Four South African journalists make the shortlist as nominees for the landmark 20th CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2015 set for Kenya.

The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2015 announced the shortlisted finalists in the various categories, with the continent's most prestigious competition for journalism on the African continent, now in its landmark 20th year, set to be held in Nairobi, Kenya in October this year.

After downsizing the number of categories in 2014 from 14 to 11, the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2015 once again expanded, keeping all 11 categories and adding a best features award as well as a technology and innovation reporting award to bring the award categories to 13.

Ferial Haffajee, editor of South Africa's City Press newspaper and the chairperson of the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2015 independent judging panel, announced the 31 finalists coming from 39 countries this year.

The CNN MultiChoice African Journalists Awards 2015 once again has some South African journalists on the finalist list this year.

South African journalists nominated this year for their work include Julie Laurenz and Jacqueline Jayamaha working freelance for e.tv; Herman Verwey of Beeld newspaper and Sarah Wild for The Mail & Guardian.

Finalists will again converge for a four day media forum set for early October and the gala award ceremony, which this year will be held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in East Africa. With the landmark 20th year of the awards, winners from previous years will join this year's finalists.

In the past the CNN MultiChoice African Journalists Awards also handed out a Press Freedom Award - ironically, but poignantly - often to a journalist who can attend due to imprisonment or death suffered in the line of simply bringing people the truth and reporting the news.

This award could very likely be awarded this October in Nairobi to the Al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed imprisoned in Egypt  and who were sentenced last month, together with journalist Peter Greste in absentia, to an even longer prison sentence.

"MultiChoice is delighted to once again be associated with these prestigious awards that give respect to the work done by journalists across the African continent," says Imtiaz Patel, MultiChoice group CEO.

"We congratulate all the finalists on their achievements and look forward to celebrating with the winners in Nairobi in October."

"We continue to be amazed by the resourcefulness and growth of journalists in the complexity and immediacy of the digital and online age of news and information," says Tim Jacobs, MultiChoice Africa CEO.

"That is why we remain committed to nurturing and growing African journalists who have a huge responsibility and role to play and where tech-savvy readers have the ability to follow breaking stories and are not shy to engage in dialogue on a number of different platforms."

"The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year Awards have for the past 20 years provided a voice for credible journalism. As we celebrate this remarkable milestone, we can only commend the journalists for leaving no stone unturned in telling the important stories."

"The quality and breadth of entries in this, its 20th year, is testament to the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards' position as the most prestigious recognition for journalism across the continent," says Tony Maddox, the executive vice president and managing director of CNN International (DStv 401).

"CNN is privileged to be involved in this important initiative to honour the outstanding work across multiple platforms, topics and journalistic principles."

Here is the full list of finalists in the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2015:

Fiifi Essilfie Anaman, Freelance for zonalsports.com, Ghana

Benedicta Asiimwe, Freelance for Daily Monitor, Uganda

Femi Asu, Punch, Nigeria

Domingos Bento, redeangola.info, Angola

Thomas Naadi Bitlegma, Viasat1, Ghana

Sheriff Bojang Jnr, Freelance for West Africa Democracy Radio, Senegal

Ruth Butaumocho, The Herald, Zimbabwe

Ibrahima Diallo, Radiodiffusion Télévision Sénégalaise (RTS), Senegal

Adewale Olugbenga Emosu, tribuneonlineng.com, Nigeria

Chahinaz Samir Gheith, Freelance for Al-Ahram Hebdo, Egypt

Carla Gonçalves, A Nação, Cape Verde

Boldwill Hungwe, Zimbabwe Independent, Zimbabwe

Ibanga Isine, Premium Times, Nigeria

Paul Kelemba, Freelance for The Standard on Saturday, Kenya

Deo Gratias Tchédé Kindoho, Radio Bénin, Benin

Julie Laurenz & Jacqueline Jayamaha, Freelance for e.tv, South Africa

Petride Mudoola, Freelance for Sunday Vision, Uganda

Abubakari Akida Mussa, Mtanzania, Tanzania

Pedro Paxi Pereira Ndoma, TV Zimbo, Angola

George Oduor Otieno, Baraka FM, Kenya

Hyacinthe Boowurosigue Sanou, L'Observateur Paalga, Burkina Faso

Enock Sikolia & Charles Kariuki, NTV, Kenya

Arison Tamfu, Cameroon Journal, Cameroon

Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún, Blogger at ktravula.com, Nigeria

Arukaino Umukoro, Punch, Nigeria

Bento Venâncio, Jornal Domingo, Mozambique

Herman Verwey, Beeld, South Africa

Kiundu Waweru, The Standard on Saturday, Kenya

Sarah Wild, Mail & Guardian, South Africa

BREAKING. MultiChoice removing the Islam Channel; replacing it with Islam Television from mid-June.

