TV newsers Joy Summers from M-Net's Carte Blanche; Yusuf Omar and Philip Owira of eNCA win category prizes at Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards.

Several TV newsers won prizes at the 2015 National Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards with accolades for eNCA (DStv 403), M-Net (DStv 101) and Carte Blanche.

Joy Summers won her second award in one year for the same story. M-Net's Carte Blanche investigative magazine show won for the story "Bobbroff's Fall from Grace" as the winner in the category for Best TV feature.

The same Carte Blanche insert won earlier this month at the Legal Journalist of the Year Awards.

The Vodacom Journalist of the Year Awards judges said the insert was "a victory for consumer journalism told very effectively through the medium of television. It demonstrates a thorough investigation into the legalities and finances of the complex process of personal injury claims and how they get abused".

Philip Owira from eNCA won in the category for Best TV news insert for "Rhodes has Fallen. The judges called it "a brilliant piece".

The overall Editor's Choice Award was given to eNCA's Yusuf Omar.

Yusuf Omar will join the Thomson Foundation in the United Kingdom for The Summer Convergence Course in August 2016 and will get one week's work experience at a British media organisation.

Comedy Central on DStv opened to DStv Compact subscribers for a week from 28 September to watch start of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

To market Comedy Central and DStv, MultiChoice is opening the Comedy Central (DStv 122) channel for a week from 28 September to DStv Compact subscribers so that they can watch the start of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

Meanwhile eNCA (DStv 403) reporter Yusuf Omar is going to New York, without an arranged interview, but hoping that Trevor Noah might speak to him and asking viewers to help him to make it happen.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah will start on 28 September in the United States and start showing from Tuesday 29 September in South Africa on Comedy Central, with episodes broadcast Tuesdays to Fridays at 21:00.

Viewers will be able to catch episodes from 30 September online at comedycentralafrica.com.

"Every comedy fan in the country is eager to witness how Trevor Noah is going to handle the biggest gig of his life and able to see him fly the flag for South Africa," says Evert van der Veer, the head of Comedy Central Africa.

"This is such an important milestone for African comedy and we are expecting record viewing figures for the premiere and first week of broadcast," says Evert van der Veer.

"The launch of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah is such a proud and historic moment for all South Africans," says Aletta Alberts, the general manager of content at MultiChoice. "We're delighted to share Trevor's international success with our DStv Compact customers."

Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 9 September 2015.

Ariana Grande wants The Wendy Williams Show to be cancelled.
Oh dear. So trash. The dearly delusional Ariana Grande wants Wendy Williams on BET (DStv 129) to end. As if that will happen. The talker will be back on 14 September for its new season.

Gay the Force be with you.
Star Wars soldier comes out.

Richard E. Grant joins Game of Thrones ...
for a mysterious, unnamed role in the 6th season which will be on M-Net (DStv 101).

Nickelodeon (DStv 305) might put all of its 90s cartoons in one movie.
As part of a "massive, live-action animated crossover film" with all of the 1990s Nickelodeon cartoon characters.

Behind the scenes of the second season of Empire
before it starts on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) on 24 September at 21:00.

Why your DStv and StarSat subscription is to high.
Vox explains the collection of big-ticket channels and the channels of rerun old content that's basically free - and how the aggregate actually means the individual pay-TV subscribers pays less than what you would if you pay for individual channels only.

eNCA (DStv 403) reporter Yusuf Omar doesn't have an interview...
... but is going to New York anyway to try and get an interview with Trevor Noah for the start of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122). And want viewers' help.

A petition to have subtitles on South African programming.
The 1,4 million deaf and hard of hearing people in South Africa demands that the SABC, SABC News, eNCA, M-Net, DStv and Carte Blanche add closed captioning (cc) and subtitles to their programming at all times, everyday. It's existed and been available for years in America and South African television is decades behind.

