Reporter Ellis collects 20th regional Journalist of Year award
THE Herald and Weekend Post reporter Estelle Ellis picked up her 20th regional Vodacom Journalist of the Year award last night.
Ellis received the award in the CSI/Sustainability category after a series of stories detailing the massive amount of raw sewage spilling into the Swartkops River.
Speaking after the event at the Marine Protea Hotel in Port Elizabeth, Ellis said she was glad the story had made the municipality do something about saving the river.
“If this is what it took for them to notice, I’m happy I did it,” she said.
The Herald and Weekend Post ran a series of reports about Port Elizabeth facing a major ecological disaster due to collapsing sanitation infrastructure and thousands of litres of raw sewage flowing into the river
Communities nearby were getting sick, rowing and sailing activities had been curtailed and an unbearable stench hung over a vast area.
Vodacom managing executive Carol Hall said the quality of entries this year was a definite improvement compared to last year.
“What I enjoyed was the enthusiasm and excitement of the winners,” she said. “There were some different angles, not just the normal stuff.”
The Herald and Weekend Post editor Brett Horner congratulated Ellis, saying she was a newsroom stalwart.
“She loves what she does. She has a very personal relationship with the people she profiles.
“It’s her passion and it shines through in her work,” Horner said.
Another Times Media publication, the Daily Dispatch, through reporter Bongani Fuzile, picked up two awards, in the print feature and print news categories.
The Eastern Cape region submitted 109 entries.
The regional winners are invited to the national awards function in Johannesburg on November 10.