Top journalists win for responsible drinking stories

4 Sep 2017

The winners of the 2017 Diageo SA Responsible Drinking Media Awards (RDMAs) have been announced, following an awards ceremony held in Johannesburg late last week. The RDMAs recognise journalists and media at large for their efforts to influence perceptions and habits related to the irresponsible use of alcohol.

A mix of media experts, consisting of Mpumelelo Mkhabela, Joanne Botha, Leanne Manas, Ryland Fisher and Angelo Fick judged the entrants.

Winners:

Le Roux Schoeman won best Newspaper for his article in the Die Burger titled ‘Die Stil Aktivis’ or ‘The Silent Activist’. The article is the true story of a girl born with foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and the woman who helped her beat the odds.

Daphne Grundling won the Best Online category for ‘Ek het alcohol oorwen – Theo Erasmus’ on Netwerk 24. Daphne tells the story of Theo Erasmus, a well-known Afrikaans musician, who went to the very depths of alcoholism and his journey to become sober again.

Best Magazine went to Ernusta Maralack for her article in Kuier magazine ‘Donker Dae van Drank’. This was a fantastic account of a wife’s love for her husband who became addicted to liquor at the height of his lecturing career. Ironically, he wrote a thesis on alcoholism but could not help himself.

Cleopatra Jones won both Best Broadcast and Best Up & Coming for her insightful exposé on SABC’s Special Assignment called ‘Deadly Decisions’. The insert looked at the fatal and devastating effects of drunk driving and how it radically changes the lives of its victims.

Veronique Smal of MFM won best Community Media for the clever campaign run by the radio station in which they staged various accident scenes in Stellenbosch. They then had various industry representatives call in to discuss the negative effects of drinking and driving.

Journalist of the Year went to Cleopatra Jones for the best overall entry and Media House of the Year was awarded to Media 24 for having submitted the most amount of entries this year.

Finally, to mix things up a little and get the South African public involved, Diageo SA opened up all the finalists’ articles to a public vote on Facebook. Simphiwe Dlamini was selected as the winner of the Consumers’ Choice Award for his insert on Ugu Youth Radio named ‘Alcoholic hepatitis’.

Sibani Mngadi, corporate relations director of Diageo South Africa.

“The RDMAs had a record number of entries in 2017 and we want to thank all the journalists for creating such valuable and influential content. These awards have been put in place to acknowledge their efforts and to encourage them to keep doing so,” says Sibani Mngadi, corporate relations director of Diageo South Africa.

The winner of each category won R15,000 and was publicly acknowledged for his or her efforts to help combat alcohol abuse in South Africa.

For more information, go to Diageordma.co.za.