The North-West University (NWU) is the headline sponsor of the 2025 North West Media Awards. This marks a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts of the university to support media development, ethical journalism and professional growth in the province.
The partnership reinforces the commitment of the NWU to fostering collaboration between academia, the media industry, government and the private sector.
Through this sponsorship, the NWU will contribute to initiatives aimed at uplifting the standard of journalism in the province, including workshops and knowledge-sharing platforms that bring together students, media practitioners and communication experts.
The founder of the North West Media Awards, Ananias Ndlovu, described the collaboration as a major step towards strengthening community media and addressing challenges faced by news organisations across the province.
“This partnership will see the university, together with the awards and the winners, engage in media and communication workshops to uplift the standard of media in the province,” said Ananias.
The awards ceremony will take place on 5 December 2025 at the Rustenburg Civic Centre and will be broadcast live on Platinum North West TV. Members of the NWU management team will be presenting awards to outstanding journalists and communicators. Winners will also receive cash prizes recognising their excellence and contribution to the regional media landscape.
As part of its involvement, the NWU is also contributing expertise to the judging process. Ofentse Ngake, a lecturer in journalism and media studies in the School of Communication, has been appointed to the judging panel, and judging took place in November 2025.
Ofentse brings strong academic and professional credentials to the panel. A member of the Indigenous Language Media in Africa research focus area, he specialises in media and social change, journalism and indigenous language media.
He also serves on the NWU FM board, advocating for the development of campus and community broadcasting. His scholarly contributions include co-authoring a chapter in 100 Years of Radio in South Africa and presenting research papers at national and international conferences. He supervises master’s-degree students working on topics such as investigative journalism, lifestyle journalism and radio education programming.
The sponsorship and academic involvement of the NWU in the awards underscore the dedication of the university to empowering local media, nurturing emerging talent and strengthening informed public discourse across North West.
NWU lecturer Ofentse Ngake is a member of the judging panel for the 2025 North West Media Awards.
