Award winners
Previous recipients of the Sanef-Wrottesley Award
2005 and 2008 – Raymond Louw is a Sanef council member, publisher and editor of the Southern Africa Report, which he started in 1983. In addition, he is a special interventionist on media freedom issues.
2006 – Joe Thloloe has been a journalist since 1961. He the former editor-in-chief of SABC News and Sanef chair.
2007 – Mary Papayya is the secretary-general of Sanef and bureau chief of the Sowetan in KwaZulu-Natal. She is involved in a range of community and development projects and media training.
2009 – Mathatha Tsedu is a Sanef council member and editor of City Press. He is the former deputy head of news at the Sunday Times and The Star newspapers. Prior to that he held the same position at the SABC and served as editor of The Star. He was awarded the Nat Nakasa Journalism Award in 2000.
Previous recipients of the Nat Nakasa Award
2009 – Greg Marinovich
Marinovich is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and co-author of The Bang Bang Club, a non-fiction book on South Africa's transition to democracy.
2008 – Max du Preez
Du Preez has written newspaper columns for the Independent Group and News 24. In his early years he worked as political correspondent on the FM, Sunday Times and Business Day.
2007 – Jacques Pauw
Producer of Special Assignment and television documentaries. Pauw has reported on wars and civil conflicts in Algeria, Burundi, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sierra Leone and Sudan.
2006 – Guy Berger
Head of the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University. Berger is known as being forthright, fearless, courageous and committed.
2005 – Alf Kumalo
Veteran press photographer extraordinaire, Kumalo has over the decades shown integrity, fearlessness, resistance to censorship, courage and a commitment to serve South Africans by having his photos published despite obstacles.
2004 – Buks Viljoen
Investigative reporter of the Lowvelder and the first community journalist to receive such an award.
2003 – Debbie Yazbek
The Star’s chief photographer. David Hazelhurst, The Star’s creative director said in his nomination that Yazbek's physical courage and fearlessness were legendary at The Star; she faced chilling challenges in several riot situations.
2002 – Justin Arenstein
Founding editor of African Eye News Service. Arenstein launched AENS with his personal savings, a relative’s second-hand computer and two trainee journalists in 1995 after they were sacked from the Lowveld News for insisting on equal salaries for black and white reporters.
2001 – Andre Jurgens
The award was shared by the Sunday Times investigative team, André Jurgens (photo), Jessica Bezuidenhout and Mzilikazi wa Afrika.
2001 – Jessica Bezuidenhout
The award was shared by the Sunday Times investigative team, André Jurgens, Jessica Bezuidenhout (photo) and Mzilikazi wa Afrika.
2001, 1999 – Mzilikazi wa Afrika
He won the award in 1999 and in 2001 was one of the joint winners as part of the Sunday Times investigative team with André Jurgens and Jessica Bezuidenhout.
2000 – Mathatha Tsedu
Sanef council member and editor of City Press. He is the former deputy head of news at the Sunday Times and The Star newspapers. Prior to that he held the same position at the SABC and served as editor of The Star.