News

01 April 2025

It’s no April’s Fool joke, the deadline for the entries to the 2025 Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards has been extended.

The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has decided to extend the deadline and allow those who missed yesterday’s deadline to enter.

Journalists who may have missed the initial deadline on 31 March 2025 now have another golden opportunity to submit their outstanding work for consideration. The new submission deadline is next Monday, 7 April 2025.

Sane officially opened the call for entries on 3 February 2025, inviting journalists across South Africa to showcase their exemplary work published or broadcast between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024. The awards celebrate journalistic excellence across various media platforms, including print, online/digital, and broadcast (radio and TV).

Winning journalists will be honoured at a prestigious awards ceremony scheduled for 28 June 2025 at The Venue in Melrose Arch, Johannesburg.

About the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards

The Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards serve as a beacon of excellence, recognising outstanding journalism that informs, educates, and holds power to account. Over the years, these awards have become a cornerstone of journalistic recognition, reinforcing the media’s critical role in South Africa’s democracy.

SANEF is proud to organise the awards for the fourth consecutive year, continuing the legacy previously upheld by the Publishers’ Support Services (formerly PDMSA). The awards highlight exceptional work in categories such as investigative journalism, feature writing, lifestyle journalism, and photojournalism.

Upholding Journalism Standards

At a time when misinformation and disinformation pose serious challenges, the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards reaffirm the importance of accurate, fact-based, and ethical reporting. The awards honour the integrity and courage of journalists who strive to uncover the truth and keep the public informed.

SANEF encourages all eligible journalists who have not yet submitted their entries to take advantage of this extended deadline.

• For more information on the submission process, please visit the www.sikuvileawards.co.za website or contact Dzudzie Netshisaulu – Coordinator/Administrator, email: [email protected]

Award Categories

Entries are invited from journalists across all platforms for the following categories:

1. Hard News
2. Indigenous Language Reporting in Community Media: This category has been refined to entail news articles/broadcasting clips that are the result of proactive reporter enterprise. It is distinct from breaking news and represents stories initiated by the newsroom. Entrants should submit journalistic work that was produced using any of South Africa’s Indigenous languages across media segments, particularly meant to speak to the community the journalists work.
3. Community Service Reporting: This category has been remodelled to highlights hyper-local issues crafted from a community interest perspective, to inform, educate, and build resilient communities by amplifying grassroots narratives that matter. These are general community feature and creative journalism stories initiated to capture the depth of community sentiments and concerns. Qualifying entries must be journalistic work produced for and published exclusively in community media platforms in all languages, and not in any commercial or publicly owned news entities.
4. Investigative Journalism
5. Business Journalism
6. Features: The Features category will now have two winners: one for Print and Online platforms, and another for Broadcasting. This is after the judges proposed a split in the Features category between print and broadcast entries.
7. Lifestyle
8. Columns/Editorials
9. Visual Journalism (Editorial Cartoons/Graphic Layout)
10. News Photographs
11. Feature Photographs
12. Sports Photographs
13. Manager/Publisher of the Year Award: Recognising exceptional newsroom managers and publishers for their contributions. Entries should include a motivation letter or supporting documents provided by colleagues.
14. Juby Mayet Rising Star of the Year: Selected by the jury from category entries to honour emerging talent.
15. Journalist of the Year: Selected by the jury from category entries for exemplary contributions to the field.
16. The Allan Kirkland Soga / Standard Bank Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award: Celebrating sustained and extraordinary contributions to journalism by an individual who has demonstrated impeccable ethics and craft excellence.

Submission Details

Journalists and media professionals are encouraged to submit their entries via the official awards platform. For more information on the submission process and guidelines, please visit the Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards’ website.

Join us in recognising the dedication, integrity, and talent of South Africa’s finest journalists. Be part of the celebration of media excellence at the 2025 Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards.

To enter the awards, go to https://sikuvileawards.co.za.

