"We are simply delighted with the number of entries this year and the number of extra journalists who have entered the awards," says Ingrid Louw, CEO of PDMSA (Print & Digital Media South Africa), presenting its annual journalism industry awards (founded in 2001) for the second year with sponsorship from Standard Bank.
Judging took place last week at the PDMSA and all details will remain confidential until the prize-giving event; however, Paula Fray, convenor of the group of judges, was able to reveal the fierce competition for the finalist list.
"Despite a challenging news year, the entries confirm a consistent standard of excellence at the top. We were pleased with the strong competition being offered from coastal newspapers and all the major regions are well-represented at the top," said Fray.
In the category of feature writing, 136 entries were received followed by 101 in the hard news category. Digital entries were also well received with 30 multimedia stories and 12 multi-platform stories.
The awards (formerly known as the Mondi Shanduka Newspaper Awards) are presented this year for the second time and this is the second year that excellence in digital journalism will be recognised alongside the print medium.
This year is the first time that an award for Rising Star of the Year will be presented. A winner has been selected by the judges, from the range of entries in all the other categories in this year's awards. Among the considerations laid down for this award were the potential shown for excellence, accuracy, story development and storytelling.