MultiChoice is taking away the Islam Channel (DStv 347) at the end of May and replacing it with a new Muslim channel, Islam Television (ITV) in the middle of June.

Islam Channel will be taken off on 31 May. On 18 June Islam Television will start. MultiChoice says the swap in channels is in response to Muslim subscribers of DStv expressing a need for more locally produced Islamic content.

"Islam Television is a vibrant and informative channel with a wide spectrum of programmes underscored by an Islamic ethos," says MultiChoice. The change will take place in two phases with Islam Channel being removed on 31 May and there will be a break in transmission as testing for the new channel is undertaken.

Islam Television CEO Farhad Omar said the programming of the channel includes a mix of Islamic themed spiritual, social entertainment and lifestyle programmes. "This diverse mix of programming ensures balanced and culturally appropriate television content 24/7."

MultiChoice launches a new separate Chinese bouquet of 11 channels in the rest of Africa entitled Great Wall Africa.

MultiChoice has launched a new separate Chinese channels bouquet in the rest of Africa at the beginning of March, entitled Great Wall Africa, and which is part of the pay TV platform's major investment in the continent in conjunction with China's state-run China Central Television (CCTV).

ALSO READ: China's CCTV News starts Africa Live, a new daily hour long show about Africa, as its CCTV Africa production office goes into operation.

CCTV officially opened its CCTV Africa production office and CCTV Africa news production centre in Nairobi Kenia in January - the first time China Central Television News (CCTVN) has set up a production centre anywhere outside of China.

CCTV News is basically following the model of CNN International and BBC World News and is trying to make big inroads in Africa and the way that the continent's increasing mobile and mobile using consumers get their news.

While South African viewers already saw CCTVN (DStv 409) - China's 24 hour English news channel - this channel is now forming part of the Great Wall Africa bouquet for the rest of Africa. The Great Wall Africa bouquet consists out of 11 TV channels showcasing China and its diverse people with a selection of local Chinese TV stations in a range of languages including Chinese (Mandarin), English and French.

MultiChoice is a backer of CCTV's expansion across the continent.

The channels included in the Great Wall Africa bouquet includes:
■ CCTV News: A 24 hour news channel, already seen in South Africa. Africa Live which can be seen weekdays at 19:00 (South African time) and which started in January is a fantastic news panorama of the continent's news with profile and business stories.
■ CCTV 4: Offers news, documentaries and series targeting Mandarin, Cantonese and English speaking viewers.
■ CCTV François: A Chinese channel in French.
■ CCTV 9 Documentary: Offers a combination of documentaries that showcase Chinese history, nature, social interactions and cultural lifestyle in both local Mandarin Chinese and English.
■ CNC: Chinese news channel.

The bouquet also has a selection of Mandarin focused channels:

■ The Mandarin Entertainment Channel: A 24 hour entertainment channel offering drama series, children programs, variety shows and news programming.
■ China Movie: 24 hour Mandarin movie channel that features Chinese movies.
■ Shanghai Dragon TV: 24 hour Mandarin channel featuring movies, drama, global news, finance news, variety shows, children, educational content, cultural programs and lifestyle programs.
■ Hunan TV: 24 hour Mandarin channel featuring movies, drama, global news, finance news, variety shows, children, educational content, cultural programs and lifestyle programs.
■ JSTV – 1: 24 hour Mandarin entertainment television channel focusing on the Wuyue culture. The channel broadcasts news, showbiz information and television dramas.
■ Phoenix Entertainment: 24 hour Mandarin channel featuring movies, drama, global news, finance news, variety shows, children, educational content, cultural programs and lifestyle programs.

MultiChoice's Great Wall Africa bouquet is available in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comores, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda.

DStv is making the Great Wall Africa bouquet available for free until the end of March after which the separate subscription will kick in.

BREAKING. E.tv ''thrilled'' after Sam Rogers wins the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year award.

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KAMPALA, UGANDA. - E.tv is thrilled about the South African TV channel's journalist Sam Rogers winning the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the year award for 2010 - the second time that she's clinched this prestigious journalism prize.

