The awards aim to recognise newspaper excellence in advertising, printing and production, layout and typography as well as the balanced use of pictures and graphics. All three of the awards have history, adding up to just under 150 years.

The oldest award, Frewin, has been made for the past 68 years, the McCall Award for 58 years and the Joel Mervis, the youngest award, for 23 years.

The Frewin competition recognises urban daily newspapers with a circulation above 40 000 that excel in the criteria laid down by the industry. The McCall competition recognises urban daily newspapers, and the Joel Mervis Award recognises urban weekly newspapers irrespective of their circulation that excel in the criteria laid down by the industry.

The judges of these awards are Tebogo Ngxande, Logan Naidu, Linda Rademan and new convener judge Margie Backhouse.

The winners will be announced together with the Sikuvile Journalism Awards 2019 on Thursday, 12 September at The Venue, Melrose Arch.

Frewin finalists:
  • Beeld
  • Citizen
  • Die Burger

McCall finalists:
  • Pretoria News
  • The Witness
  • Volksblad

Joel Mervis finalists:
  • City Press
  • Mail and Guardian
  • Rapport
For more information, visit www.pdmedia.org.za. You can also follow PSS on Facebook.