Ann Crotty of Business Report, has been named as Sanlam's Financial Journalist of the Year for 2005 in Johannesburg this evening, according to a media release from organisers.The award was introduced 31 years ago to acknowledge the indispensable role of financial journalism in society and the high standards required of financial journalism as a career.
The Sanlam Awards for Excellence in Financial Journalism 2005 drew a record number of 138 entries (last year 137) from a record 84 journalists representing 31 (also the most ever) different publications, Internet news services and radio and television stations.
Crotty's winning entries can be read on this website.
Apart from overall winner, Crotty was also the winner in the section Economy and Industry for daily newspapers and Internet news services. And in the section Markets and Companies: Daily newspapers and Internet) she and ex-colleague Renée Bonorchis tied with Alec Hogg of Moneyweb as winner. Hogg also won the Radio section.
The other section winners are:
• Claire Bisseker of Financial Mail, Cape Town (Economy and Industries: Magazines and weekly newspapers),
• Richard Stovin-Bradford of Sunday Times/Business Times (Markets and Companies: Magazines and weekly newspapers),
• Bruce Cameron of Personal Finance (Personal Finance: Newspapers, financial magazines and Internet);
• Helen Ueckermann of Sake-Rapport freelancing for Finesse (Personal Finance: Non-financial publications),
• Siki Mgabadeli, anchor/producer at the SABC’s News@10 (Broadcast media: Television),and
• Ryk van Niekerk, editor of Gauteng Business (the special section Entrepreneurship/Small Business Development).
Bruce Whitfield, regular contributor to Finweek magazine and broadcast journalist on Summit TV and Radio 702 and Cape Talk, distinguished himself with excellent entries in five sections. This feat landed him a special merit award for consistent all-round performance.
The award for the best entry by a journalist with less than three years' experience and entering for the first time was made to Maya Fisher-French, freelancer for Maverick and M&G Money.
The adjudicators were Prof. Anton Harber (founding editor of the Weekly Mail and now the head of the Wits’ School of Journalism and Media Studies), Ulrich Joubert (former chief economist of Transnet and currently at Kruger International), Ms Venete Klein (executive director: retail banking sales and services at Absa), Reg Rumney (former financial journalist/editor, director of BusinessMap and independent consultant) and Peter Vundla (deputy executive chairperson: AMB Holdings).
Sanlam announced that the special section would be replaced by Development Economics for the next competition, to provide some incentive to journalists and their publications to explore the divergent views and perspectives in this regard.
Sanlam’s summer school for financial journalists, established three years ago, will take place from 12 to 16 October. Sanlam will soon invite editors to nominate journalists to participate.
Some of Crotty’s award-winning articles will be assessable tomorrow on Sanlam’s website (www.sanlam.co.za, click the link or About us, and then Financial Journalism competition). Most winning entries from the print media will also feature on Wits’ www.journalism.co.za
Issued by Sanlam Group Communications (021 947-2567)
Enquiries: Frans van Rensburg (021 947-4893 / 082 805 9245)
