Bhekisisa, M&G journalists nab top honours at health awards
Journalists from the Mail & Guardian and Bhekisisa, the M&G’s Centre for Health Journalism, took home top prizes last Friday in the annual Discovery Health Journalism Awards.
Bhekisisa senior multimedia journalist Demelza Bush got top honours in the video category for their documentary on conditions for those awaiting trial at Cape Town’s Pollsmoor Prison. The nine-minute documentary exposed how chronic overcrowding at the prison has sparked a tuberculosis epidemic in the correctional facility.
Former Bhekisisa reporter Ina Skosana won in the category of best feature writing for her work on refugees’ struggle for healthcare in South Africa. The three-part series looked at what refugees leave behind and what awaits them when they’ve found their second home.
The M&G’s Lynley Donnelly won the best health economics reporting award for articles on what a proposed tax on sugary drinks could mean for South Africa from healthcare costs to the potential impact on employment.
Journalism professor Tawana Kupe commended entries into this year’s awards, which he said were some of the most competitive to date.
“We were impressed by the level of insight into subjects reported on and by the quality of information conveyed in most entries. Health reporting is improving all the time — and rightly so, considering its critical role in educating people and keeping them informed,” he said in a statement.
Fellow judge and television journalist Anna-Maria van Niekerk had this advice for aspiring health journalists: “Learn the basics of good science reporting … You can learn that at places like Bhekisisa.”