History
CNN African Journalist of the Year: A History
Working with Edward to launch the first competition were Gary Streiker, then CNN Nairobi Bureau Chief, the late esteemed photographer Mohamed Amin and the late Esom Alintah, then Secretary General of the African Business Roundtable. Salim Amin, the son of the late Mohamed Amin, sponsors the Mohamed Amin Photographic Award, recognising the work of the photographers on the continent.
The first Awards Ceremony took place in Ghana on August 11, 1995. The Guest of Honour was the late Ashanti King Otumfuo Opoku-Ware II. There were 7 winners that year from Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. No Awards Ceremony was held in 1996 due to the death of Mohamed Amin.
The second ceremony was held in Johannesburg in March 1997. The Guest of Honour was then Deputy President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki. There were 10 winners from 7 countries.
In 1998 SABC became a partner in the competition, which was expanded to introduce specific categories. A total of 138 entrants participated in the competition that year. The 9 winners were from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. There were 5 print winners, 3 radio and 1 television. The Guest of Honour was Justice Richard Goldstone.
The following year, 1999, there were 10 finalists from 180 entrants across 15 nations. The winners were from Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria and South Africa.
The fifth ‘CNN African Journalist of the Year Competition’ garnered a considerable increase in both the number of entrants and entries - 288 entrants with 1159 entries. There were 12 winners, 6 in the print category, 5 in television and 1 in radio. They came from Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The Free Press Africa Award was introduced that year. The category was established to recognise journalistic courage and integrity and reward a body of work enhancing the cause of media freedom. This Award went to Brian Hungwe working in Zimbabwe and Sorious Samura who covered the fighting in Sierra Leone. President Chissano of Mozambique was the Guest of Honour. He flew into Johannesburg and spoke about the devastation in Mozambique caused by the flooding.
March 2001, the ‘CNN African Journalist of the Year Competition’ received 539 entrants with 1,954 entries. Entries were received from first-time participants such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Twelve specific categories were available, including the introduction of two new ones: Arts & Culture and E-commerce/Internet.
In March 2002, the competition was open to Francophone Africa for the first time, prompting entries from even more African nations (26 in all) and finalists came from 8 different countries. The winner in the Francophone category came from Cote D’Ivoire.
The 2003 CNN African Journalist of the Year competition saw the addition of the South African Airways Tourism Award. The competition received entries from 32 countries and finalists were from 9 nations throughout Africa.
2004 saw the expansion of the Francophone category to include two awards, namely The General News Awards in Print/Photographic and TV/Radio. Winners were from Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso and the Free Press Africa Award went to Lokumu Kabamba from Gabon.
2005 celebrated the 10th anniversary of the competition, renamed the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year competition, recognising the new partnership with MultiChoice. A Portuguese speaking category was also launched that year. 2005’s ceremony was hosted in Nairobi, Kenya and the competition received 630 entrants from 40 countries in Africa. ‘The Highlights Programme’ of the Award ceremony was broadcast in 20 countries across the continent plus the UK and US.
In 2006, the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Award moved to Maputo, Mozambique. The competition again garnered record numbers, with over 1530 entries from across 43 countries. A new category was added, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Award for HIV/Aids Journalism. In 2006, the Finalists’ Programme consisted of a two day media forum focusing on journalistic issues on the continent, culminating in the Awards Ceremony highlighting excellence in African journalism. President Armando Guebuza of Mozambique attended the ceremony and made a keynote speech as well as presenting the overall award to the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2006. ‘The Highlights Programme’ of the Award Ceremony was broadcast in 39 countries across the African Continent and also in the UK, the US and on RTP Africa.
In 2007, the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Award will be held in Cape Town, South Africa. The competition, now in its 12th year, received an even higher number of entries than the previous year, 1670 from 40 countries across the continent including French and Portuguese speaking Africa. The event is held in association with South African Airways and in collaboration with The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and is sponsored by a number of leading African companies. A new category was added for 2007, The MIH Print Media Award – Best Feature in a Magazine, taking the number of categories to 16. The Finalists’ Programme will include a Media Forum attended by journalists from across the continent and an interactive panel discussion on issues such as HIV/AIDS: Beyond the Public Debate – Human Rights, Gender Equity and Good Governance.
CNN AFRICAN JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
1995 Joanna Mantey Ghana
1997 Ken Opala Kenya
1998 Newton Kanhema Zimbabwe
1999 Declan Okpalaeke Nigeria
2000 Jacques Pauw and Adil Bradlow South Africa
Joint winners with
Wanja Njunguna-Githinji Kenya
2001 Jacques Pauw South Africa
Joint winner with
Samantha Rogers South Africa
2002 Susan Purén South Africa
2003 Ibiba DonPedro Nigeria
CNN MULTICHOICE AFRICAN JOURNALIST 2004/5/6
2004 Peter Murimi Kenya
2005 Angelo Kinyua Kenya
2006 Shola Oshunkeye Nigeria
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