazakhele and Zwide used mixed martial arts to become role models in their communities and, more importantly, fashion a better life for their loved ones.
Marais also received commendations in the lifestyle and features categories.
The photography award also went to The Herald for Werner Hills’ images capturing the community of KwaNobuhle’s anger at unequal service delivery that led to them damaging essential infrastructure and hacking down and burning electrical poles supplying power to the area.
The Daily Dispatch’s Lulamile Feni and Mike Loewe were the joint winners of the opinions category.
Feni’s entry, “AbaThembu king’s reconciliation with son a truly joyous moment”, looked into the relationship within the AbaThembu royal family, while Loewe’s body of work ,titled “So many different ways to tap into a climate beat and discover new opinions”, provided insight into how climate awareness could be included in school curricula and play a large role in the economy.
Asanda Nini, also from the Dispatch, won the finance and economics category for his piece exposing the social development department’s failure to spend its food parcel budget, which resulted in R67m being returned to the National Treasury, leaving millions who could have benefited from the allocation destitute.
The live reporting and breaking news category brought the Daily Dispatch its third award, with Feni winning for his work covering the execution of a mother and her daughters, a miracle baby being pulled out from a grave, and a wife buried under a bathtub.
Matthew Field, from the Dispatch, received a commendation in the investigating category for his piece, titled “Big stink over ‘R1bn’ sewer tunnel”.
“This is a testament to the hard work that our team of dedicated journalists put into their craft every day to ensure our audiences are kept abreast with the news,” The Herald and Weekend Post editor Rochelle de Kock said.
“With the changing media landscape, it would be so easy to fall into the trap of neglecting our journalistic principles in the pursuit of breaking the news first.
“But in doing so, we would be neglecting our audiences and that is not something we are prepared to do.
“We are driven to bring news that’s accurate and verified and in the public’s interest.”
She said journalism was often difficult and thankless, but, fortunately, The Herald had a team of dedicated professionals who worked hard to ensure their audiences were informed, educated and entertained.
“They also do so in the hope of making a difference in people’s lives, sparking change where it is necessary.”
The national awards ceremony will take place on November 24.
HeraldLIVE
The Herald scoops four Journalist of the Year regional awards
Reporters, photographers praised for role in bringing news to Eastern Cape public
Image: Supplied
The Herald and its sister publication, Daily Dispatch, walked away with top honours at the 2022 edition of the Vodacom Journalist of the Year (VJOY) awards for the Eastern Cape region, scooping seven of the 12 categories between them.
The winners were announced during an intimate awards ceremony in Gqeberha on Thursday, where VJOY convener Mapi Mhlangu praised reporters and photographers for the role they play in uncovering harsh truths and keeping the public informed.
“Journalists demonstrated their ability to unearth what is hidden, ask the questions that need answering, before packaging it all in a compellingly told yet all-too-real and sobering story,” Mhlangu said.
“Eastern Cape journalists have always excelled in telling stories about the daily challenges facing the people of this largely rural province, and this year was no different.”
In the politics category, The Herald’s team of Michael Kimberley, Yolanda Palezweni, Mandilakhe Kwababana, Ntsikelelo Qoyo and Siyamthanda Capa won for their body of work covering the collapse of the coalition government in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Kimberley, Palezweni, Qoyo and Capa also walked away with a win in the sustainability category for their body of work entitled “A city in drought”.
The piece drew attention to Nelson Mandela Bay’s dwindling water supply, growing concerns over the water quality and the municipality’s vague information and guidance that had residents ill at ease.
The Herald’s Riaan Marais won the sports category with his account of how two family men from Kwazakhele and Zwide used mixed martial arts to become role models in their communities and, more importantly, fashion a better life for their loved ones.
Marais also received commendations in the lifestyle and features categories.
The photography award also went to The Herald for Werner Hills’ images capturing the community of KwaNobuhle’s anger at unequal service delivery that led to them damaging essential infrastructure and hacking down and burning electrical poles supplying power to the area.
The Daily Dispatch’s Lulamile Feni and Mike Loewe were the joint winners of the opinions category.
Feni’s entry, “AbaThembu king’s reconciliation with son a truly joyous moment”, looked into the relationship within the AbaThembu royal family, while Loewe’s body of work ,titled “So many different ways to tap into a climate beat and discover new opinions”, provided insight into how climate awareness could be included in school curricula and play a large role in the economy.
Asanda Nini, also from the Dispatch, won the finance and economics category for his piece exposing the social development department’s failure to spend its food parcel budget, which resulted in R67m being returned to the National Treasury, leaving millions who could have benefited from the allocation destitute.
The live reporting and breaking news category brought the Daily Dispatch its third award, with Feni winning for his work covering the execution of a mother and her daughters, a miracle baby being pulled out from a grave, and a wife buried under a bathtub.
Matthew Field, from the Dispatch, received a commendation in the investigating category for his piece, titled “Big stink over ‘R1bn’ sewer tunnel”.
“This is a testament to the hard work that our team of dedicated journalists put into their craft every day to ensure our audiences are kept abreast with the news,” The Herald and Weekend Post editor Rochelle de Kock said.
“With the changing media landscape, it would be so easy to fall into the trap of neglecting our journalistic principles in the pursuit of breaking the news first.
“But in doing so, we would be neglecting our audiences and that is not something we are prepared to do.
“We are driven to bring news that’s accurate and verified and in the public’s interest.”
She said journalism was often difficult and thankless, but, fortunately, The Herald had a team of dedicated professionals who worked hard to ensure their audiences were informed, educated and entertained.
“They also do so in the hope of making a difference in people’s lives, sparking change where it is necessary.”
The national awards ceremony will take place on November 24.
HeraldLIVE
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