A camerawoman in Hungary caught kicking refugee children!
The disgusting animal from N1TV has a name: Petra László. The trash is filmed kicking two children and tripping a dad who falls while he is carrying his child. The despicable human has been dismissed by N1TV for "unacceptable behaviour".

A late April set visit to Downton Abbey just typed up now for the final 6th season.
Interesting nuggets from behind-the-scenes of the show which will be back on BBC First (DStv 119).

The Walking Dead on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) has to deal with drones on set looking for spoilers.
"It's a compliment," says the show.

BBC looking to win over Game of Thrones viewers with new drama The Last Kingdom.
Downton Abbey creators are working on the new show for BBC - a gritty historical drama featuring massacre, beheading, crucifixion, sexual humiliation and chronicling the birth of England as overwhelmed Anglo-Saxon kings fight against big Danes.

Is the clever-cool Connect with Yusuf Omar on eNCA a brand-new (brilliant!) weekly current affairs show just waiting to be born?

A wonderful, brilliant and amazing thing happened on eNCA (DStv 403) this morning at 09:00 when what looks like a brand-new and great new show, Connect with eNCA reporter Yusuf Omar suddenly were broadcast on the South African 24-hour TV news channel.

There was no word from eNCA that Connect would be shown today, no information about it, and at the end of business today eNCA didn't respond with any answers to media enquiries asking for more information about it (although eNCA promised more information on Thursday).

Connect on eNCA with Yusuf Omar was shockingly (in a good sense) different.

It was refreshingly interesting and fun to watch whilst being informative and made for mesmerising and immersive viewing - from the social media commentary guests chosen to weight in and who appeared via Skype, to the screen-integration used, the "show's" novel camera angles employed, and the whole concept of the "show".

Connect, cleverly integrating the memes, themes, technology and style of news gathering and dissemanation used by millions of younger viewers today was only 9 and a half minutes long but was sparkling.

It was filled with facts, graphics and colours along with a cool use of the resources of TV news technology to create a type of an "online, real-time" community, one which was sharing insightful commentary and absorbing it at the same time.

The 4-way simultaneous Skype screen on Connect was cool and gimmicky, but not just gimmicky, and even if it was gimmicky, it was wonderful and new and showed what a South African TV news channel like eNCA is now actually really capable of doing if it tried.

While the weekly Maggs on Media on eNCA on Sundays with Jeremy Maggs is a round-up of media news with great and comprehensive coverage of the South African media, marketing and advertising landscape - a well-produced weekly programme of record, Connect came across as a perfect "little brother" for almost a younger target market, or a social-media savvy, news consumer market.

Cleverly and highly relevant, the "first" topic of Connect was the social media story of the Oscar Pistorius trial or news event.

The "show" within a show dissected the news subject from all sides and angles of the social media spectrum with Yusuf Omar making full use - and to great effect - of the wall screen, complete with preppy lime green tablet in front of him.

Connect on eNCA was cool television - like Al Jazeera's The Stream and Russia Today's Breaking the Set with Abby Martin, - something never yet seen on South African television but seen today and attempted (with success) for the first time on South African TV news.

It was an even better version of The Oscar Pistorius Trial TV channel's now-defunct Social Media Analysis Show which was broadcast at 18:00 while the trial was running and which was anchored by Emma Sadleir. That show was the second most watched show on that DStv channel.

The 9 and a half minute Connect "show" done by Yusuf Omar is now on YouTube:

Several runners working in South African television taking part in the 89th Comrades Marathon.

Several runners working in South African television are taking part in the 89th Comrades Marathon taking place today, with long distance athletes running from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.

SABC2 is broadcasting the Comrades Marathon but failed to respond to multiple media enquiries the past week seeking basic information regarding who the presenters, commentators and analysts are, and how SABC2 would be covering this year's ultra marathon race.

e.tv's chief meteorologist Derek van Dam is taking part in the 2014 Comrades Marathon - the second time that the eNCA (DStv 403) weather presenter is running the race.

Fellow eNCA'er Yusuf Omar who ran the 2013 Comrades Marathon is also back this year.

