Lowveld Media among the best at FCJ Excellence Awards
A host of finalists of this year’s AVBOB FCJ Excellence Awards stem from Lowveld Media, with no fewer than 10 individual staff members competing and three of its publications on the list.
Lowveld Media will have 10 staff members competing as finalists at this year’s AVBOB FCJ Excellence Awards, the country’s top awards competition for community media.
Hosted annually, the FCJ Excellence Awards recognise and commend the very best journalists, photographers and media houses in the country’s community media industry.
This year’s competition saw many entries, with a total of 531 entrants. Led by convener André Gouws, it took the panel of 24 judges almost six weeks of hard work to select the finalists in each category.
“While there were slightly fewer entries this year than last year, judges were impressed with the quality of work entered and the deep dedication shown by community journalists across the country,” says Gouws.
Over and above the 10 individual finalists, Lowveld Media publications have also been nominated for a variety of awards. Lowvelder is a finalist in the best back page and best paid newspaper of the year categories, Middelburg Observer is a finalist in the best front page category and Highvelder is a finalist in the best free newspaper of the year category.
The awards ceremony will be held in Johannesburg in August.
These are the individual Lowveld Media finalists:
• Blake Linder (Lowvelder): Best sports writing and best general photography
• Chelsea Pieterse (Lowvelder): Best digital reporting
• Mark Kinnear (Lowvelder): Best headline writing and best sport writing
• Linzetta Calitz (Lowvelder): Best editorial comment and Alet Roux Award for young journalist of the year
• Matthew Handley (Middelburg Observer): Best digital reporting, best editorial comment, best sport writing and Alet Roux Award for young journalist of the year
• Tiisetso Malunga (Middelburg Observer): Best digital reporting
• Zita Goldswain (Witbank News): Best digital reporting, best hard news writing, best headline writing, best human interest writing and best sport photography
• Daleen Naudé (Middelburg Observer): Best hard news writing, best headline writing, best investigative reporting, best sport writing, best news photography and journalist of the year
• Gerhard Rheeder (Middelburg Observer): Best hard news writing
• Wayne van der Walt (Highvelder): Best general photography, best news photography, best sport photography and photographer of the year.