I'm first with reaction from e.tv after Sam Rogers won out of 2 074 entries from more than 40 African countries in this year's CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 that took place last night in Kampala, Uganda.

''Sam Rogers' documentary was broadcast on 3rd Degree on e.tv. It provided a compelling and searing insight into the social injustice and treatment of albinos in Tanzania,'' Debora Patta, 3rd Degree's executive presenter and host, tells me. ''We are thrilled that Sam Rogers has won the highest prize in journalism in Africa for a second time.''

I also got reaction from Patrick Conroy, group head of the e.tv's eNews division. ''eNews also had a TV reporter, Rose Ramsay in the finals,'' he says. ''This shows that the quality of both eNews' current affairs and news is of a very high standard. We're working very hard to improve all the time as a news team.''

ALSO READ: Sam Rogers from eNews wins the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year Award for 2010.

BREAKING. Sam Rogers from eNews wins CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year for 2010.

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KAMPALA, UGANDA. -
The investigative TV journalist Sam Rogers from e.tv's eNews in South Africa has won the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2010 Award for her story ''Curse of the Nobody People"' about people with albinism in Tanzania being targeted and killed for body parts.

This is the second time that Sam Rogers has now won this highly coveted African journalism award, who was also this year's category winner for the Television Features Award for her heartwrenching story about people with albinism in Tanzania who are hunted and killed and their body parts sold to witch doctors. Sam Rogers won as CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year in 2001 together with Jacques Pauw. The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 took place earlier this evening in Kampala, Uganda, once described by Winston Churchill as ''the pearl of Africa''. The awards ceremony will be broadcast on the eNews Channel (DStv 403) on July 12.

This is the 15th year that the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards have taken place and its the first time that the televised awards ceremony has been held in Uganda, a country that has a dubious record of press freedom and where the non-profit organisation Human Rights Watch just issued a scathing report regarding 35 violent attacks against journalists that took place in the country last year. The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards, recognising excellence in journalism in Africa, received more than 2 000 entries this year from 975 journalists in more than 40 African countries.

Other South African journalism wins include Lucas Ledwaba who wrote a feature article for Drum magazine, ''Dying to get better: The Free State's ARV shame'' about HIV/Aids who won in the category for the HIV/Aids Reporting Award. The DispatchOnline Team won the new Digital Journalism Award sponsored by BlackBerry for their ''Slumlords'' story.

CNN International's Isha Sesay shines at the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 in a dress by Stella.

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KAMPALA, UGANDA. -
The terrific Isha Sesay, host of the weekly magazine show Inside Africa on CNN International (DStv 401) simply shined as the host of the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 that will be broadcast on the eNews Channel (DStv 403) on July 12.

I asked Isha Sesay about her maroon dress and beaded necklace that she chose to wear during her second stint (last year was her first) as the host of Africa's most prestigious competition and awards ceremony honouring journalism across the continent that took place earlier this evening.

''Every year we try and get someone from our host country - a local designer to make the dress,'' Isha Sesay told me. ''We want - while it may have a European element to it - something that does speak to our African audience and that has an African theme or twist from that country,'' she said. ''This year we got a local designer here in Uganda by the name of Stella, she's the designer of this dress. It's a maroon dress - one of my favourite colours. And a halter neck - once again something that is a personal favourite chose to wear. I'm really thrilled to wear this dress - especially one made just for me. Not every girl gets that!''

ALSO READ: CNN International's Isha Sesay ''really, really thrilled to host the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards again.

FIRST LOOK! Isha Sesay looks as good as gold; ''really, really thrilled'' to host the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards again.

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KAMPALA, UGANDA. - I spotted the beautiful Isha Sesay, the host of the weekly magazine show Inside Africa on CNN International (DStv 401) last night at a VIP dinner held for attendees of this evening's CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010. Isha Sesay completely rocked in a purple dress with some chandelier ear rings and she chose gold as the colour for her accessories.

I asked Isha Sesay how she's feeling about hosting the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards for a second time. ''I feel really, really thrilled and honoured to be asked a second time,'' Isha Sesay told me. ''The first time you do it you can't enjoy it. You just can't. You're learning the ropes, you're getting to know the team. The second time around, I'm loving working with the team. I really want to give a shout out to the team that pulls together this event. The CNN team coming from London and the MultiChoice team from South Africa – they're incredible. Really some of the best in the business that I've worked with.''

