The National Press Club Pretoria has awarded President Jacob Zuma as the Newsmaker of the Year for 2009. He was announced as the winner of this annual award earlier this year. National Press Club Chairperson, Yusuf Abramjee, said at a formal banquet at the CSIR in Pretoria on 19 March that it took a lot of discussion, deliberation and even debate amongst members of the National Press Club to reach a decision. “There is no doubt that 2009 was President Jacob Zuma’s year. He dominated the centimetre column space in the print media and much of the airwaves in the electronic media,” said Abramjee. “Corruption charges against him were dropped in the early part of the year. He then walked the streets canvassing, and millions voted. He won, celebrated, were sworn in, addressed the nation, appointed a cabinet, got down to work, visited areas affected by poor service delivery, launched the Presidential hotline, appointed a new National Police Commissioner and other top government officials, received many foreign visitors, visited several foreign countries, engaged leaders from all spheres of society, NGO’s and ordinary South Africans. He made the headlines, as some will say, for good and bad reasons,” he said. Abramjee said President Jacob Zuma was labelled a Peoples’ President by some – just months after taking office. He complimented Zuma for engaging the media continuously. “This award is made on the grounds of impact, news value and media attention,” he said. Zuma is the fourth head of state to be named newsmaker. Previous recipients were F W de Klerk, Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki. In 2005, Zuma was named by the press club as Newsmaker of the Year when he was Deputy President of the ANC. At the time, he was entangled in legal battles. According to Monitoring SA, Zuma was mentioned no less than 22 300 times in the South African print media, nearly 33 000 times in the broadcast media and over 12 500 times on online media during 2009. Abramjee called on the media fraternity to continue to report accurately, fairly, independently, without fear or favour, without bias, and boldly. “We have seen over the past few weeks – an escalation in name calling and attacks on individuals personally. This is very unfortunate. The name-calling must stop. While the media tackle and expose issues, challenge, and highlight what is right and what is wrong, let’s all act with dignity. It is wrong to refer to President Zuma in such demeaning ways, as did some British media reports recently. In the same vein, when spokespeople and some organisations call journalists “mobs, gangs, criminals, sick and mentally ill” we need to condemn it in the strongest possible terms. These individuals and organisations who resort to intimidating the media, need to be brought to order.” He also said that reckless and irresponsible allegations that reporters sleep with politicians to get stories, are corrupt or criminals must be proven, or those that make the allegations must rather keep quiet.

The press club also announced its National Press Club – North- West University Journalist of the Year awards on the night. Other nominees for the 2009 newsmaker title included ANC Youth League President, Julius Malema, athlete Caster Semenya and ex Springbok rugby captain Joost van der Westhuizen. Over the years the club has recognised and awarded many newsmakers. Previous recipients also included Hollywood star Charlize Theron, Zachie Achmat and the Treatment Action Campaign, the late Hansie Cronjé and various other sporting personalities, the DA’s Helen Zille, ESKOM and Cope. High resolution photos are available. (Ends) Issued by: Martin van Niekerk Junxion Communications Tel 012 804 8812 / 083 447 4864 For: Yusuf Abramjee Chairman, National Press Club Tel 082 44 4203 Date: Friday, 19 March 2010

The National Press Club-North West University Journalist of the Year 2009 is Joy Summers of Carte Blanche. She was also awarded as the Television – In depth features journalist of the year. The awards were made at the annual National Press Club Glenrand MIB Newsmaker of the Year function. National Press Club Chairperson Yusuf Abramjee said the National Press Club’s executive committee decided to re-introduce the awards and to secure a sponsorship so that they can encourage excellent journalism and communication and reward excellence. The winners in the other categories were in Graeme Hosken from Pretoria News in the Print News category; Theane Calitz from Beeld in the Photography category; Cathy Mohlalana from Talk Radio 702, Eyewitness News in the Radio News category; Liela Magnus from SABC in the Radio In depth features category; Megan Raubenheimer from e.tv in the Television Camera Person category. Adrian Lackey from SARS was awarded the Media Liaison Officer of the year. Members of the National Press Club nominated their favourite Media Liaison Officers. The executive committee choose the winner in this category. Abramjee said Adrian won because he is always available for media comment and very helpful towards the media. “We looked for someone with outstanding communication skills, accessibility, helpfulness and the like.” The entries were judged by a panel of various independents experts and academics. Pippa Green is Associate Professor and Head of the Journalism Department at the University of Pretoria. She is a member of the Nieman Selection Committee as well as the SABC board. She has been a journalist and a writer for the past 25 years. Gilbert Mokwatedi has 15 years of experience in radio journalism, journalism training – specialising in radio news and current affairs – media relations and corporate communications. He has worked for media organisations such as the South African Press Association and the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

The National Press Club has called on authorities to immediately withdraw the section 205 subpoenas issued against etv group news editor, Ben Said, and reporter Mpho Lakaje following the screening of interviews with two self-confessed criminals. In a statement, chairperson of the National Press Club, Yusuf Abramjee said: “There has been lot of discussion and debate since these subpoenas were served. Editors and journalists have also expressed mixed views. “The intention with the subpoenas was to force the journalists to reveal the identities of the men who threatened to rob tourists during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The alleged middle-man apparently took his own life and one of the two men featured on etv was arrested on Thursday. The Hawks publically confirmed that they know who the second person is. “In view of these developments, there is absolutely no reason why Said and Lakaje should be hauled before a court. What information do the police need? The cops have it. “We call on the Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa and National Police Commissioner, Bheki Cele, to immediately withdraw the 205 subpoenas. “On another issue, there is still an on-going debate as to whether etv should have screened the interviews with the two criminals who clearly taunted police and threatened violence. That’s a separate debate. But let’s also not forget that we enjoy media freedom in South Africa. Whether the screening was in the public interest or not is also to be considered. “There are certainly some lessons for us in the media out of the etv story. One of the big issues is whether or not we give blanket assurances to our sources before knowing the exact content and outcome of the interview. How do you protect the identity of someone, who for example, is going to plant a bomb…You cannot. Every case must be considered on merit and we need to be cautious going forward,” said Abramjee. The Press Club said it was “vital” for the police leadership to engage the South African National Editors’ Form (SANEF) and other media groups urgently to discuss section 205 in view of a long-standing agreement between SANEF and government on the use of this law against reporters.

NATIONAL PRESS CLUB SECRETARIAT Tel: +27 (0) 12 804 5199 ● Fax: +27 (0)12 804 6693 ● e-mail: info@junxionpr.co.za Chairperson: Yusuf Abramjee *e-mail: yusuf@702.co.za (0) 011 506 3470 *cell 082 4414 203