The North-West University (NWU) partnered with the National Press Club (NPC) to celebrate journalists' extraordinary work and dedication at the 2022 Newsmaker & Journalist of the Year awards.

The prestigious award ceremony was held on Thursday, 20 April, in Menlyn, Pretoria and was attended by journalists and academics. The NWU's deputy vice-chancellor for planning and Vanderbijlpark Campus operations, Prof Linda du Plessis, gave the keynote address.

The awards, judged by a panel of judges that included various independent experts and academics, consisted of 11 categories.  The winner of each category received a cash prize of R8 000. The NPC-NWU overall Journalist of the Year Award was scooped by Devi Sankaree Govender and the team of The Devi Show. They won a cash prize of R10 000, sponsored by the NWU.

During her address, Prof du Plessis thanked the NPC for allowing the NWU to be part of the event, adding that the university held the rights of the media very dear and would promote them without end.

“The NWU has a longstanding and valued relationship with the media. In many ways, the media is the window through which the world sees the university. You are a showcase for our expertise, but in the same vein, you don’t shy away from keeping us on our toes. This is as it should be. Just as the NWU has communities we serve, so do you, and irrespective of our partnership and notwithstanding our relationship, we understand that this responsibility must always take precedence,” she said.

Commenting about the Newsmaker of the Year, which was Eskom and loadshedding, Prof du Plessis praised the media for providing a better view of what went wrong with Eskom.

“When a national service provider fails, when a parastatal of the size and importance of Eskom fails, we should be worried. We should also be informed. We need expert opinions to guide us, and I almost want to say that no amount of information is enough. The situation has been nothing short of calamitous, and it is thanks to the media that we are increasingly getting a better picture of what went wrong with Eskom, why it went wrong and what are the consequences, both in the long and short term,” she said.

She added that the media played a crucial role in determining leadership legitimacy by shaping and influencing public opinion.

“We need effective, honest leaders and the public needs to know when our leaders don’t meet these standards. You set the agenda and you determine the discourse. You also frame the way we view topical events. This is a massive responsibility because you/ decide whether a person’s legitimacy is enhanced or not. In so many respects, you have to decide what is in the public’s best interests. It is this role as gatekeepers which plays such an important part of how we view, understand and interpret the world.”

The winners of the 2022 Newsmaker & Journalist of the Year awards are:

• The biggest winner was Devi Sankaree Govender and her team from The Devi Show, who won the Journalist of the Year Award. This e.tv show also won the TV features/Investigative Journalism/Actuality category.
• Eskom and loadshedding were named Newsmaker of the Year.
• Sandile Ndlovu from the Sunday Times, who scooped the Print and Online: Photojournalist of the Year Award.
• Jacaranda FM’s Christelle du Toit won the Radio News category.
• Pretoria FM's Anton Meijer won the Radio Features/Investigation Journalism/Actuality category awards.
• For the first time in the award's history, there was a category for media liaison officers. The Media Liaison Officer of the Year Award went to Eskom's former spokesperson, Sikhonathi Mantshantsha.  
• Television producer and freelance writer Hamilton Wende won the Print/Online Features/Investigation Journalism award.
• Catherine White won the Print/Online News category.
• Newzroom Afrika Journalist Zikhona Tshona bagged Journalist of the Year in the Television news category.

Prof Linda du Plessis, NWU deputy vice-chancellor for planning and Vanderbijlpark Campus operations (far right), presents the Journalist of the Year Award to the Devi Show team during the 2022 Newsmaker & Journalist of the Year Awards event.