Deadline: 4 February 2011
The 10th annual Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards will soon be open for entries by South Africa's newspaper journalists, graphic artists, cartoonists and photographers. The entry deadline of 4 February 2011 is two months away so get sifting and sorting to submit your best work from 2010.
Apart from being the 10th anniversary of Mondi Shanduka's support of newspaper journalism, this year's competition also marks the 20th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, when African journalists laid down a key foundation of press freedom.
Professor Guy Berger, head of journalism and media studies at Rhodes University, said the anniversaries were cause to demonstrate the best that a free South African journalism could produce.
"Parliamentary hearings into statutory-regulation are on the cards, making it highly appropriate to use 2011 to celebrate the quality of newspaper journalism over the past year," he said.
Berger urged writers, photojournalists, cartoonists and presentation personnel to flood the competition with entries in a gesture of the strength and confidence of the profession.
Berger has recruited a group of highly experienced journalists as judges of the competition. They include Pippa Green, Jodi Bieber, Joe Latakgomo, Tyrone August, David Wightman, Martie Retief Meiring, Juby Mayet, Liesl Louw, Mathatha Tsedu, Tumi Makgabo, Paula Fray, Peter Sullivan, Arrie Rossouw, Adrienne Sichel and Mike Siluma.
They will spend two days immersed in the entries to find winners across the 13 entry categories and, at their discretion, select the South African Story of the Year and the South African Newspaper Journalist of the Year.
The categories are as follows:
1. Hard news
2. Analysis, commentary and enterprise news
3. Feature writing
4. Investigative journalism
5. Creative journalism
6. Editorial cartoons
7. Graphic journalism
8. Popular journalism
9. News photographs
10. Feature photographs
11. Sports photographs
12. Presentation
13. Journalism Twenty-Ten
The winners of each of the 15 categories will receive a Mondi Shanduka Premier Award trophy, R 15,000 cash and a certificate.
Alan Kirkland Soga Achievement Award
We are also looking for nominations for the Alan Kirkland Soga Award which recognises lifetime achievers in the newspaper industry. The winner will have demonstrated impeccable ethics and craft excellence, with the results having enriched South African life.
Save the date
The awards event will take place on Tuesday, 10 May 2011.
Follow us on Twitter - @MondiShanduka - for regular updates. Entry kits and forms can be downloaded from here
Should you need any further information or assistance, please contact Malesedi Dlamini at the Newspaper Association of South Africa at 011 551 9600 or e-mail malesedid@printmedia.org.za.