Nation Media Group journalists win continental awards

Three Nation Media Group journalists have received continental awards for their reporting on development issues in Africa.

Michael Mosota, Eunice Kilonzo and Verah Okeyo were among 16 journalists recognised at the inaugural Zimeo Excellence in Media Awards by the African Media Initiative held Thursday evening in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Mr Mosota and Ms Kilonzo received a joint award in the data journalism category for a story published in the Daily Nation and titled "Tobacco war gets graphic" on tobacco use in the country and its consequences.

Ms Okeyo, on the other hand, received the Dr Ameena Gurib-Fakim (president of Mauritius) Award for Excellence in Media: Science Reporting for her story titled "Medics prescribe measures to tame rising drug abuse" and published in the Business Daily, a Nation Media Group publication.

South Africa led the winners list with four awardees, followed by Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Nigeria with three each.

The competition received more than 500 entries from print, broadcast and online journalists.

The other winners of the first Zimeo Excellence in Media Awards are:

Zimeo Award for Excellence in Media: Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals Coverage, won by Suy Kahofi Jischvi of Abidjan Live News, Cote d’Ivoire

Story title: "Femmes, Faites-Vous Depister Pour Sauver Votre Bebe"

Cherif Sy Award for Excellence in Media: Peace and security Reporting, won by Boowurosigue Hyacinthe Sanou of L’observateur Paalga, Burkina Faso

Story title: "Nuit Du 29 Octobre 2014: Nous Etions A La Chambre 143"

Open Society Foundation Award for Excellence in Media: Technology Reporting, won by Jay Caboz of Forbes International, South Africa

Story title: "A rat race against death"

Zimeo Award for Excellence in Media: Infrastructure Reporting, won by Anthony Akaeze of TELL magazine, Nigeria

Story title: "Lagos ticking time-bomb"

The Rockefeller Foundation Award for Excellence in Media: Agriculture and Food Security Reporting, won by Geoffery Kamadi of African Business magazine, Kenya

Story title: "Greater autonomy in store for Kenya’s farmers"

Zimeo Award for Excellence in Media: Education Reporting, won by Stephen Ssenkaaba of New Vision, Uganda

Story title: "Children with disabilities left out of Universal Primary Education"

Zimeo Award for Excellence in Media: Energy Reporting, won by Oketola Adedayo Eriye of the The Punch, Nigeria

Story title: "Power failure: Nigerians burn N17.5tn fuel on generators in five years"

Nation Media Group Award for Excellence in Media: Maritime Economy Reporting, won by Jay Caboz of Forbes Africa magazine, South Africa

Story title: "The dead port that rose again"

African Wildlife Foundation Award for Excellence in Media: Environment and Conservation Reporting, won by Fousenni Saibou of Kanal FM, Togo

Story title: "Dossier assèchement des cours d’eau au Togo"

Ford Foundation Award for Excellence in Media: Gender Reporting, won by Eugene Nforngwa Ndiboti of the Standard Tribune newspaper, Cameroon

Story title: "The broken lives of Akwaya’s money"

Ecobank Award for Excellence in Media: Health Reporting, won by Yolandi Groenewald and Sipho Masondo of City Press, South Africa 

Story title: "Dirty water killed our babies"

African Development Bank Award for Excellence in Media: Natural Resources Reporting, won by Yao Ossene Ouattara of infoduzanzan.com, Cote d’Ivoire

Story title: "Bondoukou: Les Realites Insoutenables de L’Exploitation Miniere" ("Unsustainable realities of mining")

United Bank for Africa Award for Excellence in Media: Business and Finance Reporting, won by Akinyole Adebayo Apollos of The Punch, Nigeria

Story title: "Bittersweet banking: World of Nigeria’s mobile traditional bankers"

The Rockefeller Foundation Award for Excellence in Media: Youth Reporting, won by Stephen Nartey of Joy FM, Ghana

Story title: "Narcotic schoolboys"

The awards also recognized institutions that support the development of media across Africa, and media organizations that adopt and apply best practices in governance and leadership. These include:

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation Award for Excellence in Media: Governance and Leadership, won by the Mail & Guardian Online, South Africa

The Maria Kiwanuka Award for Excellence in Media: African public institutions that support Media, won by Support and Media Development Fund, Cote d’Ivoire.