Johannesburg - The Star cleaned up at the Standard Bank Sikuvile Awards at the Soweto Theatre in Jabulani on Wednesday night.
Makhudu Sefara was named editor of the year and senior photographer Antoine de Ras journalist of the year for his picture of Oscar Pistorius that was published around the world.
Deputy editor Kevin Ritchie, investigations editor Angelique Serrao, Lebogang Seale, Botho Molosankwe and Kristen van Schie won the hard news category for the breaking story of Reeva Steenkamp’s shooting, while Van Schie won the enterprise category for her reportage on the Central African Republic.
Deputy news editor Omphitlhetse Mooki won the popular-news category for her coverage of Tokyo Sexwale’s divorce.
“I am humbled by the vote of confidence the industry has given my team,” said Sefara.
“At The Star, excellence is our byword, and this was proven tonight.
“I am also encouraged to see so many of our young, talented and hard-working journalists at the forefront of cutting-edge journalism.”
Speaking of his own award, he said: “I dedicate this award to the team who allowed me to become the editor I wanted to become.
“This was a fantastic farewell present for our outgoing and much-loved executive editor of news, Jillian Green.”
Tony Weaver – executive editor of The Star’s sister paper, the Cape Times – won the columnist award for his Man Friday columns.
He dedicated his win to former Cape Times editor Alide Dasnois and the journalists on the paper.
Cape Times reporter Tanya Farber, whose post is funded by the DG Murray Trust to write about early childhood development and related issues, was a runner-up in the same category for her editorial “Two killings illuminate two worlds”.
The category awards distinguished editorial and column writing with a focus on clarity, consistent editorial style, factual accuracy, sound reasoning, persuasive writing, and ability to engage and influence public opinion using ethical journalistic methods.
Beeld newspaper won story of the year for its multimedia coverage of the Oscar Pistorius trial.
The Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Awards, initiated by Print and Digital Media SA in partnership with Standard Bank, awarded excellence in South African journalism across various categories in both the print and digital media.
The Star