The National Press Club is calling all members to enter the annual National Press Club-North West University Journalist of the Year competition.

Thousands of rands are up for grabs and an exciting new category, Editor of the Year, have been introduced this year. Chairperson, Yusuf Abramjee said: “The club reintroduced the journalism awards last year so that we can encourage excellent journalism and communication and reward excellence. They were extremely popular last year and we expect even more entries this year.”

“The panel of judges will comprise of various independent experts and academics,” said Abramjee. “We appeal to journalists, photographers, presenters, producers and MLO’s to enter the competition.”

“The awards for 2010 will be presented at the annual Newsmaker of the Year function,” said Abramjee.

The competition will consist of 11 categories. In the print section: News, Features, and Photography and in Electronic media section: Radio news, Radio in-depth features, TV news, TV in-depth features, TV cameraperson and Online media.

Journalist can nominate their Editor of the Year. The winner in this category will receive a weekend break. “We are looking for an editor who is professional, efficient, and bold and someone who displays outstanding leadership and excellence,” said Abramjee. Jos Charle, deputy chairperson and an executive editor at Pretoria News added: “it must be an editorial leader who has also acted in a fearless, innovative manner and brought vitality to the industry”. There will also be again be a category for Media Liaison officers to enter (they can also be nominated). “For the MLO of the Year we are looking at outstanding communication skills, accessibility, helpfulness and the like,” said Press Club PRO, Tanya de Vente-Bijker.

The executive committee will choose the winner in the MLO of the Year and the Editor of the Year categories.

In every category the winner will receive a cash prize sponsored by the North-West University. From the nine categories (excluding the media liaison officer and editor of the categories) an overall winner will be selected.

The National Press Club � North-West University overall Journalist of the Year will win a cash prize of R10 000 sponsored by the North-West University. “We are delighted that the university has come on board as a partner. It is a yet another indication of their commitment to recognizing excellence.”

The guidelines and the rules of the competition will be circulated to all newsrooms shortly.

The National Press Club has called on government to appoint a fully-fledged commission of enquiry to investigate the SABC as a matter of urgency.

This follows a scalding South Gauteng High Court judgment on Monday, in which former SABC News head, Snuki Zikalala has been accused of manipulating coverage with a political motive and of effective pre-censorship.

The ruling found that the embattled public broadcaster violated its license conditions through Zikalala�s acts and was also guilty of “a dishonest attempt to cover up the situation.”

The judgment also accuses Zikalala of “unlawfully manipulating” news items on Zimbabwe�s 2005 elections and blacklisting certain commentators to silence critical voices.

The press club says the rot has plagued the SABC for far too long and it believes the latest allegations are only the tip of the iceberg.

Press club chairman Yusuf Abramjee, said the judgment was of “serious concern” and needed to be fully investigated. “We applaud the court for ordering the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa to reopen its investigation into alleged political interference at the SABC, after an appeal by the Freedom of Expression Institute, but we need more. We now need government to appoint a Commission of Enquiry.

“The South African public needs answers and rightfully demands an honest, clean and transparent public broadcaster.

“The situation at the SABC remains a concern as the ructions at Auckland Park continue. The good, bad and ugly � both past and present � needs to be laid on the table once and for all.”

Abramjee said if this does not happen, the public broadcaster would continue to be bogged down by ongoing allegations and denials.

He said current and former employees need to come forward and play open cards, adding that it was also necessary for Zikalala to come out publicly and respond to the court�s decision.

“We expect him to be honest and open. While there are many hard working, committed and efficient SABC staffers, the corporation must get rid of the rotten apples once and for all, as it is vital for the public broadcaster to cover news accurately, fairly, balanced and objectively. We need media freedom and transparency.

Abramjee said the SABC was an important platform with powerful mediums, but it continues to deteriorate at the expense of the South African public. “They need credible editors and journalists and not people with political baggage. It�s time for a total cleanup.”

The National Press Club has also expressed concern that the SABC continues to be a topic of news, while it should be producing news.

Sepp Blatter, FIFA President and Danny Jordaan, CEO of the Local Organising Committee have been named the National Press Club – Glenrand M-I-B Newsmakers of the Year for 2010 for the successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

National Press Club Chairperson Yusuf Abramjee says the 2010 FIFA World Cup was in the media almost every day in 2010 and it was on the lips of most South Africans for many months.

“South Africa was the first African country to host a football world cup tournament. Ten stadiums were built, of which five were brand new iconic stadiums, more than three million spectators and 400 000 international visitors visited South Africa in two months.

“Government spent about R600 billion on infrastructure development, much of this for world cup related projects and invested R170 billion into the transport system in five years from 2005 to 2010.

“The South African Police Force spent R640 million on the deployment of 41 000 officers specifically for the event, resulting in the safest tournament ever. And the word vuvuzela was taken up in the dictionary,” says Abramjee.

According to Grant Thornton the 2010 FIFA World Cup contributed R55 billion to the South African economy between 2006 and 2010, generated 415 400 jobs and contributed R19,3 billion in income tax to government.

“The award is made on the grounds of impact, news value and media attention,” says Abramjee.

According to Monitoring SA the 2010 FIFA World Cup was mentioned no less than 20 700 times in the South African print media, more than 10 300 times in the broadcast media and over 16 700 times on online media, just around the time of the tournament.

“Over two million tweets were recorded during the tournament. The most tweets ever recorded during a single event were at the end of the final match.

“The nation rallied behind Bafana Bafana and we wore our football shirts with pride. The world cup created much excitement, unity and patriotism. South Africa was taken to the world. Who will ever forget the scenes on the streets of Sandton and other towns and cities when, two days before the opening world cup game, tens of thousands of people converged to support Bafana Bafana.

“The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the biggest support ever for any sport in the history of South Africa,” says Abramjee. “The tournament brought lots of excitement, fun and a great vibe and made us proud South Africans. Blatter and Jordaan and their teams did us proud.”

The National Press Club is synonymous with the Newsmaker of the Year award. Over the years the club has recognised and awarded many newsmakers. Previous recipients include President Zuma and former presidents FW de Klerk, Mandela and Mbeki. Other newsmakers include Hollywood star Charlize Theron, Zachie Achmat and the Treatment Action Campaign, the late Hansie Cronj� and various other sporting personalities, Helen Zille, ESKOM and Cope. A date for the award function will be announced soon, where the winner of the National Press Club � North-West University Journalist of the Year competition will also be announced.