At an awards ceremony in Johannesburg tonight (April 9, 2008) Mondi Shanduka Newsprint and the Newspaper Association honoured the South African newspaper journalism industry at the seventh annual Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards.

“There has been outstanding journalism over the past year,” said Professor Guy Berger, head of the Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies, and convenor of the judging panel. “Critics should balance their concerns with the fine achievements this competition has highlighted, and meanwhile South Africans in general can feel there is good cause to value our free and vibrant newspaper journalists.”

The event was hosted by former Carte Blanche anchor and presenter Ruda Landman with popular comedienne Krijay Govender providing some typically South African comic relief.

From a record total of 575 entries across the 10 categories, the judging panel handpicked a shortlist of some 32 finalists and 25 commended journalists. Nine category winners have shared in R165,000 in prize money.

Thanking the industry for its support of the awards, Mondi Shanduka Newsprint CEO Peter Lynch said, “Thank you to the newshounds (and their respective owners and masters) who have so enthusiastically put forward their work to be tugged at, pulled apart and perhaps even chewed on in this competition.”

THE WINNERS

HARD NEWS
Winner: Nerissa Govender – The Witness: “Family’s blue light trauma” and seven other pages
Govender’s series of articles involved the motorcades of Jacob Zuma and S’bu Ndebele which were accused of violating traffic regulations and harassing motorists in KwaZulu-Natal. In her original story and follow-ups, Govender displayed tenacity and grittiness, staying with the issue undaunted by hostility from people in powerful positions. The stories had a strong feel of breaking news, written under the pressure of deadlines.
Finalist: Lee Rondganger – The Star: “Smash, grab… gone”
Commended: Riëtte Olivier – Die Burger: “Drama by doodsbrug”

ANALYSIS and COMMENTARY
Winner: Jorisna Bonthuys – Die Burger: “Kioto2 kry nou stoom” and two other articles on the environment
Bonthuys covered the build-up to the United Nations Bali negotiations which focused on international climate dispensation after 2012. It is a challenge for a journalist to dig deeper into this subject than the daily coverage it already enjoys, without boring the reader with uninteresting statistics and worn-out quotes. Bonthuys succeeded by using excellent local and overseas sources to highlight how present day actions of average citizens can have a detrimental effect on the environment, and how the opposite can be achieved by being sensitive in everyday choices about the use of energy.
Finalists: Nashira Davids and Buyekezwa Makwabe – Sunday Times: “War declared on gangs” and related stories
Commended: Malvory Adams – Sowetan: three part series on “Blacks know Rugby”

FEATURE WRITING
Winner: Shaun Smillie – The Star: “The Search for Looksmart” and related stories
In this hotly contested and diverse category, the articles that stood out were those that showed great enterprise and persistence in the gathering of the information, and skill in telling the story.
The winning entry was “The Search for Looksmart”, a feature that ran over four days in The Star. The writer Shaun Smillie and photographer Neo Ntsoma spent six months investigating the story of Looksmart Ngudle, a young activist who had been detained and tortured, and who then died in jail more than four decades back.
The story showed exemplary determination in piecing together the last days of Ngudle’s life in prison, as well as evidence of tireless work to verify individual stories; a difficult task when the events happened so long ago.
Finalists: Lizel Steenkamp – Rapport: “Plek van die dood”
Commended: Jillian Green – The Star: “The man who danced with death”; Marida Fitzpatrick – Beeld: “Jan Bom – waar swaarkry triomfeer”; Leonie S. Joubert – Weekend Argus: “Tossed by wind, ocean and quotas”; Waldimar Pelser – Beeld: “Rukkerige spoedballet”

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
Winner: Chandré Prince, Brett Horner, Ntando Makhubu – Daily Dispatch: “Why Frere’s babies die”
Months of hard work, persistence and sheer determination, even in the face of vilification, set the leading entries apart in this category with time and effort invested paying off in producing agenda-setting stories. The respective employers must be congratulated for running hard with stories of national importance in the face of denials and court challenges. The winners – Chandré Prince, Brett Horner, and Ntando Makhubu – scored for their coverage in the Daily Dispatch on babies dying at Frere Hospital. Over nearly two months, the team comprehensively documented and explained the deaths.
Finalists: Cobus Coetzee and Adriaan Basson – Beeld: “Staat het geweet eNaTIS sou vou” and follow ups
Jocelyn Maker and Megan Power– Sunday Times: “Manto’s hospital booze binge”
Commended: Elise Tempelhoff – Beeld: “Mynmonopolie se gru-moeras” and follow ups; Tony Carnie – The Mercury: “Probe into metal illness factory” and follow ups; Diane-Marié Strydom – Die Burger: “Jy moet maar afskeid neem van jou familie…”

