Defining excellence with the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards

An extract from the 2004 Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards Entry Kit, reminds of the importance of excellence: "Does the definition of excellence owe as much to blind luck as it does to sublime instinct? Perhaps. But as anyone who's tried to capture the truth will tell you, you've got to make your own luck to find it" - and with that in mind, there's just a week left to enter!

South African newspaper journalists, photographers and layout artists have a little over a week to get their best work from 2004 submitted for the competition, as the deadline for entries is Friday, 11 February.

The best journalism across the nine categories will win the entrant R10 000 cash, a coveted golden Mondi Shanduka Nib trophy and a framed certificate. No entries are accepted in the 10th category - South African Story of the Year - judges will instead select a winner from the range of entries in the other categories, looking for agenda-setting and original journalism that contributes to society by giving new insight into the changing character of South Africa.

Journalists are invited to enter into the following categories: Breaking News; Analysis, Follow-ups and Commentary; Feature Writing; Investigative Journalism; Creative Journalism; Graphical Journalism; News Photographs; Feature Photographs and Presentation (Layout and Design).

Entry Kits (print and electronic PDF) are available from Cathy Pestana on +27 +11 721 3200/1/2 or email: .