Dispatch biggest winner at regional awards event

The Daily Dispatch in East London were the biggest winners of the Vodacom Journalist of The Year Awards on Wednesday night.

This is after the Tiso Blackstar daily won in five categories.

The biggest winner was former chief reporter Bongani Fuzile, who scooped two awards: one in the financial category for a broadband dodgy tender expose and one in the investigative category for exposing the plight of ex-miners, many from the Eastern Cape who were dying as paupers or suffering in poverty.

Sino Majangaza took an award in the multiplatform category for his series of videos, pictures and stories highlighting the state that students were living in at student residences.

Junior reporter Nonsindiso Qwabe was nominated for the Young Journalist Award.

Senior reporter Asanda Nini took the breaking news award for his reporting on the case of widow Bulelwa Ndudula, who was acquitted of killing her politician husband Sakhekile Ndudula.There were no entries in the opinion, data journalism, or csi sustainability categories.

Ryland Fisher, head of the judges panel, said he was very disappointed, after reading so many well written opinion pieces in the past year, that nobody had entered.