Fearless journalism bags awards and honours for Tiso Blackstar Group

Keeping millions informed matters to us.

Every day, Tiso Blackstar Group carries the responsibility of delivering credible news to millions. Our readers trust us to inform, inspire and delight, and to give them a platform for their voices to be heard.

Our newspaper brands, including the Sunday Times, Business Day and Sowetan, are part of South Africa's heritage, and our media brands set the national agenda. Through a range of print, digital and mobile products, we bring the facts to a world flooded with fake news. 

We're honoured to have received 19 finalists across eight of our brands for the 2018 Sikuvile Journalism Awards, for which the winners will be announced on September 13. We believe it is a testament to the passion and commitment we have for delivering news that matter to every South African.

Also this year, Financial Mail deputy editor Sikonathi Mantshantsha was recognised as the Sanlam Journalist of the Year at the awards event held in Johannesburg on June 21 for his sterling work on Eskom, which the judges felt may very well have changed the trajectory of South Africa’s most important state-owned company, and that of the country.

It is the fourth time in the past six years that the Financial Mail has won the top prize, seen as the country's premier award for business journalists.

Besides Mantshantsha’s overall prize, Tiso Blackstar Group journalists scooped the highest number of accolades on the night. Financial Mail editor Rob Rose won for best reporting on financial markets, while economics editor Claire Bisseker and politics editor Natasha Marrian were runners-up to Mantshantsha for economics journalism.

For company reporting, Giulietta Talevi also took home a runner-up award, while Ann Crotty did the same in the financial markets category.

On the same day in Durban, Business Day property writer Alistair Anderson was named property news journalist of the year by the South African Property Owners' Association, while Financial Mail property editor Joan Muller was the runner-up.

Tiso Blackstar Group's 2018 Sikuvile finalists 

Category 1 (hard news)

• Yolande Stander, Lee Anne Butler, Angela Daniels, Gareth Wilson, Hendrick Mphande: "Knysna burns" (The Herald)

Category 2 (columns/editorial)

• Natasha Marrian: Body of work: "The cat is after the cream in ANC race"; "EFF could ditch DA if Ramaphosa wins"; "Call for ANC unity a self-serving farce" (BusinessLIVE)
• Sue de Groot: Body of work: "Nothing but a beef thang"; "A pedant's progress"; "Money: it can get you into and out of hot water" (Sunday Times)

Category 3 (enterprise news)

• Bongani Fuzile: "We found them" (Saturday Dispatch)
• Shanthini Naidoo: "Medical mayhem: Our reporter’s 24-hour shift at a Joburg hospital" (Sunday Times)
• Estelle Ellis: "Bay's toll of hunger: a dying shame" (The Herald)

Category 5 (investigative journalism)

• Graeme Hosken: "Ford: the burning issue" (The Times)
• Stephen Hofstatter: Eskom series: "The Guptas' genie"; "Denel's smoking gun" (Financial Mail)
• Commendation: Bongani Fuzile: "The plastic bag corruption" (Saturday Dispatch)

Category 6 (editorial cartoons)

• Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro): Body of work – political business and business (Sunday Times)
• Sifiso Yalo: "Marikana profits" (Sowetan)

Category 8 (popular journalism)

• Batlile Phaladi: "How Mdu secretly took a second wife" (Sunday World)
• Aubrey Mthombeni: "Sexter flirted with Phosa Masualle" (Sunday World)

Category 10 (feature photographs)

• Esa Alexander: "Drought and the big thirst" (The Times)

Category 11 (sports photographs)

• Ndlovu Sandile: "Fighter plans on turning pro" (Sowetan)
• Simphiwe Nkwali: "Grannies that train as boxers to keep fit" (Sunday Times)

Category 12 (presentations)

• Sarah Buitendach, Vuyo Singiswa and Shaun Uthum: Financial Mail covers 2017

Category 13 (multiplatform)

• Laura Grant & Alastair Otter: "Hidden danger: Asbestos in Gauteng's schools" (The Times and Passmark.org.za) 

Andy Gill, MD of Media at Tiso Blackstar Group, said: "Our titles and journalists subscribe to the highest standards of ethical reporting and investigative journalism.

"We pride ourselves on producing the most relevant, hard-hitting news to serve the business and financial sectors in the country, and are delighted that our journalists have been recognised for their dedication to outstanding work."