Blantyre Newspapers Limited (BNL) which publishes The Daily Times and two weeklies Saturday's Malawi News and Sunday Times topped in almost all the major awards in the print media category and capped it all by winning the Print Media House of the year.
Likewise in the electronic media category, Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS), which has been broadcasting for close to two and half years, scooped all the awards in the electronic category including the Electronic Media of the Year.
The station's Managing Director Gospel Kadzako also received the Lifetime Achiever Award for establishing a broadcasting station which has achieved tremendous results.
The Blantyre Newspapers Limited has been commended for its investigative stories.
Five journalists from the company also won various awards in the best business story by Gerald Namwaza Banda, best sports story by Duncan Mlanjira who consistently followed a South African Missionary Felix Starker who cycled for 30 days from Malawi to his homeland for charity.
Mlanjira reported on Starker all the way including the last time when he returned to Malawi where he announced that he had raised K1.2 million for Step Kids Awareness (STEKA) which is a non governmental organisation that rehabilitates street children by taking them back to school.
BNL has also scooped the best photograph of the year won by Lazarus Nedi while the best overall journalist award was shared by the company's two reporters Charles Mpaka and Mike Chipalasa for breaking a story on Malawi School Certificate examination leakage.
“This shows that people are recognising efforts being undertaken by the BNL editorial team,” said BNL General manager Tikhala Chibwana after the ceremony.
Zodiak Broadcasting Station got the best electronic investigative story of the year written by Gabriel Kamlomo, while the Nation Publications Limited (NPL) which publishes The Nation, Weekend Nation and Nation on Sunday won the best print investigative story of the year written by Maxwell Ng'ambi.
The two institutions also shared the Best Education Story of the year award which was won by Telephorous Chigwenembe of ZBS and Herbert Chandilanga of NPL as well as the Best Human Rights Story of the year award won by Teresa Chirwa of ZBS and Rebecca Theu of NPL.
The winners received K50, 000 each, trophies and assorted prizes like laptop computers, TVs, air tickets provided by different companies and organisations that included the National Bank of Malawi, Air Malawi, Gift of Givers, NBS Bank, Multichoice Malawi, UNESCO, Paladin Africa Limited, American Embassy and an NGO Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation.
Selection of the articles was based on, among other reasons, originality, consistency, investigation, courage, analysis and impact.
Guest of honour during the World Press Freedom Day commemoration themed; ‘Freedom of expression, Access and Empowerment' was Justice Anastanzia Msosa who is also the chairperson of Electoral Commission of Malawi.
Msosa observed that there is a need to create a favourable environment for the media to operate freely and without interference.
“I can't imagine a day when there is no radio and television signal with any newspapers on the streets,” she said before adding: “I urge the public not to use journalists but to let them operate freely.”
Martines Naminga, Chairperson of NAMISa, which is the Malawi chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), issued a statement as part of the commemoration where he outlined problems like harassments and infringements which the media faced during the past year as well as successes registered.
As part of the commemorations, Malawian journalists lined up a number of events including the donation of assorted items to patients at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre and a 10km march along the Chipembere Highway in Blantyre to the City's Civic Centre Hall where they conducted a debate.
