The journalists are already winners of their categories in the Regional Awards, for which they received a R5000 cash prize. On Sunday night, they added the national finals to their success, and won R10 000, as well as sharing the grand prize of R100 000, for being adjudged the overall joint winners.

In coming to their decision, the judges said that in the modern world it was often considered indecisive to give an award to joint winners. This, however, was not considered the case with this year's Vodacom Journalist of the year. While the judges debated long and hard to reach a verdict as they were concerned about the signal they would send to the media community if they had awarded a joint prize, "amid the debate that ensued we considered the words of one of the judges, 'Without sounding like a post modernist, surely this is less about all for one and rather one for all.'"

Other winners:

• Photography: Steve Lawrence, The Star
  
• Print News: Stefaans Brümmer, Sam Sole and Wisani wa ka Ngobeni, Mail & Guardian
  
• Print Feature: Elsabé Brits, Die Burger and Melanie Gosling, Cape Times
  
• Cartoons: Zapiro, Sunday Times
  
• Columnist: Tony Carnie, The Mercury - Andre le Roux of Sarie was commended for his work.
  
• Community Media: Mandla Khwela, Ikwezi Community Radio.
  
• Radio Feature: Ncumisa Mafunda, SABC Radio News
  
• Radio News: Asanda Magaqa, SABC Radio News
  
• Television General News: Sandy McCowen, SABC
  
• Television Feature: Ida Jooste, SABC
  
• Sport: Rafora Rangongo, Sunday Times
  
• Financial Economic: Bruce Cameron, Personal Finance

The Vodacom Lifetime Achiever Award this year posthumously goes to the creator of Frank Talk, a column published in the journal of the South African Student's Organisation (SASO), and later in the Daily Dispatch roughly between 1969 and 1977: Stephen Bantu Biko, the father of black consciousness.

[30 Oct 2006 17:06]

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