The staff of the independently owned Zoutnet newspapers, the Zoutpansberger and its sister publication, the Limpopo Mirror, showed once more that they are able to hold their own against larger national publications during the Forum of Community Journalists (FCJ) Excellence Awards for 2016 held at Leriba Hotel & Spa in Centurion the past weekend.
The Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror were two of the three Limpopo-based newspapers that did exceptionally well, the other being the Bulletin in Tzaneen (also an independently owned publication not belonging to any of the conglomerates such as Media 24 and Caxton). The three publications competed against other top publications nationally in the community newspaper industry.
In the category for Best Independent Commercial Newspapers, the Zoutpansberger took top honours once again and won this category for the second consecutive year. The newspaper also won the category for Best Front Pages (Independent Commercial Newspapers) for the second consecutive year, while the Limpopo Mirror was runner-up in both categories. The Limpopo Mirror was also runner-up in the Best Front Pages category during the 2015 excellence awards. "There is a healthy, internal 'competition' between the Limpopo 'twins' – with Zoutpansberger the marginal winner. It has a good letter section and a comprehensive 'What's Happening' column as well as a church diary. The regular motoring supplements are impressive as are the 'Business Talk' sections. There is good coverage of schools and local sport," the judges remarked regarding the best newspaper category. They also commended the Zoutpansberger for its "consistent, neat layout" style for it front pages. The Bulletin also took top honours, winning the best Community Media Grassroots Newspaper category. Of the Bulletin, the judges remarked: "Community journalists sadly miss Francois Aucamp, owner and editor of the Tzaneen Bulletin, who died at the age of 74 in September last year. He edited a well-balanced publication, tailored to meet the needs of its readers."
The Zoutpansberger's editor, Andries van Zyl, again managed to secure a couple of Top-10 finishes in the writing categories. His top achievement was that of being runner-up in the highly contested Journalist of the Year category. This year, the category was won by Daleen Naudé of the Middelburg Observer. Andries was also a Top-10 finalist in the Human Interest category and the Hard News Category.
Andries's colleague, Isabel Venter, also did exceptionally well, being no stranger to the podium. In the Hard News category, Isabel secured a joint overall third place with Ronel van Jaarsveld of Die Pos. Isabel also did very well in the photography section, securing a fifth overall position in the best sports photography category and eighth overall (Top-10) position in the difficult Photographer of the Year category.
From the Bulletin, journalist and photographer Joe Dreyer also did very well. Joe scooped up a first place in the Best General Photograph category, while also being a Top-10 finalist (fourth overall) in the Photographer of the Year category. As for his writing skills, Joe scooped up a second place in the investigative reporting category for his story on the sinkholes in George's Valley.
"Overall, the judges were impressed by what local media journalists present to their communities. The paid newspapers offer great value for money to their readers. The free newspapers are a delightful bonus," the judges said in their overall remarks about the competition.