Namibia Media Awards 2008
The Namibian Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, MISA Namibia, officially launched the 5th Namibia Media Awards 2008 on 30 June 2008 at a press conference held at the Fürstenhof Hotel in Windhoek .
The aim of the launch was to officially announce the upcoming Media Awards in October, to explain the entry procedures in detail, as well as to announce the names of this year's judges.
The launch was attended by members of the media as well as this year's sponsors, which include, Bank Windhoek, Shell, FNB, Bank Namibia , Namcor and UNESCO amongst others.
The launch follows a series of successful awards, which honoured journalists for their hard and dedicated work in reporting fairly, accurately and clearly on issues that are of concern to the public.
“Through these awards, we're trying to promote an independent media, encourage fair, clear and accurate reporting necessary in a democratic country,” MISA Namibia board-member, Sandra Williams said in her speech at the launch.
“This year the categories have been decreased from thirteen categories to ten with the removal of three categories such as the Best Columnist, Arts and Culture Journalism Award as well as the category for Education and Youth Development”, she added.
The awards cater for print, photography and broadcasting journalists.
As part of its aim, MISA Namibia, the only body responsible for promoting and maintaining media independence in the country has taken the initiative of awarding Namibian media practitioners for their hard and outstanding work since 2003.
The aim of the award is to recognize and celebrate excellence in contemporary Namibian journalism, and by so doing, promote a critical independent and investigative press as the lifeblood of democracy.
By honouring exemplary work by journalist, it is hoped that the level of professional journalism will be raised in serving and protecting the rights of citizens, to act as agents of reconciliation and nation building as well as national reconstruction and development. The Namibia Media Awards are considered to be the most selective and prestigious honour for print and broadcast media journalists in the country.
Entries for the awards are open as from 30 June 2008 until the 29 August 2008 followed by the announcements of this year's finalist on 17 October 2008. The official award of the Namibia Media Awards 2008 Gala Ceremony will take place late October, early November 2008.
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PRINT JOURNALISM:
- Ms Ferial Haffajee, Editor-in-Chief of the Mail & Guardian, Johannesburg .
- Ms Zarina Geloo, Media Consultant and former Chief Reporter of The Times of Zambia, Lusaka .
- Mr Fred Mwilima, Lecturer in Media Studies and former senior journalist, University of Namibia .
- Ms Ana Shivute, Ministry of Environment and Tourism media liaison officer, former New Era and Nampa reporter
PHOTOJOURNALISM:
- Mr Tony Figueira, Seasoned photographer and founder/owner of Stuido7, Windhoek .
- Mr Djunior Svane, Lecturer in Photojournalism and author of photography books, Polytechnic of Namibia.
- Lawrence Thompson , Television Producer for Location Challenge in Zambia
- Simon Wilkie, Director and majority shareholder of Mubasen Film & Video Productions (Pty) Ltd.
BROADCASTING AWARDS:
- Mr Nahum Gorelick, former Director-General of the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation, and now well-known businessman.
- Robyn Tyson, Media Studies lecturer at University of Namibia
- Ben Mulongeni, Director of planning and development at the Khomas Regional office, former Director General at Namibian Broadcasting Corporation
- Ms Unomengi Kauapirura, Journalism and Communication Technology lecturer at Polytechnic of Namibia
- Ms Natasha Tibinyane, freelance writer and media trainer