I wanted to know how she feels about Uganda. ''I've mainly been in the hotel since I got here,'' Isha Sesay told me. ''All I've had the chance to engage with Uganda people so far has really just been in the hotel, but they have for their part been so welcoming and have just embraced hosting the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards this year. Its such a mammoth event that you just can't pull it off without everyone pulling together. Staff at places can get very fed up, very quickly with this huge roadshow that suddenly pulls in, but they have been wonderful and they have been very, very welcoming. I have to come back to Uganda!''

Isha Sesay also had a near miss car accident on her way to Uganda. ''We left from Nairobi, Kenia to come here to Uganda which in itself was eventful,'' she laughs. ''In Nairobi their traffic seems to compete with Ugandan traffic - a lot of traffic and a lot of logistical issues. We were coming from Kenia to get here. We were on the roads and we had a near miss because everyone's driving as if they've got somewhere more important to get to that what you do. Generally speaking we haven't had any major dramas. We've done okay,'' she laughs.

BREAKING. Ugandan president Yoweri kaguta Museveni set to attend the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards tonight.

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KAMPALA, UGANDA. -
I can tell you that president Yoweri kaguta Museveni, the president of the Republic of Uganda is now set to attend the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 that is taking place this evening in the capital city of this African country.

The awards ceremony that might go out live tonight on Uganda's NTV broadcaster and will be shown on July 12 on the eNews Channel (DStv 403) in South Africa, will now have significantly beefed up security precautions.

''That means - as you would expect - that there will be increased security,'' said a person involved with the production side of this evening's ceremony that will also have several members of the continent's media elite, as well as a gaggle of journalists from all over Africa attending. ''There will be heavy security checks that will start early tomorrow [Saturday]. I ask for your patience and I ask for your understanding with all that that entails,'' attendees were told last night.

ALSO READ: Ugandan broadcaster NTV requests to broadcast CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards live on Saturday evening.

BREAKING. NTV requests to broadcast the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 live on Saturday evening.

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KAMPALA, UGANDA. -
I hear that Uganda's NTV is going to try and show viewers in the country the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 live tomorrow evening, Saturday 29 May.

If the legal and logistical broadcasting related wranglings of this can be sorted out in time, it will be the first time that the prestigious CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards ceremony - usually recorded live and then edited for later broadcast - will be broadcast live on television in Africa. The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 is taking place in Kampala, Uganda this year. With several Ugandan dignitaries set to attend, as well as Africa's most prestigious journalism competition that chose the African country as the place to have this year's event, NTV clearly wants to showcase this glam occasion to Ugandan viewers.

NTV has asked to broadcast the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards live this year, but there is no definite decision yet. As I understand it a live broadcast is definitely not certain and in the words of a person closely connected to the award ceremony and the broadcast who told about the news, ''it may or may not be happening.''

''The request has been made. It may happen and that in itself will have an implication for Saturday's awards ceremony.'' What a live broadcast will mean is a slightly reworked line-up, a slightly edited down ceremony in terms of breaks in-between (the usual awards usually entail a few retakes), presenters sticking closer to the teleprompter script and less banter, and a more stage-managed awards studio audience (who usually walks around too much anyway).

Irrespective of whether NTV gets to broadcast the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 live tomorrow evening or not, the awards ceremony celebrating African journalism across multiple mediums, will be broadcast on the eNews Channel (DStv 403) on July 12 in South Africa.

CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 media forum: ''Good television journalism is being done from many parts across Africa.''

KAMPALA, UGANDA. – ''We're operating in a new paradigm regarding the changing journalism landscape in Africa.'' So says Joel Kibaza, journalist, consultant and guest speaker at the media forum today at the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 that's being held in Uganda this weekend and attended by journalists working in various mediums, across the continent.

''I remember when it went without saying that a South African would win the television category in this awards ceremony. Radio and print categories were not so bad, but when it came to television there was an ocean of difference between entries from South Africa and those from many other parts of the continent. But just look at how this has changed. It is no longer the case that it has to be a South African winning because today we're getting good television journalism being done from many parts of the continent.''

Regarding journalism in Africa Joel Kibaza says ''things will not be easy. Bravery and principle are called for. For instance in countries where there's new oil and gas finds – what and how much can you report on the process, the people and the money involved, and where that money's going? The next 10 to 15 years will be a very, very different place but society will be the winner with greater openness and accountability. That's the role now of journalists, as well as into the future.''

