Gender and Media Award Winners

Media practitioners have hailed Gender Links for initiating awards that honour journalists and media institutions for good practices and policies on HIV/AIDS and Gender. Some journalists are also calling on GL to expand these honours to recognise team work and consistency in the production of gender related media.

Gender Links partnered with MISA, Panos, SafAids, GEMSA and UNAIDS to spearhead the Media Action Plan on HIV/AIDS and gender, and institutions were invited to submit nominations for examples of good HIV and gender policies. The Voice newspaper of Botswana won this year’s award, followed by Namibia’s Katutura Community Radio station.

According to the judges, The Voice, a tabloid, had shown outstanding leadership in backing Botswana’s national policy on HIV/AIDS by coming up with a comprehensive workplace policy. They were also impressed by the paper’s creative marketing strategy and consistent coverage of a variety of topics. The paper’s editor, Pamela Dube, said she was humbled by the award.

The judges said Katutura Community Radio had also shown “exemplary leadership” creating awareness on HIV/AIDS with the station’s manager Sandra Williams leading from the front.

There were six entries from Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Swaziland. Last year Malawi’s Broadcasting Corporation won the award, followed by The Times of Zambia. Apart from cash prizes, the winners will benefit from a two week-training programme.

This year’s gender media awards attracted 62 entries; 38 of them written by women, who made six of the 10 final winners. Winners came from Malawi, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Photojournalism was a new category in the awards.
Zimbabwean journalist Trevor Davies is the winner in that category.

“I am pleased that visual communication is being recognised in these awards. So many awards focus on stories yet pictures can enhance or spoil a story,” an elated Davies said after receiving his award.

He added, “Journalism is moving quickly now towards an emphasis on the visual so this award will encourage all journalists to consider how they can enhance their storytelling works with image making.”

Speaking at the awards ceremony, guest speaker, South Africa’s Mister of Agriculture Lulu Xingwana, hailed the awards saying they recognised journalists that bother to check and investigate while writing their stories. “These are our gems.”

She described the standard of the entries as high and said the articles covered a wide range of issues. The minister said there was need for more women’s voices in the media and said the current practice whereby women are portrayed as objects by big businesses needs to stop.

“Our citizens must be active consumers of media messages,” Xingwana said, adding that there was need to empower more male journalists to venture into gender reporting. One of the judges in the institutional awards category, veteran journalist Francis Mdlongwa, described the majority of the entries as strong supported by well articulated reports on policies put in place. Some, however, were weakened by lack of critical information.

The Swazi Observer of Swaziland came up for special commendation. In an earlier interview, Mdlongwa encouraged upcoming journalists to hunger and thirst for awards.
“Awards make your career and separate you from the ordinary journalist,” he said.

Brian Ligomeka from Malawi won the features award in the print category. He said the award was a challenge and would motivate him to do even better. “I am a news editor. Recently I introduced a full page for gender coverage and this means I have to continue with the work that I have started,” he said.

Honour Roll

Print: News
Swart’s victory in sex-pest case a boost for women
Edwin Naidu, South Africa

Print: Feature
New magic? HIV+ mum but HIV negative baby
Brian Ligomeka, Malawi

Print: Opinion and commentary
Pro-active initiatives increasing girls’ university enrollment
Bestina A. Magutu, Tanzania

Best practices: Gender and Economic reporting
Climate change, water crisis
Raphael Mweninguwe, Malawi

Best practices: Sustained reporting on a particular issue
Issue: HIV prevention trials in Southern Africa
Kristy Siegfried, South Africa

Best practices: HIV and AIDS
The trials and tribulations of community involvement in research
Kanya Ndaki, South Africa

Best practices: Political participation
Pro-active gender campaign for Malawi elections
Daniel Manyowa, Malawi

Category: Photojournalism
Name of photo: Maasai men braiding women’s hair
Trevor Davies, Zimbabwe

Television: News
Domestic violence
Gillian Pillay, South Africa

Television: Feature
Name: AIDS: Living together
Avinash Bissoondoyal, Mauritius