Uganda National Journalism Awards 2017 shortlist released

The African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) is pleased to announce a shortlist of 83 journalists for the Uganda National Journalism Awards 2017. These journalists have amongst them 95 stories/entries that have been evaluated for final accolades by a panel of 16 judges.

This year’s winners will be announced at an invitation-only gala event on the evening of Wednesday, 12 April 2017, at Golf Course Hotel in Kampala. Dr Louis Kasekende, the deputy governor of Bank of Uganda, will preside as chief guest. Each winner will take home a cash prize of Shs2.5 million, a commemorative plaque, and a certificate. Each runner-up will receive Shs1 million and a certificate. Where there is a tie, the prize money will be shared accordingly.

The awards, organised with support from the Democratic Governance Facility and Hivos, celebrate and promote in-depth and enterprising journalism that informs public debate and holds the powerful to account. The awards are open to all journalists working for media outlets in Uganda or regional media houses with wide circulation and significant audience reach in the country.

One hundred eighty six (186) journalists from media outlets across Uganda participated in the 2017 competition, a 25 per cent increase over the previous year. There was also a marked increase in the number of stories entered. The overall number of entries from print, broadcast and online platforms was 307, up from 237 in the 2016 edition.

The general standard of entries continues to improve year-on-year, said Dr George Lugalambi, who has chaired the judging panel since the awards were first held in 2014.

“More than ever, the shortlisted journalists produced stories that competed against some of the best in the industry and are truly deserving of a place on the final list,” Dr Lugalambi said.

There were 20 categories with health, features, education and local reporting attracting the highest number of entries. Competition was greatest in the explanatory and education reporting categories. At least three judges evaluated each story and every one of them provided extensive comments to support the mark given.

During the judges’ final conference held on 17 March 2017, it was observed that while the quality of stories had improved, there were significant knowledge gaps in specialised beats such as justice, agriculture, environment and health that led to inadequate reporting.

“While the awards serve to reward excellence, they are also a vital tool in informing us about the knowledge and skills gaps in Ugandan journalism,” said ACME Executive Director Peter G. Mwesige.

“The awards further provide us with a solid baseline on which to tailor our training programmes, small grants and mentoring efforts,” he said.

THE SHORTLIST

Nile Breweries Award for Exceptional Journalism

For the third year in a row, ACME will administer the Nile Breweries Award for Exceptional Journalism. The winner of the award is a participant in the Uganda National Journalism Awards who exhibits extensive knowledge of his or her reporting beat, provides evidence of growth over the period of assessment, consistently produces quality work, and is highly regarded by others in the profession.

The panel of judges nominated the following journalists for this award:

1. Benon Herbert Oluka – The Observer
2. Carol Natukunda – New Vision
3. Daniel Edyegu Enwaku – New Vision
4. Haggai Matsiko – The Independent
5. Solomon Serwanjja – NBS TV
6. Raymond Mujuni – NTV Uganda

Uganda National Journalism Awards 2017 Finalists

ABOUT AFRICAN CENTRE FOR MEDIA EXCELLENCE: ACME is a Kampala-based independent, non-profit professional organisation committed to helping African journalists seek and achieve professional excellence. The organisation fulfils its mandate through refresher training for mid-career journalists; media literacy training for civil society organisations, corporate companies and others; media research; free expression advocacy; and media monitoring.

ABOUT DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE FACILITY: Established by Austria, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the European Union, the DGF is a basket fund that supports state and non-state partners to strengthen democratisation, protect human rights, improve access to justice and enhance accountability in Uganda. (www.dgf.ug)

ABOUT HIVOS

Guided by humanist values, Hivos is an international development organisation that works with local civil society organisations in developing countries to contribute to a free, fair and sustainable world. (www.hivos.org)