Community media a critical facilitator and enabler - Avbob

HESSEQUA NEWS - For the first time since Covid-19 hit the world, the Forum of Community Journalists NPC (FCJ) again hosted its annual awards in person on 14 October in Gauteng.

This year the FCJ gained the support of a new sponsor, Avbob, to host the Avbob FCJ Excellence Awards 2021.

Avbob, through its financial investment in the Forum and industry, showed its acknowledgement of the role of community journalists in society and its support of excellence in journalism.

Carl van der Riet, Avbob CEO, said in his keynote address before presenting the top prizes:

"We at Avbob believe that if we are to achieve the reality of a fair and equitable society and if we are to create a society that is vibrant and flourishing, everyone needs to unite around the single purpose of creating inclusive economic growth for the benefit of our society.

"For us as business, the relationship between the media and broader society is critical on many levels, like holding decision-makers to account, reporting on key societal issues like gender-based violence, and in giving marginalised communities a voice on issues that affect them.

"And this is where the role of the media comes in as a critical facilitator and enabler. The sharing of trusted and reliable information allows communities to unite on issues, express their frustrations and differences, identify solutions and challenges and move forward together," Van der Riet said.

Suid-Kaap Forum's Hugo Redelinghuys behind the scenes at this year's Avbob FCJ Excellence Awards. Redelinghuys is a founder member of the Forum of Community Journalists (FCJ) and has been involved with this newspaper competition since its inception in 1992 when he started it from scratch. It has since grown into the biggest newspaper competition of its kind in Africa.

"We live in an era of fake news and 'alternative facts' with a plethora of unregulated platforms and social media channels designed to push unseen agendas to the unsuspecting consumer. And so, in this time, your role and purpose as journalists to be a source of credible and objective news and information cannot be overstated," he said.

The FCJ's loyal sponsors Media24 and Caxton and also the country's two major newspaper groups, also pledged their support again which enabled the FCJ to host a national seminar.

Journalists from Suid-Kaap Forum's sister newspapers also attended the annual Avbob FCJ Excel-lence Awards in Boksburg. From left: Blake Linder and Chris du Plessis (both Knysna & Plett Herald), Eugene Gunning and Periëtte Nel (both George Herald). Nel, who has previously worked for the Forum, is one of Group Editors' top designers and she is, amongst other things, responsible for the weekly layout of the Forum. Photos: Yolanda van der Stoep

George Herald Journalist Eugene Gunning was awarded 2nd place for his column writing.

Journalist Blake Linder of Knysna-Plett Herald came 5th in the same category.

Knysna-Plett Herald Editor Chris du Plessis and Senior Layout and Graphic Artist Periëtte Nel, made the Top 10 in the Best Front Page category.

Well-known ENCA television presenter and media personality Jeremy Maggs was the master of ceremonies at the awards function. He had the delegates in the palms of his hands.