Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards honour 50 finalists

"We are delighted with the number of entries this year and the number of extra journalists who entered the awards," comments Ingrid Louw, CEO of PDMSA. "The increased interest in the awards shows that our rebranding last year is bearing fruit, especially in the new digital categories. Our relationship with our sponsor, Standard Bank, is now well-established and the quality of the work submitted was most encouraging."

Paula Fray, convenor of the group of judges, was able to reveal the fierce competition for the finalists' list, "Despite a challenging news year, the entries confirm a consistent standard of excellence at the top. We were pleased with the strong competition being offered from coastal newspapers and all the major regions are well represented among the finalists."

Some categories featured a particularly satisfyingly large number of entries; 136 entries in the category of Feature Writing, followed by 101 in the Hard News category. Digital entries were also well received; 30 Multimedia Stories and 12 Multi-Platform stories.

Wilson Mgobhozi, of The Star, was the 2010 winner in the category of Editorial Cartoons and is nominated for this year's award in the same category. He surely spoke for all winners when he recorded his delight at being recognised by his peers:

"Winning an award, any award, is always a special feeling. However, winning a major award such as this is truly a special recognition that the journalists will treasure for the rest of their lives, because of the weight and relevance they hold. I cannot describe the ecstasy I experienced when my name was called out on that cold, rainy night in May 2011. Since then, I've grown to be a more confident, assertive and well-rounded Southern African editorial cartoonist, as I soldier on in this tough, tough yet exciting world of cartoons."

Judging Panel 2013

• Paula Fray (convenor)
  
• Debbie Yazbek
  
• Gail Smith
  
• Henry Jeffreys
  
• Irwin Manoim
  
• Matthew Buckland
  
• Mike Siluma
  
• Peter Sullivan
  
• Pippa Green
  
• Sbu Mpungose
  
• Thabo Leshilo
  
• Tumi Makgabo
  
• Zubeida Jaffer

Finalists

Category 1: Hard News (Judges: This remains one of the more popular categories, but many of the entrants did not meet hard news criteria.)

Category 2: Columns/Editorial (Judges: The judges tried to choose pieces that reflected either original reporting and research, or reflectiveness, or originality, or all three. It was somewhat disappointing that some columnists felt that all they are required to do is to put down an opinion on paper. Nevertheless, it is also heartening that there were many who took the trouble to do original reporting, to think, to reflect, and to focus a piece so well that it was a lively read that taught the reader something they had not known before.)

Category 3: Enterprise News (Judges: It was heartening to see an increase in the number of entrants in this category. This increase is a clear demonstration of a desire by journalists to find a story that no one else is telling.)

Category 4: Feature Writing (Judges: There were 139 entries in this category this year, making it the largest category to be judged, and there was a wide range of work that made it to the final list.)

Category 5: Investigative Journalism (Judges: 2012 was a big political year. As a result, most of the media's focus and resources were centered on the ANC's mid-year national policy conference in Midrand and its fifth-yearly elective conference in Mangaung at the end of the year ... we were pleasantly surprised by the number of entries for this category. We noted, however, that virtually no investigative stories were entered for one of the big stories of the year, namely, the Marikana massacre and the subsequent impact on the country.)

Category 6: Editorial Cartoons (Judges: The editorial cartooning category drew more entries this year and the standard of the drawing has continued to improve. It was good to see entries from young cartoonists from smaller papers, who already show considerable polish. What has proved to be more elusive, this year as in the past, has been a knack for lateral thinking, the ability to go beyond the obvious point.)

Category 7: Graphic Journalism (Judges: World-class work ...)

Category 8: Popular Journalism (Judges: News audiences generally prefer lively, dramatic human-interest stories. These are the ingredients that make popular or tabloid journalism a favourite in the community that it serves. The prevailing trend in this year's entries - a slight departure from popular journalism that seeks spectacle and sensation - is a focus on more traditional news issues.)

Category 9: News Photographs (Judges: It was a violent year, in pictures. Marikana, De Doorns, Grabouw, race riots. Xenophobia, service delivery protests ... not to mention ordinary crime. They were all there, in superb images captured by brave photographers across South Africa. Stunning pictures, to use an overworked adjective, but these really did stun with graphic depictions of man's repeated inhumanity to man.)

Category 10: Feature Photographs (Judges: Feature photography brings out the best in photographers. This year saw a good pool of entries with a very high standard.)

Category 11: Sports Photographs (Judges: There were not enough entries in the sports picture category - strange, for a country as sports crazy as South Africa. However, good images were submitted of rugby, soccer, wrestling and, for a change, bodybuilding.)

Category 12: Presentation (layout and design) (Judges: Newspaper design has been dominated in recent years by slick, template-driven newspapers which look good but fail to respond to the immediacy of the news. This year has proved to be a pleasant exception: the winning page and a number of near misses all demonstrated an ability to project the news.)

Category 13: Multi-Platform (Judges: This year's revised criteria provided space for the innovation currently underway in the sector. The categories were changed to encourage convergence and collaboration between print and online, to produce a better, more compelling story and cater for new audiences; and to encourage a high standard in multimedia journalism, which is increasingly being adopted by the print industry. There was an increase in the number of entries as well as in the standard of the entries.)

Category 14: Multimedia (Judges: It is essential that multimedia entries must be broadcast quality video that can stand on their own with high production value and editing. There was an increase in multimedia entries this year from a range of newspapers.)

Category 15: SA Story of the Year - to be announced on 8 May
Category 16: Rising Star of the Year - to be announced on 8 May
Category 17: Newspaper Journalist of the Year - to be announced on 8 May
Category 18: Allan Kirkland Soga Lifetime Achiever Award - to be announced on 8 May