can u believe this
despite the workers' strike
The Guardian is Newspaper of the Year
By Kabir Alabi Garba and Justin Akpovi-Esade
IT was another harvest of laurels and celebration of excellence on Sunday night as The Guardian emerged the Newspaper of the Year at the 16th edition of the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME).
At the event held at the Lagos Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Ikeja, its Editor, Mr. Debo Adesina, also won the Editor of the Year Award.
The honour coincided with efforts by The Guardian management to return the newspaper to the newsstand after 33 days of absence caused by an industrial dispute.
Three weeks ago in Ada, Osun State, The Guardian had recorded a feat by winning four prizes at the 2007 edition of the Nigerian Media Merit Award (NMMA). The NMMA prizes won by the newspaper were Editorial Writing; Newspaper Reporter of The Year won by Olawunmi Ojo; Sports Reporter of the Year by Olukayode Thomas; and Telecommunications Reporter of the Year by Ronke Olawale.
A contest among three publications - The Punch, The Sun and The Guardian - last Sunday night's honour was the fourth time in six years The Guardian would win the coveted DAME Newspaper of the Year prize. It had earlier won the prize in 2001, 2002, 2005 and now 2007.
The Guardian won the prize by garnering 19 points from eight categories. It scored maximum points in three categories - Child-Friendly Reporting, HIV/AIDS Reporting (both won by Mrs. Ronke Olawale), and Judicial Reporting by Mr. Gbolahan Gbadamosi. It had two points for being the first runner-up in Editorial Writing, Health Reporting, Child Friendly Media and Press Reporter of the Year categories. The newspaper also got one point each in Best Designed Newspaper and Press Reporter of the Year as second runner-up in the two categories.
In the citation of the newspaper read at the ceremony, DAME organisers upheld The Guardian as "a leading news publication in Nigeria, widely read and respected for its sound editorials among other good qualities."
An elated Adesina, while receiving his award, thanked the organisers for recognising the excellent performance that had become a tradition not only for the newspaper as the flagship of Nigerian journalism, but also its entire editorial team.
He told the gathering of veteran journalists such as Hadji Alade Odunewu, Chief Segun Olusola, among others, that he felt challenged and that the award would certainly spur him and The Guardian to "aspire to greater things."
Other personalities at the event presided over by retired Justice Omotayo Onalaja were the publisher of the Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka; Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria, Mrs. Oluremi Oyo, her husband, Vincent Oyo; Managing Director, New Nigerian, Mr. Ndanosa Alao; Executive Secretary, Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Mr. Tunde Thompson, among others.
In his welcome address, Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Publications Limited, organisers of DAME, Mr. Lanre Idowu described the occasion as a yearly "exercise of rewarding diligence, honouring enterprise, acknowledging talent, and celebrating excellence in media of public communication."
A total of 22 prizes presented to winners spanned print, electronic and advertising categories.
Idowu expressed optimism that next year's edition would feature more categories such as Agriculture Reporting, Insurance Reporting, Political Reporting and Creative Agency of the Year. Already, NAN and Sovereign Trust Insurance have agreed to sponsor Agriculture and Insurance reporting categories in that order.
He emphasised the need for meaningful collaboration between the media and users of media messages in order to foster improvement in information delivery.
According to him, DAME was inspired by "something in human nature that yearns for recognition."
He explained further: "It is a confirmation of the substance possessed by the honouree, a vindication of the vigour the honouree has put into the chosen field of endeavour. It becomes sweeter when it is one conferred by one's professional colleagues,"
What gladdened the heart of Idowu was the fact that "all the 288 past recipients of DAME have moved up the professional ladder". He expressed the belief that "the 23 names we are adding tonight (Sunday), will witness a vertical progression in their career if they do not rest on their oars."
He, however, expressed regret that "many areas of media work are clearly resting on their oars." He justified his assertion with non-presentation of prizes in seven categories at the 16th DAME.
They were in Sports, Environmental, Television Reporting, Television Documentary, Radio Commercials, Services and Consumer Goods.
"We just did not find the entries good enough for a DAME. We are also not giving a prize for news magazine of the year. This year, the newspapers have clearly upstaged the magazines as there is no magazine with sufficient brilliant showing to be named as the news magazine of the year," Idowu said.
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