Ikechukwu Amaechi, editor of The Daily Independent in Lagos says ''the media is not just a tool of promoting democracy in Africa, but it its backbone''. ''It's very important that their editorial independence and financial viability are ensured to protect the public interest.''

BREAKING. Africa's media elite getting ready to converge on Uganda for the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010.

Africa's media elite are getting ready to converge on Uganda where this year's CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 will be taking place in Kampala on Saturday evening.

The prestigious awards ceremony - the continent's biggest competition for African journalists across a broad range of mediums - will be broadcast on CNN International (DStv 401) in June, on as well as the eNews Channel (DStv 403) on June 12.

Besides contestants and journalists from all over Africa who will attend the award ceremony, several high-flying executives as well as well-known TV faces will be in attendance this year. Besides CNN's Isha Sesay who presents the weekly Inside Africa and who will most probably again dazzle as host, the CNN International correspondent David McKenzie based in Nairobi, Kenia and who's also well known to viewers might also drop in. e.tv's Debora Patta also told me that she will again be there this year.

Besides executives from CNN like Khosravi Parisa, the senior vice president and managing editor of CNN International, MultiChoice will also have some of its most prominent names from the pay TV operator attending the event. Nolo Letele, group CEO of MultiChoice South Africa will definitely be there, as will Collins Khumalo, president of MultiChoice Africa. Several parliamentary portfolio committee members for communication have been invited like Niekie van den Berg, Johnny de Lange and Rosalie Morutoa to name just a few.

The guest list from the rest of Africa read's like a veritable who's who from the world of journalism, with a plethora of press from Angola, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritius, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Senegal, Botswana, Kenia, Namibia, Nigeria and Zambia who will attend.

ALSO READ: CNN MultiChoice African Journalists Awards 2010 finalists announced.

BREAKING. DStv extends its range of on-screen icons with the terrific and impressive new DStv on Demand.

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I'm majorly impressed with MultiChoice's new DStv on Demand service that had its official commercial roll-out and launch on Wednesday. DStv on Demand is really actually breathtaking in functionality range, scope, speed, and user intuitive functionality - I tested it and there's nothing that I don't love about it.

Something I've noticed is also a few new icons to give viewers additional on-screen information when you access the on-screen electronic program guide (EPG). When available, some new icons appear in the i-plate. They might not be new, but I haven't seen them before.

WS stands for ''widescreen''. When it appears on DStv's EPG i-plate in the white strapline, it indicates that the programme is widescreen, which means that it's being shown on TV in the ''letterbox'' format which has a ratio of 16:9 and means that you actually get to see more.

This icon that is now also inserted, is an indication of sound quality. This icon indicated that dolby digital audio is available on a programme.

What does this green circular arrow icon mean? Oh. My. Word. I must have missed it, but it's a feature DStv has promised ever since the HD PVR was launched but wasn't available. SERIES RECORDING. Yep. You can now  - when you see this green icon, click and ensure that a whole season or series of the particular show is automatically recorded by your DStv PVR. Brilliant. Anytime that you see this green circle icon next to a show it means that this programme has ''series linking'' available and that you can set Series Recording on it. To set Series Recording, press REC and then select the option Record all episodes in this series.  This pop up bar is what you'll see when you set a recording on a programme with this green arrow icon.

I have been testing DStv on Demand on my own HD PVR in my home the second that MultiChoice made the announcement and it works superfast and perfectly. Although it does say BETA, it works wonderfully and I couldn't find anything that I wasn't very impressed with - including the fact that it shows high definition (HD) shows as far as possible in the list of available library programming.  I'm incredibly impressed by DStv's new PVR functionality extention. And as I've said, its free for all DStv Premium sbuscribers.

BREAKING. ''Even one day before TopTV launched, the former monopoly was forced to lower their prices.'' - Al Gore

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''We're very proud to be a part of the TopTV family. TopTV is now introducing a form of competition to the pay TV market which hasn't been present in South Africa before.'' So said Al Gore, the former American vice president and chairman of Current TV (TopTV 406) at a press conference this morning for Current TV in Johannesburg that I attended.

''What you will find as a result, is the lowering of prices for consumers.'' As Al Gore said this, at the very same time MultiChoice was making THIS announcement about starting a brand new cheaper DStv Lite bouquet at R99. 

