The National Press Club has awarded Jake White and the Springboks as
its Newsmaker of the Year for 2007.
They were named as the winners of this annual award earlier this year,
based on the grounds of impact, news value and the media attention
they received in both print and electronic media during 2007.
National Press Club Chairman Patrick Hlahla said at the award function
at Unisa in Pretoria today that Jake White and the Springboks made
the headlines very regularly in 2007.
“This culminated in the Springboks becoming the best team on the
International Rugby Board’s rankings when they beat England 15-6 in
the World Cup final at the Stade de France on Saturday, 20 October
2007.
“Furthermore the Springboks passed the 90-point mark in the board’s
rankings for the very first time in the past more than four years. In doing
so they became only the third team to reach the milestone. The All
Blacks and England are the only other teams that have achieved this.”
Monitoring South Africa conservatively calculates local media
coverage in terms of advertising value equivalent of the Springbok win
during that time at well over R42 million, with the total of print and
electronic mentions that appeared at more than 3 000.
“However, the value of the Springbok’s victory in terms of nation
building in South Africa is immeasurable. By far the greatest portion of
the entire South African population supported White and the
Springboks as a truly national team. Seeing the Cabinet, members of
parliament and thousands of citizens welcoming the Boks back – all
dressed in Springbok jerseys – will remain in one’s mind for a very long
time,” Hlahla said.
The President of the ANC, Jacob Zuma, was the strongest contender
among a number of other nominations, which included the late
Sheldean Human, Jackie Selebe and the ANC conference in
Polokwane.
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The National Press Club has named Newsmakers of the Year for more
than twenty years and previous recipients include former President
Thabo Mbeki, Charlize Theron, Zachie Achmat and the Treatment
Action Campaign, the South African Rand, Jacob Zuma, Helen Zille
and a host of other prominent South Africans.
(Ends)
Issued by: Martin van Niekerk
Junxion Communications
Tel 012 804 8812 / 083 447 4864
For: Patrick Hlahla
Chairman, National Press Club
Tel 083 482 6309
Date: Thursday, 4 December 2008
