Deadline: 31 July 2022
The South African National Editor’s Forum is now accepting nominations for courageous journalism of the stories published in print or online or broadcast between June 2021 – June 2022:
1 – Nat Nakasa Award for Media Integrity.
2 – Nat Nakasa Award for Community Media
Nat Nakasa was a prominent journalist and writer who died in exile. This annual award recognises any media practitioner – journalist or editor – who has:
* Shown integrity and reported fearlessly;
* Displayed a commitment to serve the people of South Africa despite insurmountable obstacles;
* Resisted any censorship;
* Shown courage in making information available to the SA public;
* Any combination of the above.
Please submit your nomination by close of business on Sunday 31 July 2022, accompanied by a motivation of 300 words to:
The Award is open to all journalists serving all media platforms from a community / national newspaper, magazine or an electronic medium (including online publishers).
Previous winners of this award are, however, not eligible for entry.
The winner will receive R20 000 in prize money and a certificate.
The winner will be announced at the Nat Nakasa Awards ceremony on 17 September 2022 in Durban.
The South African National Editors’ Forum is saddened to learn that New Frame is closing its publication after the funder pulled the plug.
Launched on 16 August 2018, on the sixth anniversary of the massacre of striking miners at Marikana, New Frame is closing barely weeks away from the tenth anniversary of the Marikana massacre shattering the country’s hopes of sustainable and growing independent media voices.
We note that it came into existence offering the South African public unique news coverage that gave due weight and dignity to the lives and struggles of ordinary people. It was also an initiative that while beginning its work from Johannesburg, promised to progressively become a more pan-African publication in terms of both reach and orientation. As a result, it earned itself a rare brand of being referred to as the ‘people’s media house’ by its well-wishers and admirers within the noticeably short space of its existence.
SANEF has lamented the dilapidating state of the media as we witnessed the country’s small and independent publishers, community print and broadcasters as well as big multiplatform media companies retrenching hundreds of journalists, due to the negative impact of COVID-19 since 2020.
The demise of New Frame also comes at a time when SANEF is seized with the critical national debate on potential public funding models to sustain news media platforms in the country.
The New Frame editorial noted on Monday that “there is no commercial model to sustain it … there is no constituency within the public willing and able to fund it at a viable scale.”
We are also grappling with the nature of state-managed subsidies, which could be raised by taxation on the big data companies to sustain media for the public good to play its role in our democracy.
SANEF wishes to stress that the closure could be avoided if a funder comes forward to support this fresh and significant voice, which has added crucial diversity and plurality to the media landscape.
Note to Editors:
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.
The Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards 2022 are a reminder of the important role that journalism plays in South Africa’s democracy.
Hosted by the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) for the first time, the Awards honoured the best journalists and their stories at a live event at The Venue, Melrose Arch last Saturday.
While newspapers might be under pressure, the standard of local journalism is still high, as the winners of the Awards prove.
All the winning articles raised important issues in South Africa showing just why journalism is critically important to the country. The Awards themselves are significant as they set a benchmark for excellence in journalism, a profession that has been under attack and undermined worldwide.
SANEF office bearers, including Sbu Ngalwa, SANEF Chairperson, and sponsors Standard Bank’s representatives and Standard Bank CEO, Lungisa Fuzile, and various media stakeholders and journalists were all in attendance.
Heroes and Heroines
Ngalwa says that while the industry has been through a tough time over the past two years, with the industry affected by journalists losing their lives due to COVID-19 and a jobs bloodbath, exacerbated by various media titles closing, , the Awards show that South African journalism is thriving. “We are now seeing green shoots and can build.”
Fuzile says that the pandemic robbed the country of some of the best journalists in this country.
He paid tribute to the industry. “You are a great service to our relatively young democracy. I will make a bold statement and say that without you our democracy would fail. Every one of you here in this room and watching online is a hero and heroine. We are eternally grateful to you and proud of what you have achieved over the past two years.”
Never give up!
At the Awards, veteran editor Anthony Heard was honoured with the Allan Kirkland Soga: Lifetime Achiever Award. Heard, who was a shining light in the dark days of Apartheid, gave the audience the thumbs up and shouted, “Never give up!” after receiving his award.