Further information:

Sanef:

• Reggy Moalusi- Executive Director/071 682 3695 – [email protected]
• Hopewell Radebe- Projects Manager/ 083 582 1734 – [email protected]
• Dzudzie Netshisaulu – Coordinator/Administrator – 079 029 7656 – [email protected]

19 February 2025

South Africa’s journalists, the time has come to showcase your excellence! The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) in partnership with Standard Bank, sponsors of the Sikuvile Journalism Awards, reminds all journalists to submit their finest work from January 1 to December 31, 2024, for the prestigious 2025 awards.

The call for entries officially opened in early February, and we urge all journalists not to wait until the last minute to enter. The deadline of March 31st is fast approaching, and any delay could cost you an opportunity to be recognised for your exceptional reporting. Do not be a “better late than never” journalist—be a leader. Go through your 2024 stories, with the help of colleagues and editors, or pictures now and select your best work to enter.

Virginia Magapatona, Standard Bank’s head of communication, says about the awards: “Excellence in journalism shapes societies, yet it often goes unrecognised. The Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards, now in its thirteenth year recognises journalists and media practitioners who selflessly pursue the truth with courage and dedication. We encourage all journalists working in print, digital, and broadcast media platforms to continue to strive for excellence. Whether you specialise in feature writing, breaking news, business, politics, or photojournalism, this is your opportunity to be recognised for excellence.”

Sanef’s chairman and Sunday Times editor, Makhudu Sefara, emphasises the importance of early submissions: “South African journalists do fantastic work, hence they should be encouraged to enter these awards. They should not risk losing an opportunity to shine and be recognised for their hard work.”

Over the years, the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards have become a defining moment in South African journalism. “Through these awards, the media industry can see the best of the best across various journalistic platforms being benchmarked against their peers by a panel of top-quality and highly credible judges,” Sefara adds.

Originally known as the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards (MSNA), the awards have evolved into the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards. With Standard Bank now contracting Sanef to oversee the awards, they remain the yardstick of quality journalism in South Africa.

As the country’s most influential media freedom advocacy group, Sanef represents veteran and current editors, senior journalists, media trainers, and academics across print, broadcast, and digital platforms. Sanef is committed to promoting quality and ethical journalism while safeguarding freedom of expression.

The Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards are positioned to be South Africa’s flagship journalism awards across all media platforms—Print, Digital, Radio, and TV. Do not miss your opportunity to be celebrated among the finest journalists in the country. Submit your entries now and secure your place among the best!

Submission Details

Journalists and media professionals are encouraged to submit their entries by sending their documents to [email protected]

For more information and submission guidelines, visit https://sikuvileawards.co.za/

Award Categories

Entries are invited from journalists across all platforms for the following categories:

1. Hard News
2. Indigenous Language Reporting: This category has been refined to entail news articles/broadcasting clips that are the result of proactive reporter enterprise. It is distinct from breaking news and represents stories initiated by the newsroom. Entrants should submit journalistic work that was produced using any of South Africa’s Indigenous languages across media segments, particularly meant to speak to the community the journalists work.
3. Community Service Reporting: This category has been remodelled to highlight hyper-local issues crafted from a community interest perspective, to inform, educate, and build resilient communities by amplifying grassroots narratives that matter. These are general community features and creative journalism stories initiated to capture the depth of community sentiments and concerns. Qualifying entries must be journalistic work produced for and published exclusively in community media platforms in all languages, and not in any commercial or publicly owned news entities.
4. Investigative Journalism
5. Business Journalism
6. Features: The Features category will now have two winners: one for Print and Online platforms, and another for Broadcasting. This is after the judges proposed a split in the Features category between print and broadcast entries.
7. Lifestyle
8. Columns/Editorials
9. Visual Journalism (Editorial Cartoons/Graphic Layout)
10. News Photographs
11. Feature Photographs
12. Sports Photographs
13. Manager/Publisher of the Year Award: Recognising exceptional newsroom managers and publishers for their contributions. Entries should include a motivation letter or supporting documents provided by colleagues.
14. Juby Mayet Rising Star of the Year: Selected by the jury from category entries to honour emerging talent.
15. Journalist of the Year: Selected by the jury from category entries for exemplary contributions to the field.
16. The Allan Kirkland Soga / Standard Bank Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award: Celebrating sustained and extraordinary contributions to journalism by an individual who has demonstrated impeccable ethics and craft excellence.

