Renewed Call: Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards 2025 Submission Deadline Approaching!
20 March 2025
South Africa’s journalists, the countdown has begun! The deadline for submissions to the prestigious 2025 Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards is fast approaching — March 31, 2025.
Do not let procrastination cost you the recognition you deserve. This is your chance to showcase impactful journalism — whether in investigative reporting, breaking news, feature writing, business and politics, or photojournalism.
There will be no extensions due to the tight judging schedule and the organisational work required ahead of the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 28, 2025.
Since the call for entries opened on February 3, journalists across print, digital, and broadcast media have been invited to submit their best work from January 1 to December 31, 2024. If you have not submitted yet, now is the time to act!
Why Wait? Seize the Opportunity!
Sanef’s chairperson and Sunday Times editor, Makhudu Sefara, urges journalists to avoid last-minute submissions:
“Procrastination is the enemy of opportunity. Submit your entries while there’s still time—do not risk missing out due to unforeseen circumstances,” Says Sefara.
The Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards are South Africa’s yardstick for journalistic excellence, recognising outstanding work that informs, inspires, and holds power to account. As the leading media advocacy organisation, SANEF continues to champion ethical and high-quality journalism.
Do not Miss Out—Submit Today!
The Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards have become the gold standard of journalistic excellence in South Africa. As SANEF continues to oversee these prestigious awards, they remain a benchmark for integrity, quality, and impact in journalism.
Be among the country’s top journalists celebrated for their outstanding work. Submit your entries long before March 31 to [email protected]
About the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards
The Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards are designed to encourage and recognise outstanding journalistic work across South Africa. Over the years, these awards have become a cornerstone of journalistic excellence, highlighting the critical contributions of the media to our democracy.
Sanef is proud to organise the awards for the fourth consecutive year in 2025, having taken over from the Publishers’ Support Services (formerly PDMSA). The awards celebrate excellence across all media platforms, including print, online/digital, and broadcast (radio and TV). They shine a spotlight on exceptional work in categories such as investigative reporting, feature writing, lifestyle journalism, and photojournalism.
Upholding Journalism Standards
The Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards underscore the importance of groundbreaking, accurate, fact-based, truthful, and fair reporting in an era where misinformation and disinformation pose significant challenges to the media landscape. They serve as a testament to the vital role of the Fourth Estate in safeguarding democracy.
Award Categories
Entries are invited from journalists across all platforms for the following categories:
- Hard News
- Indigenous Language Reporting in Community Media: This category has been refined to entail news articles/broadcasting clips that are the result of proactive reporter enterprise. It is distinct from breaking news and represents stories initiated by the newsroom. Entrants should submit journalistic work that was produced using any of South Africa’s Indigenous languages across media segments, particularly meant to speak to the community the journalists work.
- Community Service Reporting: This category has been remodelled to highlight hyper-local issues crafted from a community interest perspective, to inform, educate, and build resilient communities by amplifying grassroots narratives that matter. These are general community features and creative journalism stories initiated to capture the depth of community sentiments and concerns. Qualifying entries must be journalistic work produced for and published exclusively in community media platforms in all languages, and not in any commercial or publicly owned news entities.
- Investigative Journalism
- Business Journalism
- Features: The Features category will now have two winners: one for Print and Online platforms, and another for Broadcasting. This is after the judges proposed a split in the Features category between print and broadcast entries.
- Lifestyle
- Columns/Editorials
- Visual Journalism (Editorial Cartoons/Graphic Layout)
- News Photographs
- Feature Photographs
- Sports Photographs
- Manager/Publisher of the Year Award: Recognising exceptional newsroom managers and publishers for their contributions. Entries should include a motivation letter or supporting documents provided by colleagues.
- Juby Mayet Rising Star of the Year: Selected by the jury from category entries to honour emerging talent.
- Journalist of the Year: Selected by the jury from category entries for exemplary contributions to the field.
- The Allan Kirkland Soga / Standard Bank Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award: Celebrating sustained and extraordinary contributions to journalism by an individual who has demonstrated impeccable ethics and craft excellence.
Submission Details
Journalists and media professionals are encouraged to submit their entries via the official awards platform. For more information on the submission process and guidelines, please visit Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards’ website.
Join us in recognising the dedication, integrity, and talent of South Africa’s finest journalists. Be part of the celebration of media excellence at the 2025 Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards.
To enter the awards, go to https://sikuvileawards.co.za.
Further information:
Sanef:
- Reggy Moalusi- Executive Director/071 682 3695 – [email protected]
- Hopewell Radebe- Projects Manager/ 083 582 1734 – [email protected]
- Dzudzie Netshisaulu – Coordinator/Administrator – 079 029 7656 – [email protected]
