Joe Thloloe honoured for lifetime achievement

6 May 2009

Joe Thloloe, the current South African press ombudsman, was applauded for the role he has played in the newspaper industry, walking away with the Alan Kirkland Soga Lifetime Achiever at the eighth annual Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards at The Wanderers Club, Johannesburg, on Wednesday night, 6 May 2009. Beeld, Business Day and Rapport were the front-runners in the Newspaper Association of South Africa's annual Frewin, Joel Mervis and McCall awards.

After almost 50 years in the media, veteran journalist Thloloe was awarded this accolade in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to newspaper journalism in South Africa.

According to chief judge Guy Berger, professor of Rhodes University's School of Journalism and Media Studies “This year the award was renamed after Soga, a historic editor from the late 19th century whose credo was, ‘Gainst the wrong that needs resistance; for the good that lacks assistance'.”

“Personifies this motto”

“Thloloe's life personifies this motto. He is possibly the most respected South African journalist and a professional with an unparalleled wealth of courage, compassion and commitment that dates back almost 50 years in the media.”

Thloloe has worked for The World, Rand Daily Mail, Golden City Post and Drum magazine, and is a former deputy editor of Sowetan. He was also editor in chief of both SABC News and e.tv News.

A journalist in the apartheid struggle, he was convicted for his part in the 1960 Anti-pass Campaign that led to the Sharpeville Massacre, detained for four months in 1976 following the students' uprising of that year; detained in 1977 for 18 months under the Terrorism Act; banned in 1981 for three years under the Suppression of Communism Act; and detained, tried and jailed for 19 months between 1982 to 1984.

Thloloe is a former chairman of the South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF), deputy chairman of the Southern African Editors' Forum (SAEF) and president of the Union of Black Journalists and Media Workers Association of South Africa. In 1988, he was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He has also been honoured with various other awards.

Other recipients of this lifetime achievement honour include the late Dr Aggrey Klaaste, David Hazelhurst, Raymond Louw and Mathatha Tsedu.

Frewin, Joel Mervis and McCall

A total of 16 daily and 24 weekly newspapers entered this year's annual Frewin, Joel Mervis and McCall awards. The competition - which has been in existence for a collective 119 years - recognises newspaper excellence in advertising, printing and production, layout and typography as well as the balance between the use of pictures and graphics.

The Frewin Award, which recognises urban daily newspapers with a circulation above 50 000, was presented to Beeld (94 points). The Daily News and The Star took second place with (83 points); third place was Die Burger (81 points); and fourth place Daily Sun (80 points).

The McCall Award recognises urban daily newspapers with a circulation of 50 000 or less and was won by Business Day (91 points). Second place went to Volksblad (86 points); third place to The Witness and Pretoria News (80 points); and fourth place The Mercury (77 points).

The Joel Mervis Award recognises urban weekly newspapers irrespective of their circulation and was won by Rapport (99 points). In second place was the Mail & Guardian and Sunday Independent (89 points); third place was Naweek Beeld (87 points); and fourth place Post (85 points).

Sarel du Plessis of Media24 and Mike Robertson of Avusa were also honoured with Fellowship Awards from Print Media SA.

The judging panel comprised Clive Loxton, creative faculty head of the AAA School of Advertising; Logan Naidu, learnerships and apprenticeships specialist at MAPPP-SETA; Marilyn du Toit, lecturer in Graphic design at the AAA School of Advertising, and Linda Rademan, lecturer in art direction at the AAA School of Advertising.