Jeremy Gordin SA Journalist of the Year

The awards ceremony, held at the Wanderers Club in Illovo, Johannesburg, saw Cape Town-based Die Burger and Durban-based Witness scooping two awards each, and Weekend Witness lifting the Joel Mervis Award, thus demonstrating that non-Gauteng newspapers have performed well overall.

‘Surpassed'

Gordin, who has been a journalist since 1976, has been hailed by the judges as ‘a veteran journalist who brings a range of well-refined skills to bear with results that surpassed the performance of his colleagues in 2007'.

Past winners in this category include Personal Finance's Bruce Cameron in 2007 and cartoonist Zapiro in 2006.

Nerissa Govender of The Witness walked away with the hard news award for ‘Family's blue light trauma', upstaging The Star's Lee Rondganger for ‘Smash, grab…gone'. Die Burger took home the analysis and commentary award and the presentation award (layout and design) won by Jorisna Bonthuys and Arlene Prinsloo, respectively.

Speaking to the audience, Mondi Shanduka Newsprint CEO Peter Lynch said, “Thank you to the newshounds and their respective owners and masters who have enthusiastically put forward their work to be tugged at, pulled apart and perhaps even chewed in this competition.”

City Press' Tsedu, chosen by the judges as the 2007 Mondi Shanduka Lifetime Achiever, could not arrive on time to receive his award as he had to go to hospital to attend to his ailing wife. His son Mpho Tsedu accepted the award on his behalf. However, Tsedu himself did show up at the end of the ceremony.

“Tsedu has risen through the ranks not just to this present position, but to the stature of a leader in the media more broadly – not just in SA but also across the continent,” the judges said.

32-page entry

M&G's Stefaans Brummer, Sam Sole, Adriaan Basson, Zukile Majova, Nic Dawes, Pearlie Joubert and Matuma Letsoalo clinched the SA story of the year award for submitting a 32-page entry covering disgraced former police boss Jackie Selebi and former NPA head Vusi Pikoli.

Ntando Makhubu, Chandre Prince and Brett Horner of the East London-based Daily Dispatch, won the investigative journalism award for their thought-provoking piece ‘Why Frere's babies die'. The team is said to have painstakingly documented and explained the babies' deaths over a period of two months.

Prof Guy Berger, convenor of the judging panel and head of Rhodes University's School of Journalism, said: “There has been outstanding journalism over the past year. Critics should balance their concerns with the fine achievements this competition has highlighted, and meanwhile South Africans in general can feel there is good cause to value our free and vibrant newspaper journalists.”

In his closing remarks, Trevor Ncube, president of Newspapers Association of SA and a fierce critic of Zimbabwe's embattled president Robert Mugabe, warned the independent media community of SA to be vigilant about what he called politicians' interference in the affairs of media.

“It is a worrying trend that the ANC is trying to interfere in our profession. I am concerned about the noises of the ANCYL and the Department of Home Affairs, especially on the Film and Publications Bill.

“Never take your freedom for granted. Never assume that now that you have got it you will never lose it. We need to take those threats seriously and start toyi-toying because if we don't, we will have serious problems.”

Other winners

Frewin Award: Beeld, for its fine ‘classic' approach, according to the judges.
McCall Award: Witness, for what the judges called a truly unique SA style.

Graphical journalism: Jonathan Shapiro, Zapiro Productions.
Creative journalism: Oliver Roberts, Sunday Times Lifestyle.
News photographs: Alon Skuy, The Times, for ‘Hillbrow flight'.
Feature photographs: Sandile Ndlovu, Sunday Tribune, for ‘Labour of Love'.
Feature writing: Shaun Smillie, The Star, for ‘The Search for Looksmart' and related stories.