Herald Reporter
THREE journalists from The Herald have been named as finalists in the 2013 Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards.
Mkhululi Ndamase, Shaanaaz de Jager and Karen van Rooyen were named as finalists for their coverage of the "St Francis Inferno", during which scores of homes were gutted and razed by a massive fire at the resort.
The story, which made national headlines, was also reported on by The Times journalist Graeme Hosken, who joins the Herald trio as a finalist in the hard news category of the awards.
A total of 101 entries from across the country were received in the news category. Only four were short-listed.
Judges' panel convener Paula Fray said there had been fierce competition for the finalists' list
"Despite a challenging news year, the entries confirm a consistent standard of excellence at the top. We were pleased with the strong competition being offered from coastal newspapers, and all the major regions are well represented among the finalists,'' Fray said.
The awards will be presented in Johannesburg on May 8.
The Herald editor Heather Robertson said the fact that the newspaper had been chosen for the short list ahead of almost 100 entries – many of them from large national publications – showed that the paper could compete with the best.
"The willingness of our reporters, and night production staff in particular, to go the extra mile to cover the news as it happens and still make it relevant for the next day is something of which I am immensely proud."
