The Government of National Unity (GNU) has been named the 2024 National Press Club Newsmaker of the Year.

This venerable accolade is a testament to the significant media coverage and the profound impact the GNU has had the past year.

Club Acting Chairperson Antoinette Slabbert says, “The newsmaker award represents the dominant themes of the 2024 news cycle, and the GNU came out tops in 2024 from a wide array of nominations we received.”

This prestigious award also honours newsmakers who have made a notable impact through their actions and decisions.

The selection process involves nominations and motivations submitted by club members, with the final decision resting with the club’s executive committee.

As Slabbert aptly puts it, “The Government of National Unity has been at the forefront of national discourse, driving pivotal changes and capturing the attention of the nation. Their extensive media coverage and the consequential impact on our society makes them a deserving recipient of this year’s award.”

The National Press Club, which stands as the largest association of its kind in South Africa, representing dedicated working journalists and communication professionals, has recognised the Government of National Unity for its remarkable contributions to shaping the national narrative.

The Newsmaker Award will be presented to them at the prestigious gala dinner, which will take place on a date to be announced. During this event, the Club will also announce the winner of the 2024 Journalist of the Year Award.

The National Press Club is synonymous with the Newsmaker of the Year award. The newsmakers that the club has recognised over the years are a pantheon of South African legends: the Springboks, former presidents Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki, President Jacob Zuma, Hollywood star Charlize Theron, #FeesMustFall and Eskom.

Organisations and companies keen on sponsorship partnerships with the National Press Club can get in touch with our office via e-mail at: secretariat@nationalpressclub.co.za

For more information, please contact:
Antoinette Slabbert: Acting Chairperson
E-mail: antoinette@nationalpressclub.co.za
Mobile: 082 320 2153

Mosidi Mokgele: General Manager
E-mail: mosidi@nationalpressclub.co.za
Mobile: 082 447 4238

Image:

OpenAI. (2025). Symbolic Image of South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU) as the 2024 Newsmaker of the Year. (AI -Generated image).

The National Press Club and Unisa, in association with the Qoboza family, hosted the 14th Percy Qoboza Memorial on Wednesday night at Unisa. This lecture marked the 47 th anniversary of Black Wednesday, which commemorates the day in 1977 when the apartheid regime silenced independent voices by closing certain publications.

The memorial lecture is held annually in commemoration of 19 October 1977, the date on which the apartheid government banned The World, Weekend World and other publications. The lecture also honours the late Percy Qoboza, editor of The World and later of City Press newspapers. Percy Peter Tshidiso Qoboza was an influential black South African journalist, author, and outspoken critic of the apartheid government in South Africa during the early periods of world recognition of the problems evident in the racially divided land. His eloquent editorials did much to challenge white South Africans who were shielded from the horrors of apartheid as experienced by millions of black South Africans at the hands of the minority government This year’s lecture was delivered by a media executive and academic Phathiswa Magopeni under the theme under the theme “Freedom of Expression in the Digital Era”. Magopeni is a seasoned media personality, an expert in the communications field, she was the head of news and current affairs at the SABC in 2018.

Download the speech here.