Congratulations are in order for IOL deputy editor, Lee Rondganger, who was on Tuesday announced as a regional winner at the 2024 Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards.

Rondganger was awarded for his piece titled “Game of Thrones: How Jacob Zuma and uMkhonto weSizwe Party are positioning themselves as kingmakers”, written for IOL’s opinion page.

“More than 1,200 entries were received from journalists around the country as they shared examples of their best work from the past year,” said director for External Affairs at Vodacom South Africa, Takalani Netshitenzhe.

“As we commemorate 30 years of democracy in South Africa, we are reminded of the importance of media as the fourth estate that is crucial to our democracy. Ethical, independent and critical journalism holds those in power accountable and brings transparency to affairs that matter.

“Coinciding with 30 years of democracy, Vodacom South Africa celebrates 30 years of connecting South Africans and we are proud to be continuing our legacy of honouring excellence in journalism across a range of categories, recognising some of South Africa’s finest reporters and most newsworthy stories. Support for journalism remains paramount as the sustainability of journalism creates well-informed and connected societies,” she added.

IOL editor, Lance Witten, heaped praise on Rondganger for the accomplishment.

“I am incredibly proud of the work our teams across the country produce on a daily basis and it fills me with special pride when that content is recognised on a stage as prestigious as the Vodacom Journalist of the Year awards. This award is once again proof that our coverage and contextual storytelling, offering an alternative narrative, provides South Africans with clear perspectives, allowing them to make informed decisions about how to navigate their world.

“I’m extremely proud of Lee’s success and I know I can rely on him to continue to be an ambassador for IOL and the incredible work we do through the incredible work he does,” Witten said.

The regional winners:

Live reporting/ breaking news – Jayed-Leigh Paulse with contributor Thulani Ngcobo from SABC for body of work “Richards Bay Port Terminals crisis deepens”

Investigative – Carol Albertyn Christie with contributors Govan Whittles and Nicky Troll from Carte Blanche for “Royal AM. Musunduzi’s Own Goal & Shauwn Mkhize: Clean Sheet”

Opinion – Lee Rondganger from IOL for “Game of Thrones: How Jacob Zuma and uMkhonto weSizwe Party are positioning themselves as kingmakers”

Lifestyle – Jayed-Leigh Paulse with contributors Justine Robilliard and Japan Mathebula from SABC for “TIME IS BRAIN: A look at the Increase of strokes in South Africa”

Features – Chris Makhaye from Daily Maverick for “Assassination nation – political contract killings escalate in KZN as hitmen are offered ‘job after job’”

Sport – Mervyn Naidoo from Independent on Saturday for “Joy as city woman makes around-the-world sailing history”

Financial and Economics – Lyse Comins from Mail & Guardian for “People lured by fake ads lose savings”

Politics – Joint winners, Soyiso Maliti from News24 for “Exclusive: KZN govt scrambles to poach funds from several programmes to host R20m SAMAs extravaganza” and Sakhiseni Nxumalo from Sunday Times for “KZN ‘rally queen’ shopping around to see who will win her vote”

Sustainability – Sakhiseni Nxumalo from Sunday Times for “Floating powership’s game farm is a load of greenwash”

Innovation in journalism – Soyiso Maliti from News24 for “Killing Councillors”

The Young Journalist nominee for the KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga region went to Prashalan Govender from The Witness who will compete for the national Young Journalist of the Year Award.

The national awards will be announced on November 7 at an awards ceremony where national category winners will receive R10,000, and the overall Vodacom Journalist of the Year titleholder R100,000.

IOL

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