The Zoutpansberger found its way to the podium three times on Friday, 22 May, as a category winner during the annual MDDA/Sanlam Awards for Local Media 2014 held at Emperor's Palace in Johannesburg. To top it off, the newspaper's news editor, Andries van Zyl, won the coveted Journalist of the Year prize.

This awards ceremony, now in its 24th year, is the biggest of its kind for journalists working at community and local media newspapers in South Africa. Throughout the industry, it is known as the “Oscars” of the community and local media fraternity. For the past five years, the event has been co-sponsored by the Media Diversity and Development Agency (MDDA).

Friday’s event was attended by some 300 journalists and industry leaders from across the country, with the Minister of Communications, Ms Faith Muthambi, delivering the keynote address. This year’s competition again attracted a record number of more than 800 entries from 200 publications nationwide and the 11 judges in the print category really had their work cut out for them.

News editor of the Zoutpansberger Andries van Zyl scooped up three first-place wins during the evening. He was announced overall winner of the hard news and human interest categories in the print section, as well as a top-three finalist in the investigative journalism category. His colleague, Isabel Venter, also saw her name come up as a top-three finalist in the human-interest writing category and she was a runner-up in the news photography category. The Zoutpansberger itself was also a top-three finalist in the best newspaper category for small independent commercial newspapers (established more than five years). A former reporter at the Zoutpansberger’s sister publication, the Limpopo Mirror, Mr Phathutshedzo Luvhengo, was a top-10 finalist in the hard news writing category.

“I could not believe it when I saw my name come up as a top-three finalist in the top award for the evening, that of Journalist of the Year. Moments later, my name flashed as winner and it took me a while to comprehend what had happened,” remarked Van Zyl.

Ironically, said Van Zyl, the award was handed to him by Communications Minister Faith Muthambi. She is a former municipal manager of the Makhado Municipality, and Van Zyl and Muthambi did not always see eye to eye because of his reporting on her controversial term in office. “At least we were able to joke about the irony of it all afterwards and had a couple of laughs,” said Van Zyl.

It was only afterwards that the magnitude of the awards sank in, especially as to what it says about privately owned newspapers that are not part of the bigger conglomerates such as Media 24 and Caxton. “I can say with all certainty that it is the first time ever that a journalist from a Limpopo publication wins the Journalist of the Year award since Sanlam first presented this competition in 1991,” said Mr Hugo Redelinghuys, the former organiser of the Sanlam awards for almost 20 years. “If I am not mistaken, it is also one of the very few times that a newspaper, not forgetting that it is a small, privately owned newspaper, has scooped up so many awards and had so many top-three nominations in the history of the competition. This competition has always been dominated by the bigger media houses,” he added.

The Zoutpansberger is a member of LiN Media, a Limpopo-based umbrella body for privately owned newspapers. LiN Media aims to promote journalistic excellence. Other members include the Limpopo Mirror, Bulletin (Tzaneen), Noordelike Nuus (Mokopane), Die Pos (Bela-Bela), Die Kwêvoël (Thabazimbi), The Beat (Bela-Bela) and Kruger2Canyon (Hoedspruit). “All of these publications have produced winners and finalists at the annual MDDA/Sanlam awards the past few years. Just last year, Herman Steyn from Die Pos walked away with the Press Photographer of the Year award. This says a lot about the quality of the publications within the LiN Media stable,” said Van Zyl. Steyn was a top-three finalist in the photography category for features and portraits once again this year.

“I am honoured in receiving this title, but it is not all of my own doing. This would not have been possible without the support, hard work and input of every single one of my colleagues and friends at the Zoutpansberger. So too did the community play its part in this. If it were not for them and their stories, sometimes at their expense and sadness, I would have had anything to write about. No, this is not my award, it’s an award for every reader who supports what we as a newspaper try to be – a voice for the community,” said Van Zyl.