Judges

The 2010 Panel of Judges for the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards will be announced shortly.

The Judging panel for the 2009 CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards comprised Filipe Correia De Sá, TV Zimbo, Angola; Jean-Paul Gérouard, Deputy Editor in Chief, France 3; Ferial Haffajee Editor, City Press, South Africa; Joel Kibazo Journalist and Media Consultant; Arlindo Lopes, Secretary General of the Southern African Broadcasting Association; Kim Norgaard, CNN Bureau Chief, South Africa and Anna Umbima, Broadcaster and Journalist.

Here, the Chairperson of the 2009 judging panel, Azubuike Ishiekwene, Executive Director, Publication, Punch Nigeria Limited, reflects on the 2009 Judging Process.

When we left Accra, Ghana after the Awards Night of the 13th CNN Multichoice African Journalist of the Year Award in July 2008, we could hardly have imagined what a difficult year was ahead of us - finalists, sponsors, guests, organisers, judges, and the world at large. The economic upheaval may have been slow to reach Africa, but surely now the impact is being felt in homes, communities and work places across the continent. It's a tribute to the resilience of the organisers and sponsors that we can still have the competition this year.

The greater tribute, however, I think, must go to hundreds of journalists on the continent, who continue to enter the competition and all the finalists for their truly remarkable work.

Choosing has never been easy. I learnt that from the older judges on the panel, and I can say so now. Judges look out for work, which among other qualities, tell the story in a clear and balanced manner; communicates stories or issues from the African perspective; demonstrates journalistic flair; and tells the story in a comprehensive way.

The pre-selection involves going through cartons of entries to remove those that do not meet the minimum test for the competition. The typical weekend before the judging is spent in further pre-selection. Every single entry received counts. Not just as a number, but as an expression of how, in spite of all odds, the African journalist is trying to make a difference through his or her work by telling the story in a relevant and comprehensive way.

The 2009 judging panel started its work before members arrived in London at the end of April. Though the number of entries dropped slightly from 2008, what was lost in numbers was more than compensated for in quality and diversity. In the 843 entries from 36 countries in 2009, the judges noticed a dramatic improvement in the quality of radio and TV entries, especially in the creative use of technology to tell the story. The case of radio is especially gratifying because it remains the most popular medium on the continent. Yet, entries from Online - the medium of the future - made a strong showing.

Although stories about conflicts, the violation of the rights of vulnerable groups, and poor accountability tended to dominate the entries, a number of the stories were done with the kind of thoroughness and sensitivity usually lacking in the telling of the African story. The judges found very high quality entries in health, sports, tourism, environment, and guess where - photography! Some of the defining events on the continent were captured in a way that could not have been expressed in a thousand words.

In a few cases, the difference between the winning entry and the runner-up was only one vote! As quality has improved, so too, has diversity. Entries were received from Cape Town to Cairo and from Kigali to Ouagadougou , making it a truly prestigious African event.

My colleagues Filipe Correia De Sá; Jean-Paul Gérouard; Ferial Haffajee; Joel Kibazo, Arlindo Lopes; Kim Norgaard and Anna Umbima gave of their time, experiences and energies so unselfishly in the collective hope that journalists on the continent, especially the young and promising ones, will continue to make a difference wherever they may be.