Further information Contact Sanef:

• Reggy Moalusi- Executive Director/071 682 3695 – [email protected]
• Hopewell Radebe- Projects Manager/ 083 582 1734 – [email protected]
• Dzudzie Netshisaulu – Coordinator/Administrator – 079 029 7656 – [email protected]

The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) is delighted to announce that entries for the 2025 edition of the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards are officially open. The deadline for submissions is Monday, 31 March 2025.

The awards, organised by Sanef, will celebrate journalistic excellence in stories published or broadcast between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024. Please note that the submission deadline will not be extended due to the time-consuming adjudication process. Winners will be honoured at a prestigious event scheduled for June 2025, with the venue to be confirmed in Gauteng.

About the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards

The Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards are designed to encourage and recognise outstanding journalistic work across South Africa. Over the years, these awards have become a cornerstone of journalistic excellence, highlighting the critical contributions of the media to our democracy.

Sanef is proud to organise the awards for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, having taken over from the Publishers’ Support Services (formerly PDMSA). The awards celebrate excellence across all media platforms, including print, online/digital, and broadcast (radio and TV). They shine a spotlight on exceptional work in categories such as investigative reporting, feature writing, lifestyle journalism, and photojournalism.

Upholding Journalism Standards

The Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards underscore the importance of groundbreaking, accurate, fact-based, truthful, and fair reporting in an era where misinformation and disinformation pose significant challenges to the media landscape. They serve as a testament to the vital role of the Fourth Estate in safeguarding democracy.

Award Categories

Entries are invited from journalists across all platforms for the following categories:

1. Hard News
2. Indigenous Language Reporting: This category has been refined to entail news articles/broadcasting clips that are the result of proactive reporter enterprise. It is distinct from breaking news and represents stories initiated by the newsroom. Entrants should submit journalistic work that was produced using any of South Africa’s indigenous languages across media segments, particularly meant to speak to the community the journalists work.
3. Community Service Reporting: This category has been remodelled to highlight hyper-local issues crafted from a community interest perspective, to inform, educate, and build resilient communities by amplifying grassroots narratives that matter. These are general community features and creative journalism stories initiated to capture the depth of community sentiments and concerns. Qualifying entries must be journalistic work produced for and published exclusively in community media platforms in all languages, and not in any commercial or publicly owned news entities.
4. Investigative Journalism
5. Business Journalism
6. Features: The Features category will now have two winners: one for Print and Online platforms, and another for Broadcasting. This is after the judges proposed a split in the Features category between print and broadcast entries.
7. Lifestyle
8. Columns/Editorials
9. Visual Journalism (Editorial Cartoons/Graphic Layout)
10. News Photographs
11. Feature Photographs
12. Sports Photographs
13. Manager/Publisher of the Year Award: Recognising exceptional newsroom managers and publishers for their contributions. Entries should include a motivation letter or supporting documents provided by colleagues.
14. Juby Mayet Rising Star of the Year: Selected by the jury from category entries to honour emerging talent.
15. Journalist of the Year: Selected by the jury from category entries for exemplary contributions to the field.
16. The Allan Kirkland Soga / Standard Bank Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award: Celebrating sustained and extraordinary contributions to journalism by an individual who has demonstrated impeccable ethics and craft excellence.

Submission Details

Journalists and media professionals are encouraged to submit their entries by sending their documents to [email protected].

For more information on the submission process and guidelines, please visit https://sikuvileawards.co.za.

Join us in recognising the dedication, integrity, and talent of South Africa’s finest journalists. Be part of the celebration of media excellence at the 2025 Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards.

