African Blogger Awards

African Blogger Awards

The continent’s very first awards programme that measures online and social influencers’ reach and influence

Entries to the 2014 African Blogger Awards, the continent’s very first awards programme that measures online and social influencers’ reach and influence through data analysis, are open to bloggers, Instagrammers, Tweeters and YouTubers across Africa.

The Awards have been divided into 36 categories, providing the opportunity for influencers on these platforms to be measured objectively against their peers and duly recognised for their achievements.

Categories are diverse, and include sectors such as Advice, Fashion and Beauty, Events and Nightlife, Education, Sports, Political, Technology and Gadgets and Youth Culture among others.

“The African Blogger Awards are the first completely impartial, objective awards for online and social influencers on the African continent because winners will be determined by data analytics provided by Webfluential, and not through peer nominations,” says Mike Sharman, co-founder of the African Blogger Awards.

The Awards will also give brands and the marketing industry, including advertisers, public relations agencies and media buyers in each country an impartial measurement of the most relevant online and social influencers to include in their campaigns, making sure that they achieve the greatest possible impact for their marketing spend.

Entry is free, but entrants are required to register their blog, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube profile (or a combination thereof) on Webfluential (http://www.webfluenti.al), a platform designed to quantify the reach, resonance and relevance of bloggers, Instagrammers, Tweeters and YouTubers with over 1 000 active, legitimate followers. 

• Reach measures the size of an influencer's audience (following) per social media network.
• Resonance is a measure of how widely the content that an influencer shares reaches outside of their own community.
• Relevance is a measure of the response from the influencer's community in the form of likes, comments, retweets.

Bloggers, Instagrammers, Tweeters and YouTubers who are permanent residents of any African country are eligible to enter the African Blogger Awards.

Entries for the awards close on 9 March 2014 at midnight GMT+2, and results will be announced on 16 April 2014 via the competition’s Twitter profile, @African_Blogger, from 11:00 GMT+2. Overall awards for Africa’s Top Blogger, Top Instagrammer, Top Tweeter and Top YouTuber will be announced on 18 April 2014 at a celebration hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Winners in each category will receive a web banner announcing their achievement that can be personally-leveraged through their social network and a commemorative trophy.

“As the competition grows, we plan to host the awards ceremony in other cities on the African continent each year, in recognition of the enormous influence that the online community has on news, lifestyle, media and marketing across the continent,” says Murray Legg, co-founder of the African Blogger Awards.


www.africanbloggerawards.com

2014 World Press Photo Contest - Spot News Stories

2^nd Prize Spot News Stories

Photographer: Tyler Hicks, USA, The New York Times

A woman and children hiding in the Westgate shopping mall. They escaped unharmed after gunmen had opened fire at the upscale Nairobi mall on 21 September 2013. At least 39 people were killed in one of the worst terrorist attacks in Kenya’s history.

World Press Photo is based in Amsterdam and organises the leading international contest in visual journalism. The foundation is committed to supporting and advancing high standards in photojournalism and documentary storytelling worldwide. 

www.worldpressphoto.org

2014 World Press Photo Contest - Observed Portraits Single

1^st Prize People – Observed Portraits Single

This image by German Markus Schreiber for The Associated Press shows a woman reacts in disappointment after access to see former South African President Nelson Mandela was closed on the third and final day of his casket lying in state, outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa.

World Press Photo is based in Amsterdam and organises the leading international contest in visual journalism. The foundation is committed to supporting and advancing high standards in photojournalism and documentary storytelling worldwide. 

www.worldpressphoto.org

Nelson Mandela Newsmaker Of The Year

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918 - 2013) 

Nelson Mandela has been named the National Press Club's Newsmaker of the Year for 2013.

National Press Club Chairperson, Jos Charle, says both in terms of impact and media coverage Nelson Mandela dominated the news in 2013.

"We are not commemorating his death but celebrating the life of a world icon and legend, as well as his role as an international statesman.

"Nelson Mandela's death riveted the attention of the world for 10 days. It consumed South Africans - and much of the world - as the country pulled out all stops to bury the father of the South African nation with military precision and ancient Xhosa customs.

"The world's news media - television, radio and print media - extensively reported on Nelson Mandela's life and his role in South Africa's liberation struggle for weeks following his death.

"One hour after the announcement of his death, two million tweets were generated with over six million tweets recorded on 5 December, the day of his death. The hash tags #RIPNelsonMandela, #Madiba and #RIPMandela were the top three topics on the social network on that morning - at one stage 95 000 tweets per minute - more than 13 million over a month.

"The Nelson Mandela Facebook page gathered over 2,2 million likes and several posts, including tributes from the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

"Within minutes of the announcement, broadcast internationally, crowds of all hues began flocking to the former president's home where they prayed, sang and laid flowers in front of the world's media.

"Countries from the US to New Zealand joined South Africa in lowering their flags to half-mast and 91 heads of state attended the funeral, with 4 500 journalists from all over the world covering the funeral. South African broadcast houses ran only "Madiba" programmes for more than ten days.

"Add to this the fact that for 86 days last year the world's media camped outside the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria where Mandela had been admitted for a recurring lung infection, and it becomes clear that he generated huge media interest - both nationally and internationally."

Charle says on 11 February - the date on which he was released from Victor Verster Prison - Mandela will become the first non-Briton to be honoured with a memorial service at Westminster Abbey - the iconic venue that has been the coronation church for every British monarch since 1066 and the burial place of 17 royals.

"The best known black man in the world and probably the most photographed man in the world certainly leaves behind a living legacy - truly a man for all seasons."

Stalwart journalist Jerry Scuitema sums it up brilliantly: "In my half century as a newsman I never experienced, or even witnessed such a puzzling media treatment as that of the passing of Nelson Mandela.

"It was mysteriously odd that the media could pay so much attention to the passing of one man. Channel after channel, column after column, blog after blog, post after post, tweet after tweet, could speak of nothing else. The stark reality was that much more than one man had died - what he represented was gone for all time."

Charle says the award is made on the grounds of impact, news value and media attention in electronic, print, online and social media.

The club is synonymous with the Newsmaker of the Year award. Over the years the club has recognised and awarded many newsmakers. The club has named Nelson Mandela its newsmaker before. Other previous recipients include President Jacob Zuma, former presidents FW de Klerk, and Thabo Mbeki. Other newsmakers include Hollywood star Charlize Theron, Zachie Achmat and the Treatment Action Campaign, the late Hansie Cronjé and various other sporting personalities, DA Leader Helen Zille, ESKOM and Cope and FIFA's Sepp Blatter and Danny Jordaan also received the award in recent years. Other recipients were Thuli Madonsela and Julius Malema. Last year the award went to the South African rhino.