“This award is made on the grounds of impact, news value and media attention, both print and electronic.”
Hlahla says Jake White and the Springboks made the headlines very regularly in 2007. “This culminated in the Springboks becoming the best team on the International Rugby Board's rankings when they beat England 15-6 in the World Cup final at the Stade de France on Saturday, 20 October 2007.
“Furthermore the Springboks passed the 90-point mark in the board's rankings for the very first time in the past more than four years. In doing so they became only the third team to reach the milestone. The All Blacks and England are the only other teams that have achieved this.”
Monitoring South Africa conservatively calculates local media coverage in terms of advertising value equivalent of the Springbok win during that time at well over R42 million with the frequency of print and electronic mentions that appeared at more than 3000.
“However, the value of the Springbok's victory in terms of nation building in South Africa is immeasurable. By far the greatest portion of the entire South African population supported White and the Springboks as a truly national team.
“Seeing the Cabinet, members of parliament and thousands of citizens welcoming the Boks back – all dressed in Springbok jerseys - will remain in one's mind for a very long time,” Hlahla said.
The President of the ANC, Jacob Zuma, was the strongest contender among a number of other nominations. Details of an awards ceremony for White and the Springboks will be announced later.
The National Press Club has named Newsmakers of the Year for more than 20 years and previous recipients include President Thabo Mbeki and former Presidents Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk, Charlize Theron, Zachie Achmat and the Treatment Action Campaign, the late Hansie Cronjé, the South African Rand, Jacob Zuma, Helen Zille and a host of other prominent South Africans.
