Caxton still leads the pack

Lowvelder won the Prestigious Sold Newspaper Award while Pretoria East Rekord won the Best Free Newspaper title and Polokwane’s Review Bonus was named the best Emerging Market Newspaper of the year.

Jaco Koekemoer, group executive: local newspaper publishing and commercial print, expressed his pride when he thanked Caxtonites for their loyalty and diligence during an extremely difficult year. “We had retrenchments and were forced to make structural changes and, in some cases, closure of some of our products. We adapted where we had to, adjusted print orders, monitored events and kept our consumers’ trust in us. We also had a specialised Covid-19 editorial team that kept our readers informed. So much so that we captured more than nine million unique views a day. This has meant that we have been able to continue business with integrity and a hard-working attitude.”

Irma Green, national group editor, Caxton Local Media added: “It is wonderful that we can still celebrate the quality of journalism in our group. Covid-19 has made us realise how much our readers need credible sources of information. We are proud of our Caxton Local News Network websites for continuously providing our communities across SA with updates on Covid-19 regulations as well as the impact it has in each of their communities. As we continue to provide vital local relevant information, we are reassured that quality and relevant journalism will survive in the long term.”

Some of our other winners included Lowvelder for Best Front Page, Joburg North with the best Get It Magazine title, Northern KZN’s Estella Naicker and Charmaine Mazibulo who won the Best Multimedia Journalist and Most Promising Journalist titles respectively, Ettienne van Rensburg of Vaalweekblad who is the Photographer of the Year, Glen Smolas of the East Rand stable who is the Ad Designer of the Year and Tarryn Kumm of Highway Mail who was named Field Sales Consultant of the Year.

Due to health and safety reasons, Caxton has experienced a first, by hosting the Caxton Awards virtually this year. “It’s a really important event in our calendar and one not to be missed in order to showcase exceptional work and commend the talent within our company. Spark Media is proud to be part of the Caxton CTP group and praises the consistent efforts from all our branches over the past year,” says Olav Westphal, sales director of Spark Media.