Vodacom and the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards 2013 has once again failed and blatantly refused to acknowledge the hard work done by some of South Africa's hard-working journalists within the entertainment sphere covering entertainment news and the arts, such as for instance television.
With the latest crop of winners announced on Friday evening the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards 2013 has besides general news and news feature categories, also made allowance for and created specific categories for financial journalists and sport journalists.
Entertainment journalists and those covering the arts and stories within that realm remains firmly locked out in the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards 2013, their work clearly seen as not important (enough).
Real journalists don't want accolades and rewards. The real reward is in being able to hopefully make some impact or just to get the facts or story out about a subject, a person or issue and to shine a light on something which deserves attention and creates bigger awareness, context, perspective and understanding for people.
It's sad that coverage of arts and culture, entertainment and everything which that sphere encompass is perpetually being demoted, undervalued and seen as less integral or less important.
Although hugely diluted over the past two decades, and still struggling with maturity, struggling to find credible critics' voices, and struggling with shrinking news rooms where arts pages and dedicated arts and entertainment beat journalists are few and far between, culture and entertainment in South Africa is covered by a crop of some dedicated journalists and reporters trying their best to bring the correct news, the insightful profiles, the pondered critiques, the real stories.
Yes. For every real arts and entertainment journalist in South Africa there's many more (and their editors) who rather plaster and run in the available daily, weekly or monthly space syndicated empty calorie BangShowbiz Kardashian stories and unchecked tabloid trash.
It's sad that something like the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards can't make space for recognition of some of the deserving - and as important - work you won't necessarily always find on the front page of your newspaper - but has as many readers, viewers and listeners if not more - than the sport pages and financials.
I asked the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards on Friday after the announcement of the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards 2013 winners why sport and economics are included as specific categories besides general news, and why entertainment is excluded.
I asked whether the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards is or will be relooking at the categories and whether entertainment will be included.
I received no response or reply.