To enter the awards, e-mail: [email protected]

Further information:

Sanef:

• Reggy Moalusi- Executive Director/071 682 3695 – [email protected]
• Hopewell Radebe- Projects Manager/ 083 582 1734 – [email protected]
• Dzudzie Netshisaulu – Coordinator/Administrator – 079 029 7656 – [email protected]

 18 July 2024

The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is thrilled to present our third, prestigious, and impactful Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards (SBSJA) which recognise the best in South Africa’s journalism.

On Saturday 20 July, winners of various categories of the SBSJA will be announced, with the awards hosted at the Melrose Arch, Johannesburg.

In an era where disinformation and misinformation threaten societal stability, SANEF views these awards as crucial for raising public awareness about journalistic ethics. By celebrating outstanding work, the awards help build public trust and credibility in the media, reinforcing the indispensable role of journalists in providing reliable information to the public.

The SBSJA proudly carries forward the legacy of these awards, originally established by the media industry association Publisher Support Services (PSS), formerly the PDMSA, in 2012. With steadfast support from our sponsor, Standard Bank, SANEF shares a mutual commitment to a free, fair, and independent media landscape. The bank’s enduring sponsorship underscores this commitment, rewarding journalists for their courageous truth-telling in challenging and often perilous circumstances.

Journalists around the country now know that achieving an SBSJA is a significant milestone in the South African journalism industry. It not only brings prestige to journalists and media organisations but also elevates their reputation and credibility.

The awards inspire aspiring journalists, garnering national recognition and respect from peers and future employers. By highlighting the industry’s best work, the SBSJA motivates young journalists to pursue excellence in their careers.

The recognition of these awards emphasises the crucial need for high-quality journalism in our country. The SBSJA continues to set a benchmark for journalistic standards in South Africa, promoting a culture of ethical, accurate, and impactful reporting. They encourage journalists to uphold the highest standards, delivering unbiased and compelling news stories.

The awards ceremony also serves as a vital networking and collaboration opportunity. SANEF leverages this event to bring together journalists, media professionals, and industry stakeholders, fostering an environment of collaboration and idea-sharing among the brightest minds in journalism.

Note to Editors:

The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism by fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research, and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.

For more information, please contact:

Reggy Moalusi – SANEF Executive Director: (071) 682-3695

Hopewell Radebe – Projects Manager: 083 5821734

Dzudzie Netshisaulu – Events Coordinator: 0790297656

03 June 2024

The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is delighted to announce the finalists and the closure of the adjudication process for the prestigious Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards for excellent journalism has been successfully concluded.

This year, we were honoured to receive an overwhelming response, with approximately 600 entries pouring in nationwide, showcasing the exceptional talent and dedication within South Africa’s journalistic landscape.

SANEF, which coordinates and organises the awards, is thrilled to report that this year marked a significant milestone, with a record-breaking number of entries compared to previous years. We are proud to acknowledge the substantial representation from diverse media entities, further showing the diversity of voices and narratives that enrich our media landscape.

Quality news stories from these platforms stood tall alongside contributions from mainstream media establishments, highlighting the depth and breadth of journalistic excellence across all sectors.

This year’s finalists, in no particular order, are:

