The Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism
Awards approaches closing date.
Entries for this year’s prestigious print
and digital journalism awards close on February 6. Once again sponsored in
their entirety by Standard Bank, the awards for excellence in journalism are
co-ordinated by the industry’s representative body, PDMSA (Print and Digital
Media South Africa). Entries may be submitted in any of South Africa’s official
languages, to Malesedi Dlamini (at malesedi@pdmedia.org.za), who will also
supply additional entry forms and answer any queries.
“We are looking for our journalists who
have not only contributed to excellence in their profession over the past year,
but also shown the ability to achieve a perfect balance between research,
reporting, writing and presenting the news,“ says Ingrid Louw, CEO of PDMSA.
“Over the past five years we have seen the awards grow by leaps and bounds and
with digital now very much a part of our remit, we feel we are becoming even
more relevant to our brave and hard-working constituents. For 2012-2013, we
have a brand new award to present, and our digital awards have been adapted to
meet the needs of this medium.”
The Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards comprise
17 categories in all, plus the Allan Kirkland Soga Achievement Award. This
year’s digital awards are designated as Multi-Platform Stories and Multimedia
Stories. The new award is The Rising Star of the Year but no entries need to be
submitted in this category, as the judges will select a winner from the range
of entries in the other categories. It is therefore important for entrants to
state the number of years of their experience in the profession.
The Allan Kirkland Soga award is aimed at
journalists who have at least 20 years in the profession and is named for the
pioneering editor of Izwi Labantu (Voice of the People), who served in this
capacity from 1898-1908. He was also one of the founders of the South African
Native Press Association (the first African news service in Africa) and
columnist for Umteteli wa Bantu.
The judging panel of 16 respected
journalists is again being convened this year by Paula Fray and the full list
of names is available on the entry form, together with detailed information on
the entrance requirements for nominations.