''The effective monopoly in pay TV in South Africa – and I'm not criticizing them at all, it's just the way they pursued their business plan – illustrates why competition is good for consumers,'' said Al Gore. ''When there is no competition, prices are artificially high. Even in anticipation of competition – even one day before TopTV launched, the former monopoly was forced to lower their prices. I predict that you will see prices being forced to come down more.''

BREAKING. Pay TV price war! MultiChoice launches brand new DStv Lite bouquet.

A massive pay TV war has erupted in South Africa with MultiChoice who has just lanched a brand new bouquet, DStv Lite for R99 one day before On Digital Media (ODM)'s TopTV will start costing subscribers between R99 and R249.

MultiChoice is blatantly spoiling TopTV's big debut party with its sudden announcement that DStv Lite will be added and be available as from today to subscribers and that several of the other DStv bouquets will immediately get more TV channels. DStv Select 1 will get 8 additional TV channels (new total: 34), DStv Select 2 will get 6 additional TV channels (new total: 32) and DStv Compact will get 4 additional TV channels (new total: 44).

''We are very excited about the latest DStv offering,'' says Nico Meyer, CEO of MultiChoice SA. ''We always look for opportunities to improve and grow our services by adding value and choice. We have several new services in the pipeline.''

CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2010 finalists announced with 6 South African contenders.

This year's finalists of the prestigious CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2010 competition has been announced.

The continent wide competition, currently in its 15th year - that celebrates and rewards African journalism in a wide variety of formats, mediums and languages in a wide selection of categories - will have its award ceremony and gala evening on Saturday, 29 May in Kampala, Uganda. The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2010 awards evening will once again be broadcast by CNN International (DStv 401) as well other African TV channels.

The host this year will once again be CNN International's Isha Sesay, presenter of CNN International's weekly Inside Africa. She will be joined by dr. Ronnie Mich Egwang, a Ugandan TV presenter.

This year the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2010 competition received 975 entries from 40 African countries, including French and Portuguese speaking Africa. This was whittled down to 27 finalists from 15 countries, with six finalists from South Africa.

For the complete list of the finalists, as well as what CNN International as well as MultiChoice has to say about this year's CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards, click on READ MORE below.

BREAKING. Isha Sesay back as co-host of CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010.

The beautiful CNN presenter Isha Sesay is back as the co-host of the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010. The international news channel has announced that Isha Sesay who co-hosted the glam event last year celebrating the best of African journalist on the continent, will do so again this year when it's held (and televised continent wide) in Kampala, Uganda.

The 15th year of this prestigious competition has its annual awards night on 29 May and the closing date for entries is 28 January 2010. If you want to find out more about that, you can read my earlier posts about exactly how to enter and the categories RIGHT HERE.

''I'd encourage African journalists to enter as a way to get broader recognition for their work as a professional journalist across the continent,'' says Isha Sesay.

The competition is open to all African professional journalists including freelancers across print, television, radio, internet with photojournalism recognised as well.

A REMINDER. CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010.

This is to remind you about the importance of 28 January. Why is that important? That is the cut-off and closing date for entries for the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010. You can enter by clicking RIGHT HERE.

The televised awards ceremony will take place this year in May in Kampala, Uganda. This competition rewarding journalism excellence from the African continent is in its 15th year.

Finalists in this year's competition will participate in a four day finalists’ programme that will include a media forum and networking opportunities with media glitterati. The judging will take place in March 2010 and all entries should be broadcast or published during January 2009 – December 2009.

Entries open for CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010.

Journalists can now enter for the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 with the televised awards ceremony that will take place in May 2010 in Kampala, Uganda.

The closing date for entries is 28 January 2010 and no extensions will be given. The competition rewarding journalism excellence from the African continent is in its 15th year.

''It is with great pleasure that we announce the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2010 returning to East Africa,'' says Tony Maddox, executive vice president and managing director of CNN International.

''With all eyes on South Africa ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it's imperative that journalists are encouraged and supported to tell the African story with passion and excellence,'' says Nico Meyer, CEO of MultiChoice SA.

Over the past 15 years the competition has grown in size and stature to become Africa's most prestigious media event. This past year it attracted entries from 38 African countries. The awards ceremony was held in Durban, which I was invited to and attended, and it was broadcast in 44 African countries.

For all the information on how to enter, the categories and all the details (remember you only have until 28 January 2010 to enter!), click on READ MORE below.