1. Hard News

Norman Masungwini  –City Press

Zikhona Tshona  – Newzroom Afrika

Slindelo Masikane – eNCA

2.Indigenous Language Reporting in Community Media

Annie Mokoena -SABC

Hlengiwe Ngwenya -SABC’s Cutting Edge

Zinhle Mugabe -SABC’s Cutting Edge

3.Community service Reporting

Hazel Friedman- Fokus on SABC2

Matthew Hirsch – GroundUp

Zikhona Tshona – Newzroom Afrika

Sune Payne and Samane Junior Marks  -Daily Maverick

4.Investigative Journalism

Nicky Troll- Carte Blanche

Joy Summers- Carte Blanche

Kyle Cowan, Azarrah Karrim and Sipho Masondo-News24

Caryn Dolley -Daily Maverick

5.Business Journalism

Lisa Steyn- News24 Business

Na’ilah Ebrahim -News24 Business

Lulamile Feni -Daily Dispatch

Nick Wilson- News24 Business

Jan Cronje -News24 Business

6.Features

Xanderleigh Dookey Makhaza  -Eyewitness News

Don Pinnock – Jack Journal

Hazel Friedman – Fokus SABC2

Lucas Ledwaba- Daily Maverick

Sean Christie -Bhekisisa

7.Lifestyle 

Don Pinnock –Daily Maverick

Nomvuyo Ntanjana- SABC Cutting Edge

Luke Feltham – Mail & Guardian
Jonathan Ancer- News24

 8.Columns/Editorial

Bhekisisa Mncube -LitNet

Lucas Ledwaba- Daily Maverick

Carol Paton- News24

Ozayr Patel- Mail & Guardian

9. Visual journalism (Editorial cartoons & graphic layout)

Design Team -Daily Maverick

Carlos Amato- News24

Thulani Ntsong- Maverick Citizen

10.News Photographs

Alaister Russell -TimesLive

Jeremiah Thapelo Morebudi -Sunday Times

Ayanda Ndamane- Cape Times 

Sandile Ndlovu – Sunday Times/TimesLive

11.Feature Photographs

Sandile Ndlovu- Sunday Times/TimesLive

Theodore Jeptha – Daily Dispatch

12.Sports Photographs

Jaco Marais- Netwerk24 , Die Burger

Bertram Malgas- News24

It is worth mentioning that this year marks the third consecutive year that SANEF has spearheaded the awards across all media platforms. Previously organised by Print and Digital Media SA, and later the Publishers’ Support Services, the transition to SANEF’s stewardship has further enhanced the awards’ inclusivity and reach, ensuring that outstanding journalism from digital, print, and broadcast backgrounds and perspectives receives the recognition it deserves.

SANEF extends its heartfelt gratitude to all the entrants, finalists, judges, and supporters who have contributed to making this year’s awards a resounding success. Stay tuned for the outcome when the finalists meet at the awards ceremony in at The Venue, Melrose Arch in Johannesburg on 22^nd June 2024, where we will celebrate and honour the exemplary achievements in South African journalism. The awards are sponsored by Standard Bank.

Note to Editors:

The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism by fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research, and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.

For more information, please contact:

Reggy Moalusi – SANEF Executive Director: (071) 682-3695

Hopewell Radebe – Projects Manager: 083 5821734

Dzudzie Netshisaulu – Administrator: 0790297656

Entries for the 2024 edition of the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards, brought to you by the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF), are now open and will close on Friday, 29 March 2024.

The Awards will cover stories published or broadcast between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023. There will be no extension and winners will be announced at an event on Saturday, 29 June, at a venue yet to be confirmed in Gauteng.

This is the third year SANEF is organising the awards. They were previously organised by PDMSA, now the Publishers’ Support Services.

The awards are open to all media platforms – print, online/digital, and broadcast (radio and TV) journalists. They are regarded as a highlight on the journalistic calendar rewarding the exceptional work done by the country’s journalists, in categories ranging from investigative journalism to feature writing, and lifestyle as well as photojournalism.

The Awards reflect the importance of groundbreaking, accurate, fact-based, truthful, fair, and verified reporting in a world where misinformation and disinformation continue to be a major concern in the media sector. They are also proof of the important role that the Fourth Estate plays in the country’s democracy.

Award Categories

The awards are open to all print, online/digital, and broadcast (radio and TV) journalists.