Heard says that now, more than ever the media is vulnerable and in need of patrons. “The media, and journalists, must be supported. The enlightened corporations and institutions know that. They need to invest in the media as it is an investment in their future.”
He says that journalists are not invincible but some of their actions can lead to major change. “Very few other institutions in society have that capacity.”
The value of the industry
Daily Maverick’s Pieter-Louis Myburgh expressed surprise at winning Story of the Year for Digital Vibes. But says he is thrilled.
Myburgh also won the Investigative Journalism category for ‘’Digital Vibes’’, published by Daily Maverick, and is one of several journalists who won the Investigative Journalism category in 2018 for the collaborative body of work “Gupta Leaks”. He is also the author of the book: Gangster State (Penguin Random House).
He says the Sikuvile Awards give journalists a moment to bask a bit in the recognition of their work. “Because in between there are many challenging and difficult moments.”
Lifestyle category winner, Graham Wood, from Financial Mail says the Awards are important because journalism is under fire. “It is good for the industry to remind itself of its value from time to time.”
More young people into the industry
The Upcoming/ Rising Star of the Year was shared by Shonisani Tshikalange of the Sunday Times and TimesLIVE and Onke Ngcuka, Daily Maverick. Ngcuka, who was also a finalist in the Lifestyle category, says it is important for young people to enter the profession. “We need as many people as we can to hold our leaders accountable to the work they are supposed to be doing.”
The Awards also acknowledged the role of jury member Phindile Mary Xaba, who passed away shortly after the jury session.
This was the first live awards event in two years and the first awards since 2020.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) held a successful, elective annual general meeting where Eyewitness News editor-in-chief Sbu Ngalwa was re-elected as the chairperson.
Sowetan editor Nwabisa Makunga was elected as the deputy chairperson while New Frame associate editor, Monica Laganparsad, was voted in as the secretary-general.
Tshwane University of Technology broadcast media lecturer Tshamano Makhadi is the new Treasurer-General.
The AGM spent time focusing on the mental health of journalists as they continue to experience various, differing traumas.
SANEF remains deeply concerned about the safety and wellness of frontline journalists who are often the first respondents and witnesses to natural disasters and violence.
During the organisation’s AGM, Cassey Chambers, from the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), addressed the meeting on the urgent need for newsrooms to attend and prioritise journalists’ mental wellness.
Chambers said SADAG is of the view that journalists experience high levels of depression and anxiety, further indicating that they experience more post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than doctors working on the frontline. She said worryingly, journalists often checked all seventeen boxes on the PTSD checklist.
The AGM decided to establish a safety and wellness sub-committee, to be chaired by Katy Katopodis. The committee’s focus will be to champion SANEF’s efforts to address mental health support journalists and pay special attention to the growing incidences of violence, including personal threats and the cyberbullying of journalists.
Members of the media are encouraged to contact SANEF as and when their freedom to report is infringed upon. The other highlight of the AGM was the address by Dr Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Elected in March last year, Motsepe reiterated the importance of media freedom and how the work of SANEF must be supported. He said any kind of harassment of journalists should be condemned and journalists should not keep quiet when such behaviour occurs.
The AGM also elected the chairpersons of the following sub-committees:
Makhudu Sefara: Media Freedom
Phathiswa Magopeni: Education and Training
Izaak Minnaar: Access to Information and Media Policy
Qaanitah Hunter: Media Ethics and Diversity
Dunisani Ntsanwisi: Community Media
Note to Editors:
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.
SANEF Chairperson, Sbu Ngalwa and Standard Bank SA CEO, Lungisa Fuzile (right) hand over the Story of the Year award for Digital Vibes, to Daily Maverick’s Pieter-Louis Myburgh
Hosted by the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) and sponsored by Standard Bank, the first live Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards since 2019, saw the Daily Maverick’s Pieter-Louis Myburgh winning Story of the Year for Digital Vibes.
Myburgh also won the Investigative Journalism category for ‘’Digital Vibes’’ in Daily Maverick. He was one of several journalists who won the Investigative Journalism category in 2018 for the collaborative body of work “Gupta Leaks”. He is also the author of the book: Gangster State (Penguin Random House).
