The National Press Club, the largest club representing journalists and communication professionals, has named Eskom and 2022 Newsmaker of the Year.
This annual award, created by the National Press Club since 1980, honors the Newsmaker of the calendar year based on the amount of media coverage received as well as influence.
The spectacle of the electric utility’s inability to implement its mandate to power the country as well as the perennial empty promise to end load-dominated news coverage by 2022 and counting.
Nominations and motivations for the award are received from members of the press club and the final decision is made by the club’s executive committee.
Appreciation is not praise or criticism
President of the National Press Club Antoinette Slabbert said that the Journalist Award is not an award or a criticism, explaining that the theme is the dominant theme of the 2022 news cycle.
With load shedding escalating into outages, at some points even up to stage 6, leadership crisis, reports of sabotage, power plants maintaining the military, rising energy generation costs, he said he was not surprised that Eskom and load shedding would get it. award.
“The decision to name Eskom and expose the shedding as Newsmaker was an easy one because we all could not witness the blackouts that affected the livelihoods of many South Africans and continue to force many businesses to close completely. Who can forget that the front page of the Sowetan on January 16.. . which goes so far as to name some of the businesses that have been paralyzed by load shedding” Slabbert said in a statement.
READ ALSO: Eskom to celebrate 100 years of supplying SA with electricity as loads worsen
He said all eyes are on President Cyril Ramaphosa as the country continues to battle these brutal and destructive blackout spats.
Ramaphosa, Slabbert said, was the leader of government businesses, including Eskom, during the ‘nine wasted years’ and continues to oversee the administration of Eskom’s fall, this time as the sitting President of the country.
Past recipients
He said that the Newsmaker and the winner of the Journalist of the Year competition will be officially recognized, at a special dinner event to be held in April 2023, in partnership with North-West University.
Previous recipients of the National Press Club Newsmaker of the Year award include former President FW de Klerk, Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, Hollywood star Charlize Theron, #FeesMustFall, Gupta Leaks as well as Covid-19.
In 2013 the award went to then Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, who donated a cash prize of R5 000 to the Agstelaan informal settlement in Valhalla Park, Cape Town.
He believes the funds will make a difference to the residents as hundreds of families lost their homes and belongings after the fire ravaged the area.
NOW READING: Permanent-load-shedding-clear-admission-of-failure