The Nation hauls five awards at DAME

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For the umpteenth time, The Nation proved at the weekend its high rating, hauling five prizes at the prestigious Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME).

Of the 14 awards in the print category, this newspaper won five at the colourful ceremony, which took place at the Sheraton Hotel, Lagos. It had 11 nominations.

The Punch, which won the Ogun State Prize for the Newspaper of the Year, also won five awards. Its 16 nominations gave it an edge over The Nation and The Guardian, which came second and third in the category.

Veteran journalist Dr Doyin Abiola and marketing communication guru Senator Akin Odunsi were honoured with the Alex Ibru Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The Nation Editorial Board Chairman Sam Omatseye, for the fourth time, won the Nigerian Press Council Prize for Informed Commentary, with his entry “For Citizen Fahat and Zaharu Africa”, published on December 29, last year. Omatseye beat The Punch’s Tolu Ogunlesi and Bayo Olupounda.

Serial award winner Olatunji Ololade and Chief Correspondent Kunle Akinrinade’s joint entry “Deadly potions: Nigeria’s herbal gin nightmare” published on April 12, last year clinched the Heath Reporting category prize. The entry last year won the Health Reporting category of the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Journalism. Ololade’s and Akinrinade’s work defeated the works of Dayo Oketola and Gbenro Adeoye, both of The Punch. Last year, Ololade won the CNN African Journalist of the Year in the Medical and Health Reporting category.

The UNICEF Prize for Child Friendly Reporting was won by The Nation’s Gbenga Alaka, with his entry “Wild, wild world of dogs” published on October 26, last year. Alaka shrugged of the challenge from The Punch’s Jesusegun Alagbe, whose entry “Tales of children who survive on firewood” was published on December 20, 2014.

For the second year running, The Nation’s Joseph Jibueze won the Justice Omotayo Onalaja Award for Judicial Reporting with his two-part series “How sabotage, blackmail and undue delay are killing the judiciary”. With the series, published on December 10 and 11, last year, he beat New Telegraph’s Juliana Francis and The Nation’s Precious Igbonwelundu to second and third places.

Senior Correspondent Collins Nweze won the Aliko Dangote Prize for Business Reporting, with his entry “Banking in a digital world” . Tell’s Anthony Akaeze and The Punch’s Eric Dumo, who won the NAN Prize for Development Reporting, were first and second runners-up in the category.

Editor Gbenga Omotoso was runner-up in the Nigerian Guild of Editors’ Award for Editor of the Year, which was won by The Punch’s Martins Ayankola. Omotoso won the Prize last year. The Guardian’s Martins Oloja was also shortlisted for the Editor of the Year category.

Other reporters from The Nation who were shortlisted for awards are: multiple award winner Seun Akioye (Development), Taiwo Alimi (Sports) and Igbonwelundu (Judiciary). This newspaper was also nominated for Editorial Writing, which was won by The Punch, with its January 19, last year’s editorial titled “Brutalised women of Ejigbo”.

Other winners are: The Punch’s Nike Popoola (Sovereign Trust Prize for Insurance Reporting), The Guardian’s Ayodele Adeniran (Action Photography), Voice of Nigeria’s Muyinat Akinyemi (The Moses Ihonde Prize for Radio Drama), The Guardian (Child Friendly media), The Cable’s Victor Akhidenor (The Simeon Idowu Prize for Sports Reporting), The New Telegraph’s Chukwuemeka Emenike (Vanguard Media Award for Editorial Cartooning), Voice of Nigeria’s Yejide Adeniyi (Noise Pollution and Lagos), FRCN’s Solomon Adebayo (Radio Reporter of the Year), TVC’s Ozi Okoli (Television Documentary) and TVC’s Vivienne Irikefe (Television Reporter of the Year).

The organiser of the awards, Diamond Publications Limited, said awards were not given out in Press Investigative Reporter, Agriculture Reporting, Conflict Sensitive Reporting, Editorial Integrity, Telecomms Reporting, Political Reporting and others because no entry met the expected standard. The administrator, Mr Lanre Idowu, said the awards given out were truly deserved. He praised the reporters and their works.

Idowu said the entries received in the Political Reporting category could pass as the opinions of the authors and showed no thoroughness. He urged political reporters and other categories without winners to up their games.

DAME’s Board of Trustees chair Moses Ihonde urged reporters to do more in reporting terrorism, adding that the reports on the issue so far had not done justice to the evil of terror.

Source: The Nation