SANEF Chairperson, Sbu Ngalwa hands the Upcoming/ Rising Star of the Year award to Shonisani Tshikalange of the Sunday Times
The Upcoming/ Rising Star of the Year was shared by Shonisani Tshikalange of the Sunday Times and TimesLIVE and Onke Ngcuka, Daily Maverick. Ngcuka was a finalist in the Lifestyle category.
The Allan Kirkland Soga: Lifetime Achiever Award honoured Anthony Heard.
SANEF Chairperson Sbu Ngalwa and Standard Bank SA CEO, Lungisa Fuzile (right), hand over the Lifetime Achiever Award to Anthony Heard
All category winners received the coveted Sikuvile Journalism Award Trophy, certificate and R15,000 prize money. All finalists also receive certificates.
The 2022 Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards winners:
Category 1: Hard News
NAME TITLE COMPANY
Winner:
Team News 24
“July Unrest Breaking News”
News24
Commendation:
Mike Loewe
“35 Fuel Stations dump Shell”
Daily Dispatch
Category 3: Community Service Reporting
Winner:
Nomvuyo Ntanjana
“Tatum De Pearce”
SABC 2 And SABC News Channel 404
Commendation:
Khaya Koko
“Defenders of the last Complex standing”
Mail And Guardian
Commendation:
Don Pinnock
“The evicted residents of District Six were robbed of the golden threads of
Community”
Daily Maverick
Category 4: Investigative Journalism
Winner:
Pieter-Louis Myburgh
“Digital Vibes”
Daily Maverick
Category 5: Columns /Editorial
Winner:
Mia Malan
“The joke’s on us, South Africa”
Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism
Commendation:
Setumo Stone
“The EFF masterstroke”
City Press
Commendation:
Johanna Van Eeden
“Hoekom is ons so geskok?”
Beeld
Commendation:
Willemien Brümmer
“Dis hoekom ons moet leer om ook na Nzimande te luister”
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is the most influential media freedom advocacy grouping in South Africa. It consists of title editors and senior journalists operating in print, broadcasting, and digital mainstream at national, regional and community media levels, as well as media trainers and academics from major journalism departments and training institutes in the country.
SANEF’s vision is to promote the quality and ethics of journalism, to reflect the diversity of South Africa, to champion freedom of expression and to work towards the sustainability of journalism.
SANEF is aware of the critical importance of community media to the overall diversity of the media industry. However, we are concerned about the difficult environment that community media are operating in and the fact that many print and broadcast newsrooms struggle to diversify their content distribution and revenue options to include digitally driven future growth areas.
As one way forward SANEF would like to launch a project to assist selected print and broadcast community media organisations to create an online presence through developing sustainable websites and social media strategies. Where necessary, the service provider can also showcase how collaboration can benefit community media, in specific and close regions.
Services required
SANEF would like to invite civic/media tech organisations/companies/consultancies with a track record in digital media/journalism projects to manage and implement a community media digital development project with the following elements:
Design digital workflows and tools for implementation in traditional print and broadcast newsrooms to enable them to publish their content on both traditional and online platforms, as part of a plan to ensure future sustainability. Elements should include basics such as tools and workflows for digital newsgathering and multimedia production, a WordPress, or similar or better, content management and web publication system and social media strategies and management tools; as well as optional modules such as for streaming and podcasting services, and for different platforms (e.g. WhatsApp, TikTok). The proposed websites should also offer publishers/broadcasters an opportunity to explore alternative revenue streams, i.e. subscription services, online ad revenue, e-commerce or added-value offerings. The websites should also provide for interaction with third party applications, such as Pocket Reporter, which guides young reporters on how to do a variety of stories.
Management of a pilot project to implement variations of this online toolkit in a first batch of 10 to 15 community print and broadcast newsrooms, considering available r individual infrastructure, requirements, and online opportunities in their communities. The project roll-out in each newsroom should include workshops to agree on a suitable set of solutions in each environment as part of a future sustainability plan, hardware, and software set-up as well as the necessary workflow and tools training to enable them to work on their own. In this process the proposed digital workflows and tools (as in 1 above) should be tested and refined for possible roll-out to a second batch of community newsrooms (not included in this tender).
