The winners will receive R15,000, a trophy and a certificate. All finalists will receive certificates. Commendation certificates are awarded at the judges’ discretion.
The following categories will only be announced at the Awards on the evening of 12 September at The Venue, Melrose Arch.
There are no finalists in the Category 11: Sports Photographs.
The judging panel was headed up by convening judge, Mathatha Tsedu, and included newspaper industry experts Dinesh Balliah, Henry Jefreys, Mike Siluma, Tyrone August, Phil Mthimkhulu, Pippa Green, Liesl Louw-Vaundrum, Mary Papayya, Ryland Fisher, Neo Ntsoma, Maud Motanyane, Lizeka Mda, Thabo Leshilo and Themba Hadebe.
| Hard News | ||
| Lulamile Feni | “Birth after death”; “Dumped like a dead dog, a small piece of me died with him.”; “A shepherd and Dinosaurs.” | Daily Dispatch |
| Aron F Hyman | “Hyper-trauma’: Another young life lost, more desperate pleas in gangland.”; “Order to kill was issued in jail cell”; “Tears as Hannah’s friend faces her ‘killers’ in court” | Times Live |
| Columns/Editorial | ||
| Bareng Batho Kortjaas | “Hey Baxter, Bafana are not a family business for moegoes” | Sunday Times |
| Mpumelelo Mkhabela | “South Africa After Zuma” | News 24 |
| Matthew Du Plessis | “Mad Science” | Mail and Guardian |
| Carla Lewis | “Stompie moet steeds by ons spook” | Beeld |
| Pearl Boshomane | “Barbie’s pale imitation” | Sunday Times |
| Enterprise News | ||
| Sipho Kings | “Rich Jo’burg’s shitshow”; “20-million in SA denied clean water”; “An El Niño away from water crisis” | Mail and Guardian |
| Marianne Merten | “The Solms-Delta way, or how not to do land reform” | Daily Maverick |
| Graeme Hosken | “Serial Horror” | Sunday Times |
| Feature Writing | ||
| Murray La Vita | “Pirouette teen apartheid” | Die Burger |
| Mia Milan, Laura Lopez Gonzalez, Pontsho Pilane, Joan Van Dyk | “Who killed Ntombizodwa? Politics, protest and Corruption in the North West” | Bhekisisa |
| Lucas Ledwaba | “The land belongs to us!” | Mail Guardian |
| Zanele Mji | “Those graves were our tittle deeds” | Amabhungane |
| Simon Allison | “The Boy Scouts Keeping the Peace in the Central African Republic” | Mail And Guardian |
| Mia Malan | “Madams, myths and morals: the risky business of selling sex” | Bhekisisa |
| Hanlie Retief | “Koekie Botha” | Rapport |
| Willemien Brummer | “Bloedwerke’ van ’n speurhoof” | Die Burger |
| Aron Hyman | “The animals call for food, but we have nothing” | Times Select |
| Investigative Journalism | ||
| Poloko Tau | “Medical Mayhem” | City Press |
| Bongani Fuzile | “Broadband Lies” | Daily Dispatch |
| Sipho Masondo and Dewald Van Rensburg | “VBS” | City Press |
| Pauli Van Wyk | “Tom Moyane: The decimation of Sars | Daily Maverick |
| Editorial Cartoons | ||
| Carlos Amato | “A Matter of Degree” | Mail and Guardian |
| Jack Swanepoel, John Curtis and (Dr Jack & Curtis) | “Sugar and Spice”; “Respect to Aretha”; “Hang on a Minute”; “Defusing tension”; “Putting words in this mouth” | City Press, Eyewitness News |
| Fred Mouton | “They just keep on gorging, but don’t want to fly”; “Earthling, take me to your leader.” | Die Burger |
| Graphic Journalism | ||
| John Mccann | “Portfolio of 10 infographics and illustrations” | Mail and Guardian |
| Costa Phuti Makola | “Get water to Cape Town” | The Citizen |
| Cobus Prinsloo | “Insight – die jongste besoeker op Mars”; “Is it a plane? Is it a chopper? No, it’s a sky taxi!”; “Latest visitor to Mars” | Die Burger, City Press, Netwerk24 |
| Popular Journalism | ||
| Tamlynne Thompson | ‘Women speak up” | The Capetowner |
| Athandiwe Saba | “Teflon ‘convict’ lands another job” | Mail And Guardian |
| Mhie Silangwe | “Zuma’s wife Disowned” | Sunday Sun |
| Lesley Mofokeng | “Too black for Miss SA 60thparty” | Sowetan |
| News Photographs | ||
| Ayanda Ndamane | “Mimic” | African News Agency |
| Esa Alexandra | “Zuma Exit” | Sunday Times |
| Alon Skuy | “The horror of gender violence-to kick a woman when she’s down” | Sunday Times |
| Theodore Jeptha | “Joe Slovo Protest” | Son Newspaper |
| Oupa Mokoena | “Mother of the Nation laid to rest” | The Star |
| Jacques Nelles | “Eersterust Erupts” | The Citizen |
| Feature Photographs | ||
| Mpumelelo Buthelezi | “All hail the trash gods”; “The raw lifestyle of the hostel dwellers” | City Press |
| Phandulwazi Jikelo | “Not letting Osteoporosis defeat her” | African News Agency |
| Rosetta Msimango | “A republic of Misogyny” | City Press |
| Oupa Nkosi | “Passion Project: Resistance Heroes” | Mail and Guardian |
| Alon Skuy | 1%ers…a rare glimpse into an outlaw “Motorcycle Club”. | Sunday Times |
| Presentation | ||
| Alon Skuy and Keith Tamkei | “Knights of the open road” | Sunday Times |
| John-Grant Munro | “Koebaai, Nr 1”; “Die bose Z is weg” | Die Burger |
| Multiplatform stories | ||
| Sethembiso Zulu | “Limpopo people living with day zero”; “Soshanguve people left stranded after heavy rains”; “Boipatong Community living with raw sewage for over 5 years” | Eyewitness News |
| Abigail Javier | “One, two…five! SA welcomes the Buthelezi quintuplets”; “Sinkhole Alley” - why Centurion looks like Swiss cheese”; “Koster: Residents take charge of town killed by graft” | Timeslive |
| Anthony Molyneaux | Hanna Cornelius - “Kidnapping, mapping the murder and the killers” | Timeslive |
| Lifestyle | ||
| Phumlani Sithebe | “In memory of the CD” | City Press |
| Simon Allison | “Pilgrimage to Africa's King of Chilli” | Mail and Guardian |
| Ritha Fick | “Legendariese roadhouse herleef” | Beeld |