The categories are:

1. Hard News
2. Indigenous language reporting in community media
3. Community Service Reporting
4. Investigative Journalism
5. Business Journalism
6. Features
7. Lifestyle
8. Columns/Editorial
9. Visual Journalism (Editorial Cartoons/Graphic Layout)
10. News Photographs
11. Features Photographs
12. Sports Photographs
13. Manager/Publisher of the Year Award: This is the second year this Award will be awarded. The award is aimed at rewarding newsroom managers/publishers for their work. The entry for this is a motivation letter or proof of activities by colleagues in the said media organisation.
14. Juby Mayet Rising Star of the Year (Selected from the entries in the categories by the jury.)
15. Journalist of the Year (Selected from the entries in the categories by the jury.)
16. The Allan Kirkland Soga / Standard Bank Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award (previously the Allan Kirkland Soga: Achievement Award): Recognises a sustained and extraordinary contribution to newspaper journalism on the part of an individual and the winner will have demonstrated impeccable ethics and craft excellence.

To enter the awards, go to https://sikuvileawards.co.za.

Further information:

SANEF:

Reggy Moalusi- Executive Director/071 682 3695 – [email protected]

Hopewell Radebe- Projects Manager/ 083 582 1734 – [email protected]

Dzudzie Netshisaulu – Coordinator/Administrator – 079 029 7656 – [email protected]

Ladies and gentlemen,

Tonight I’m gonna tell you a story of a young lady who took a tram one morning in December 1957 to start her very first job as a cub reporter at the Golden City Post.

A few years later she joined Drum magazine where in her own words  she found her wings.

She said: “Being a Drum journalist opened up my previously sheltered world, one where my self confidence could grow and I got to meet an assortment of weird and wonderful people”.

Through her reporting, she became an activist against apartheid and fought for  social and political inclusion and justice. It was therefore inevitable that she would find herself covering a lot of stories to do with couples who found themselves in trouble with the law under the ridiculous Immorality Act. The law prohibited relationships between white and persons of other races.

And so it happened that in 1966 she found herself in a rather precarious position where she and the legendary Alf Khumalo plotted and executed an escape of a man who was arrested and under police guard at a hospital in Pretoria.

The man who was classified as coloured had committed the crime of marrying an Afrikaaner woman.

To cut a long story short, the man called Robert and Marthie were moved to a safe house in Jhb. Then in the dead of night, the journalist, a driver called James Bond and the couple made the 350km trek to Barbeton. Upon arrival at a particular house, they were met by a woman who was expecting the couple. After a few pleasantries the journalist and driver left and two weeks later, she received a telegram from Mbabane Swaziland. It had only two words: “ Operation Successful”. That way she knew that the couple’s plan to cross into Swaziland without detection from the Apartheid – had been a success.

You may be wondering as to why I am telling you this particular story. I will come back to this point later. But the journalist in question was one Juby Mayet, who died peacefully in 2019 –  at the age of 82. But before she died she had shared her life story which is chronicled in the book: “Freedom Writer: My Life and Times”.

Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud that we will get to present the Juby Mayet Rising Star of the Year Award to a deserving young journalist. After all, Juby was only 19 when she joined the Golden City Post.

Through her voice and her pen she contributed to journalism in this country but also used her position in society to bring about change. That’s why it was easy for us to name this category after her.

Now let me go back to the story of the couple who needed to cross to Swaziland – to escape prosecution. It is a story that tells the involvement of the community in the struggle against apartheid. Communities viewed journalists as allies.  Juby Mayet and her generation used their pens to oppose the apartheid regime.  While they faced the military might and the brutality of the apartheid forces, Mayet and the journalists of her era had the oppressed majority cheering them on and supporting them.

Times have changed. Communities have turned on journalists and are the first to attack journalists despite them clearly identifying themselves as news reporters.

This is no coincidence and it should be seen as part of the disinformation campaign aimed at chirping at the credibility of journalists and undermining the work that we do.

Our struggle for freedom in South Africa is peppered with anecdotes of how journalists were protected by communities – when pursued by the apartheid forces.

But today journalists find themselves under attack from the very communities whose stories we tell. Conspiracy theorists will attribute this to the deterioration of standards in the media and thus the driver of the animosity towards journalists. The press card and media bib is not enough to protect journalists from attacks. This, to me, is a result of the systematic and deliberate campaign to discredit and undermine  journalists.

