Finalists from around the country were flown to the Four Seasons Westcliff Hotel. The awards were hosted by MC Leanne Manas and attended by Diageo executives as well as industry stakeholders and the media.

The RDMAs recognises journalistic efforts in supporting, promoting, and contributing to the Responsible Drinking agenda and to ultimately helping change behaviour. The entries to the awards were judged by a mix of media professionals, including Mpumelelo Mkhabela, Joanne Botha, Leanne Manas, Ryland Fisher, and Angelo Fick.

The winners are as follows:

  • Best Newspaper (Die Burger) – Le Roux Schoeman won in this category for the article titled Die Stil Aktivis or The Silent Activist. The article is the true story of a woman born with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and the woman who helped her beat the odds; 
  • Best Online category (Netwerk 24) – Daphne Grundling won in this category for Ek het alcohol oorwen – Theo Erasmus. Grundling tells the story of Theo Erasmus, an Afrikaans musician, who went to the depths of alcoholism and his journey to become sober again; 
  • Best Magazine (Kuier magazine)– This award went to Ernusta Maralack for her article Donker Dae van Drank. This was an account of a wife’s love for her husband, who became addicted to liquor at the height of his lecturing career; 
  • Best Broadcast and Best Up and Coming –  Cleopatra Jones won both for her exposé on SABC’s Special Assignment called Deadly Decisions. The insert looked at the effects of drunk driving and how it changes the lives of its victims; 
  • Best Community Media (MFM) – This award was won by Veronique Smal of MFM for the campaign run by the radio station, in which it staged various accident scenes in Stellenbosch. The station then had various industry representatives call in to discuss the negative effects of drink driving; 
  • Journalist of the Year – This award was won by Jones for the best overall entry; and 
  • Media House of the Year – Media 24 won this award for having submitted the most amount of entries this year. 

Diageo South Africa opened up all the finalists’ articles to a public vote on Facebook. Simphiwe Dlamini was selected as the winner of the Consumers’ Choice Award for his insert on Ugu Youth Radio titled Alcoholic hepatitis.

"The RDMAs had a record number of entries in 2017, and we want to thank each and every journalist for creating such valuable, and influential, content. These awards have been put in place to acknowledge their efforts and to encourage them to keep doing so," says Sibani Mngadi, corporate relations director of Diageo South Africa.

The winners of each category won R15 000 and were publicly acknowledged for their efforts to help combat alcohol abuse in South Africa.

For more information, visit www.diageordma.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.