Established in 2002, the annual competition seeks to recognise exceptional women who have made their mark within the media sphere across the content, commercial and academic fields.
"Vodacom is extremely proud to be the title sponsor of the Vodacom Women in The Media Awards as it recognises the enormous contribution made by women to the South African media industry, and the awards event is an ideal platform to publicly acknowledge the role that these women play in such an influential sector," said Dot Field, chief communications officer for the Vodacom Group.
A lawyer by training, 35-year old Gwangwa impressed judges with her understanding of the media industry, including the regulatory environment, the political context within which the industry operates and the competitive global business environment.
Her career in broadcasting began in 1998 at the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), predecessor of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), where she was the unit head for licencing in the Broadcasting Unit, leading the team responsible for all aspects regarding the processing of broadcasting license applications. Gwangwa, who was appointed Talk Radio 702 station manager in 2005, has a decade of broadcasting experience and is one of the few black women station managers in the country.
The three other finalists were Karima Brown: political editor of Business Day, Khanyi Dhlomo: founding editor of Destiny magazine and MD of Ndalo Media, and Wendy Knowler: consumer editor for Independent Newspapers and the presenter of a weekly consumer show on East Coast Radio. and.
2008 Vodacom Women in The Media Rising Star Award
Direko was presented with the Vodacom Rising Star Award - an accolade that applauds the efforts of a woman under the age of 30 who is already making an impact in the media. Direko is a presenter at Talk Radio 702 and recently joined the 24-hour eNews TV Channel as one of the main anchors. Direko started her career as a 19-year old intern at Network Radio News. She then moved to Kaya FM where she was producer and co-presenter of the afternoon drive show. Direko regards covering her first press conference at the age of 19 of the then deputy president Thabo Mbeki, and an interview with the then British prime minister Tony Blair when she was seconded to the UK's Channel 4 during the G8 Summit, as career defining.
The Lifetime Achievement Award acknowledges Gill's substantial contribution to the industry. She started her career at the Sunday Times more than 35 years ago and has worked as a TV critic, features editor, consumer journalist, social columnist, and more recently, an avid blogger. A recent career highlight of Gill's was a one-on-one meeting with Nelson Mandela; while some of her favourite people that she's met include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Oprah (whom she's interviewed twice); Australian cricketer Shane Warne, the Queen and Prince Phillip.