It is politicians, the corrupt and, the criminal elements who are driving this wedge between communities and the media

In the  recent 2023 World Press Freedom Index, the following observation was made: “In 118 countries (two-thirds of the 180 countries evaluated by the Index), most of the Index questionnaire’s respondents reported that political actors in their countries were often or systematically involved in massive disinformation or propaganda campaigns. The difference is being blurred between true and false, real and artificial, facts and artifices, jeopardising the right to information. The unprecedented ability to tamper with content is being used to undermine those who embody quality journalism and weaken journalism itself.”

Tonight, therefore, it is no wonder that this year’s awards take place under the theme: Journalism: In the Face of Public LIE ability. When seeing is believing, when does the ability to lie end, and the liability begin?”  Next year we have the nation and provoncial elections. We must expect the situation to get worse. The attacks will grow.

As we edge towards the 2024 provincial and national elections, expect political leaders to target journalists through disinformation campaigns intended to shift the focus away from their shenanigans.

This is exacerbated by the elevated political fever which grips the country ahead of any major election.

As we continue to expose wrongdoing, as journalists we will find ourselves in the crosshairs of politicians.  But we should not stand back. This is an important election and it will be hard fought. After all, our democracy turns 30 next year.

We must also understand that Fake news is not just innocuous sharing of false information. It is much more sinister and has the ability to destabilise nations and inflame communities.

That is why the battle against fake news is not just for journalists to fight. Fake news or disinformation undermines democracy. Left unchallenged, these disinformation campaigns become the only public record on an issue.

As SANEF we will continue will continue with our efforts to equip journalists with skills and knowledge of how to navigate these difficult times. We will continue to organise workshops and training  for journalists ahead of the elections.

At the AGM we resolved to set up a Legal Fund to help journalists fight against these injustices. We will also fundraise and allocate funds towards this fund. We will also approach media houses with proposals.

We are setting up a legal fund to fight against abuses of power and attempts to silence journalists. Unfortunately the courts are also falling into this trap of seeking to muzzle journalists.

Colleagues, we have a lot of work to do. As we celebrate the brightest and the best among us, let us remember that not everyone is happy with our work.

In line with this year’s theme we should challenge those who disseminate disinformation to take responsibility for the damage they are causing to our profession and our young democracy

I thank you

Hosted by the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF), and sponsored by Standard Bank, the Sikuvile Journalism Awards took place at The Venue, Melrose Arch.

Phandulwazi Jikelo of the Cape Times is the 2023 Journalist of the Year. As the winner of the News photographs category, Jikelo is the first photojournalist to be named Journalist of the Year for many years, as the Journalist of the Year has generally come out of the Investigative or Hard news category.

Michelle Banda from Daily Maverick was named the Juby Mayet Rising Star of the Year. Justin Langeveld of News24 and Netwerk24 was named Manager/Publisher of the Year.

The Allan Soga/Standard Bank Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement went to Eusebius McKaiser, who recently passed away.

All category winners received the coveted Sikuvile Journalism Award Trophy, certificate, and R15,000 prize money. All finalists receive certificates.

Winners and Commendations 2023

CATEGORY 1:   Hard News

CATEGORY 2: Indigenous Language Reporting in Community Media  

CATEGORY 3:  Community Service Reporting

CATEGORY 4:   Popular Journalism

NO WINNER

CATEGORY 5:   Investigative Journalism

CATEGORY 6:   Business Journalism

CATEGORY 7:  Features

CATEGORY 8:   Lifestyle

CATEGORY 9:   Columns/ Editorial

CATEGORY 10:   Visual Journalism

CATEGORY 11:   News photographs

CATEGORY 12:  Feature Photographs

CATEGORY 13:   Sports Photographs

Further information:

SANEF:

Reggy Moalusi- Executive Director 071 682 3695 [email protected]

Hopewell Radebe- Projects Manager/ 083 582 1734 – [email protected]

Dzudzie Netshisaulu – Coordinator/Administrator 079 029 7656/ [email protected]