Investigative journalists to be honoured
JOBURG – Award-winning UK journalist Nick Davies to deliver keynote address at the Ninth Taco KuiperAwards.
There has been a spate of attacks on South African journalists falling victim to crime while on the job.
South African investigative journalists will be honoured for their hard work.
According to Margaret Renn –investigative journalist – and Taco Kuiper, visiting Fellow in Journalism, South Africa has a strong record of investigative journalism.
“To be a great investigative journalist, one needs an inquiring mind, never take no for an answer and never assume what you are being told is true,” she said.
Although sometimes an investigation may take a day or years, there are not always risks involved in the job, according to Renn.
“Investigative journalism means more questions being asked than a news reporter would.”
Although some risk may be encountered, such as when investigating politicians or criminals, investigative journalists have some sort of reward.
“Finding out the truth in something and finding justice for me was rewarding. I am proud of my work. I spent a long time investigating wrongful arrests and seeing the results made me very happy.”
The Ninth Taco Kuiper Awards for Investigative Journalism will be announced on 27 March at an event honouring investigative journalists for their sterling work in 2014.
“At a time when all the institutions of accountability in our society are under pressure it is more important than ever that we have reporters who probe, question, expose, uncover and rake the muck that flows beneath the surface of our complex and rich society,” said Professor Anton Harber, Caxton Professor of Journalism and Media Studies.
The ceremony will take place at The Rand Club in the Johannesburg CBD.
A top prize of R200 000 awaits the winning entry and the runner-up wins R100 000, for which entries have been received from both print and broadcast media in South Africa.
Winners, nominees and guests at the Ninth Taco Kuiper Awards for Investigative Journalism will be addressed by Nick Davies, award-winning journalist for the Guardian in the United Kingdom (UK).