Establishing a central development and help desk to provide support for the roll-out and operations of the digital production and online services of the selected newsrooms.
The proposed criteria and process to select the first batch of community newsrooms for the pilot project, considering provincial, language, urban/rural diversity and different kinds and sizes of newsrooms.
In summary, the project deliverables and budget must make provision for:
– In point 1, a digital community media sustainability strategy, supported by a blueprint for implementation of a generic plan with variations for different kinds of newsrooms and online content services; plus, the hardware and software requirements per newsroom to implement variations of the blueprint. Also provide a timeline for implementation for each newsroom and for the entire project.
– In point 2, the individual newsroom digital sustainability implementation plan, hardware and software implementation and training for each newsroom. Provision needs to be made for an assessment stage and adjustments (where necessary), and recommendations for the next batch based on lessons learnt from each newsroom.
– In point 3, please provide details of the nature and operations of the central desk and services to be provided, from bulk hardware and software acquisition and licensing to management of a central server (if required) and support and maintenance services.
– In point 4, details about the management of the selection process.
Submitting the tender
The tender document(s) must contain the following:
Name of bidder and contact details including company registration
Demonstrated experience in undertaking similar projects
Two references (name, phone and email, context in which you have worked together).
Detailed outline of the project plan, timeline and budget
Shortlisted bidders may be asked to present to the SANEF Management and Community Media sub-committees.
Please note the decision of the SANEF Management and Community Media Sub-Committees are final and no correspondence will be entered into with unsuccessful bidders.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) mourns the passing of legendary photojournalist and former City Press Chief Photographer, Mike Mzileni, who died on Wednesday (1 June 2022) after a long illness at home in Diepkloof, Soweto.
Kwame Mzileni, the family’s spokesperson confirmed in a statement on Thursday that his father had been in and out of hospital since early 2021. “His health started deteriorating since January 2022, and thereafter, he was never the same,” said his son.
Bra Mike, as he was fondly known by his colleagues, died on Wednesday evening after complaining of chest pains. He celebrated his 80th birthday with former City Press colleagues and other media industry friends at Niki’s Oasis on the 16th of January, this year. The celebration coincided with his last photo exhibition that was showcasing his career as a photographer at the Market Photo Workshop.
Born in Stutterheim in 1942, Mzileni began his career as a photojournalist in 1963 in apartheid South Africa, not as a spectator but as one of the iconic photojournalists who recorded all the trials and tribulations of this country’s socio-economic and political struggles.
He started working for the World Newspaper and made his mark in various publications including the Golden City Press, Drum Magazine, The Rand Daily Mail, The Sunday Express, and the Sunday Times.
In 1982 Mzileni was appointed as Chief Photographer of the Golden City Press now known as City Press until his retirement. In 1966 he was featured in a World Press Photo Competition in The Hague, Netherlands. He was named JPS Photographer of the year in 1995.
“It was still a hard kick to the solar plexus to learn from his daughter Nandi that he had died at his home in Diepkloof, Soweto, on Wednesday night after a long battle with several illnesses,” wrote former colleague Mapula Nkosi in the City Press in her tribute to Mzileni.
“Many of us who worked with him at City Press throughout the 90s called him our journalism father.”
Nkosi said Mzileni was unapologetic in his Pan-Africanist views and his advocacy for human rights came through clearly in his images of political-historical events – from defiance campaigns to the riots in the 70s and the state of emergency in the 80s, all the way to the road to our democracy.
“The passion and fire in his voice when he spoke about journalism, as well as his recollections of the hostile environment the former generation, worked under, and what he achieved … spoke of a man with no regrets,” said Nkosi.
Sandile Memela, the former City Press Showbiz Editor, described Mzileni as a gentle giant. “We looked up to him as a father figure, a leader, a counsellor, and a mentor. With the newsroom a battleground of ideas and personalities, he bound up our wounds and cared for our sanity when we were belittled and battered by insecure bosses.”
He said Mzileni advised and taught many young journalists to strive to finish the day’s work and never to sleep over a story for one would not know what tomorrow holds.