CREATIVE JOURNALISM
Winner: Oliver Roberts – Sunday Times Lifestyle: “Don’t look down”
This winning article is written in a column style and creatively covers behaviour typically regarded as taboo -- people who saunter around in their ‘birthday suits’. Capturing both female and male experiences, Oliver Roberts’ narrative colourfully describes the nuances among the naked. The story is clear, engaging and amusing. It leads you on through the narrative, with the author’s own presence in the occasion being cleverly used to pull you along with empathy and a sense of exploration.
Finalists: Murray La Vita – Die Burger: “Gesondheid in die rondheid!”
Commended: Claire Angelique Bezuidenhout – Sunday Tribune: “It’s not all black…”; Michael Bleby and Mariam Isa – Business Day: “An officer and a gentleman”

GRAPHICAL JOURNALISM
Winner: Jonathan Shapiro – Zapiro Productions
This category covers the very different fields of cartooning, illustration and information graphics, but was once again dominated by a cartoonist. The judges tried very hard to avoid awarding first prize to Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro), but once again failed.
Zapiro’s Polokwane cartoon of Jacob Zuma eclipsing Thabo Mbeki managed to merge the muddles of ANC politicking, Eskom power failures and Zuma’s infamous shower into a single, pithy image.
Cartooning is a field in which years of experience count, and only the older cartoonists are able to make their work look effortless. But the judges were pleased to note a rising group of younger cartoonists who are producing ever-better work, in particular Wilson Mgobhozi of City Press, whose best work shows fine draughtsmanship.
Finalists: Hanlie Malan – Die Burger
Commended: Anton Vermeulen – Beeld; De Wet Moolman – Beeld

POPULAR JOURNALISM
Winner: None
Finalists: None
Commended: Natascha Jacobsz – Sondag: “Zuma se ‘kondoom’ vir goeie geluk”
This was the first year that a special category was provided for popular tabloid journalism, and entries were disappointing. There are a great many bold, innovative and entertaining pages every day in the tabloid press, but they were not among the entries, which were dominated by hard news reporting or feature writing of a kind that was not specific to popular journalism.
“We had hoped to see examples of the best tabloid journalism in the form of packages of creative writing, headline writing, editing and design,” says Berger.

NEWS PHOTOGRAPHS
Winner: Alon Skuy – The Times: “Hillbrow flight”
The quality of entries was extremely high, and stronger than the previous year. South Africa is a news photographer’s paradise – but it is the individual photographers who rise to the occasion. And they did so in 2007.
Alon Skuy’s winning picture of a confrontation between a woman and a security officer bristles with emotion and action, as evident in facial expressions and blurred movements. He captures a moment of experience that will dwell for a long time with the two people involved, and likewise with the viewer of the picture. Skuy was also commended for his sequence of images showing protestors in pitched warfare with armed police. This is a photographer who does not flinch, even when there is major danger in the air.
Finalists: Francois Nel – Die Burger: “Road of Chaos”
Commended: Alon Skuy – The Times: “Line of fire: riots Soweto”; Stephen Lawrence – The Star: “A worrying time”; Shayne Robinson – The Star: “Out of the frying pan” and “Cash heist drama”; Boxer Nqobizwe Ngwenya – The Star: “UJ Riots”; Mujahid Safodien – The Star: “Smash and Grab”
Wessel Oosthuizen – "The Citizen: Picture of Schalk Burger, CJ van der Linde and Bakkies Botha combine efforts against Simon Shaw

FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHS
Winner: Sandile Ndlovu – Sunday Tribune: Labour of love series
The judges felt that there was sometimes a mismatch between the photographs taken, and how they were used in a given newspaper. In addition, it was felt that the strong field of South African photographers suggests that more space could be profitably set aside in the country’s newspapers to run their pictures.
The winner, Sandile Ndlovu, has reflected, in excellent photographic detail, a graphic and moving story around an elderly self-taught midwife. Despite difficult lighting, he succeeded in showing the pain and beauty of birth, with delicacy and care. His ability to capture meaning in people’s eyes is impressive.
Finalists: Masi Losi – Daily Dispatch: “You are now a man, my son”

Commended: Simphiwe Mbokazi – Business Report: Perd van ‘n ander kleur series; Jennifer Bruce – The Star: “Babies in a box”; Cara Viereckl – Saturday Star: Refugees; Sandile Ndlovu – Sunday Tribune: beach reflected in sunglasses

PRESENTATION (LAYOUT and DESIGN)
Winner: Arlene Prinsloo – Die Burger: Untitled cover wrap photograph of the Springbok victory and other pages
First prize goes to Die Burger’s Arlene Prinsloo for her World Cup victory spread which wrapped a single image around both front and back page. The layout is particularly notable for the designer’s restraint: there are no competing images, and, bolder still, no headline or caption on the one day when neither were needed. The effect is a stand-out front page that breaks the rules, but succeeds.
Finalists: Renthia Bornman – Rapport: series of pages
Commended: Andries Gouws – Beeld: Series of front pages; Riana van der Schyff – Saturday Star: A series of pages