“We are who we are because of men like him, rare as they are. The good thing is that such men, full of the milk of human kindness, do not die. They live as cherished memories and spirits in our hearts and souls,” Memela said.
The stalwart published a book with fellow scribe ZB Molefe titled: A Common Hunger to Sing: A Tribute to South Africa’s Black Women of Song 1950 -1990 that documented local female singers and showcased a body of work of his music photography over four decades. His second book, All That Jazz, A Pictorial Tribute was published in 2008.
SANEF extends its deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues within the industry.
Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) calls on the publishers of the SA Jewish Report to reconsider their position, following the publication’s expulsion from the Press Council of South Africa.
SANEF finds it unfortunate that the South African Jewish Report forced the hand of the Press Council of South Africa (PCSA) to take the unprecedented action of expelling the SAJR after the publication refused to abide by the rulings of the Acting Press Ombud and the PCSA Chair of Appeals, Judge Bernard Ngoepe.
The matter stemmed from a complaint by the SA BDS Coalition and GIWUSA v SA Jewish Report. According to Press Council Chair Judge Phillip Levinsohn, the decision was taken after lengthy correspondence and after the SA Jewish Report had refused to abide by the finding against them. Judge Levinsohn said the Council spent time seeking to resolve the issue. However, the SA Jewish Report refused to publish the ruling against them.
SANEF calls on all members of the PCSA to respect the Press Council and its rulings. The Press Council is the bulwark against interference in the media and any self-respecting media organisation should be a member of the Press Council.
The Press Council continues to adjudicate complaints by members of the public and their findings, regardless of how they affect any member, must be respected.
The work of the PCSA is important in strengthening our democracy and ensuring that freedom of speech is protected while the highest ethical standards are upheld by the media.
SANEF reiterates our support for the Press Council and wish to implore all members, who subscribe to the principles of the co-regulatory mechanism, to remain committed to the system which is regarded as one of the best in the world.
We note that the Press Council is a voluntary, co-regulatory, public-dominated body which, inter alia, mediates and hand down binding ruling in terms of the Press Code. It does that to ensure ethical, fair, journalism.
We also wish to remind those who join the PCSA that they inadvertently commit to being bound by, and to publish, rulings of the Press Ombud and the Press Council’s appeals bodies. It should also be noted that dissatisfied parties with Press Ombuds’ rulings have the right to take them on appeal to the Appeals Panel, headed by an eminent, retired Judge, and if they are still unhappy, that can take the process on judicial review.
It is our view that no member of the Press Council should simply refuse to publish rulings against them. Therefore, compliance by the council’s members is deemed essential for its sustainability and credibility. Hence, the idea of simply refusing to adhere to its rulings not only undermines the Press Council but is also unfair to the complainants.
We implore the publishers of the SA Jewish Report to reconsider their position and abide by the ruling and to return to the fold of the PCSA.
Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is deeply saddened and wishes to lodge the strongest possible protest at the death of Al Jazeera journalist, Shereen Abu Akleh. She was shot dead while reporting in the Jenin refugee camp and she was clearly identified as Press.
Abu Akleh was hit by an Israeli live bullet on Wednesday morning, according to witnesses, as she covered an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. Abu Akleh was a Palestinian-American journalist who worked as a reporter for the Arabic-language channel Al Jazeera for 25 years and was a household name across the Middle East for her decades of reporting in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
According to Article 79 of the Geneva Conventions, Journalists engaged in professional missions in areas of armed conflict are considered civilians. As such, they may not be targeted. They are protected by their civilian status, on the condition that they refrain from any activity that might jeopardize their civilian status and character.
We note that journalists, acting honestly as the eyes and ears of the public at large, are increasingly being targeted by authoritarian regimes who wish to keep repressive and often murderous actions secret. This is a violation of international law that protect them whether it be in a non-international or an international armed conflict.
We are gravely concerned that this year alone, more than 16 journalists have been killed in regions ranging from Mexico to Ukraine. We also condemn the killing of all the journalists in Ukraine – and we wish to remind all communities around the world that journalists in conflict zones provide the service to the world and their role should be respected.
SANEF extends its deepest condolences to Abu Akleh’s family, friends, and all colleagues in the industry around the world.
Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.
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