The SABC's reporters from KwaZulu-Natal, Renee Heine and Vusi Khumalo - who's run it three times already - are also running the race.

Mutsitsielwa Mureri, a current affairs producer and presenter of the SABC in Polokwane is also running today, the second time that she is attempting the Comrades.

Yusuf Omar of the eNCA puts a plaster on his nipple; runs the 2013 Comrades Marathon successfully and files a story.

Yusuf Omar - the reporter referred to as "tenacious Omar" by anchor Iman Rappetti - showed viewers of the 24-hour news channel how he put a bandage on his nipple, and then ran the 2013 Comrades Marathon's 87 kilometres from Durban after which he filed a story.

Last seen running on television when he was jogging in just a red speedo for a charitable cause in a fun run in November last year, Yusuf Omar this time around plastered bandages over his sensitive bits to run the world famous marathon with his race number G32595.

He also video clips along the way, and completed the race in which fellow eNCA'er Derek van Dam, the eNCA's chief weather man, also took part.

"It may look funny putting a bandage on my nipple but we're going to run on average a 100 000 steps. So that kind of friction means that bleeding nipples are no laughing matter," said Yusuf Omar.

"For this race you need strong legs, a good heart and you have to be a litte crazy. Was it painful? Absolutely. But I'll be back next year," said Yusuf Omar. He did his closer to camera in Pietermaritzburg lying in the ground, holding up his medals.

Working in a Warzone on the eNCA as a special once-off documentary this week, details TV reporter Yusuf Omar's visit to Syria.

Working in a Warzone is a brand-new and special once-off documentary viewers are able to see this week on the eNCA (DStv 403) in which eNCA reporter Yusuf Omar documents the Syrian conflict through South African eyes.

The 24 year old Yusuf Omar recently travelled across northern Syria, ducking mortar fire and meeting victims of the Syrian war while he shared meals with members of the Free Syria Army. Yusuf Omar accompanied the disaster relief group Gift of the Givers and kept the cameras rolling.

Working in a Warzone can be seen this week on the eNCA on Tuesday (28 May) at 10:30 and 21:30, Wednesday (29 May) at 15:30, Thursday (30 May) at 09:30, Friday (31 May) at 12:30 and Saturday (1 June) at 09:30).

In a eNCA press statement the 24-hour news channel says Working in a Warzone offers a raw and personal account of what it takes to tell a story from the edge of a civil war and "gives unique behind-the-scenes insight into life on the ground in battle-ravaged Syria - with all its ruined cities, refugee camps and deserted schools."

"Yusuf Omar's documentary introduces farmers-turned-fighters and their children who are caught in the crossfire."

"There's nothing romantic about being a war correspondent. The only thing that keeps you sane is finding the moments of humanity in all the madness," says Yusuf Omar.


Editor's note: Full disclosure - I HATE photos in which people can be seen holding guns. Nothing against weapons. However, several fictional TV shows and drama series issue publicity material in which stars are holding or pointing weapons. Those storylines are not about euthanising puppies. It's a tool for violence against other humans.

Low-class (and often uninformed or oblivious editors) editors of celebrity, consumer and tabloid magazines shamelessly fall for it and use these photos - often soap stars in "dramatic" storylines - be media savvy and look out for it - you'll see it more often than you actually should.

I've had several battles and heated meetings in the past 13 years at places where I've worked to not have an image of a gun in the hands of a soap star or NCIS hero or new e.tv local drama on a magazine cover or carried on inside pages. I believe it normalises violence. I had pages made over and guns cropped out.

I'm publishing the publicity photo above only (and still with reservation) because its real people and not fake characters glamourising weapons, the guns speak to the core of what the documentary is actually about, and the photo illustrates some of the circumstances the TV reporter physically found himself in.

IT TAKES BALLS. Why eNCA reporter Yusuf Omar dropped his pants on television to do his to-camera piece clad in a red speedo.

Now this takes balls: to do your link to camera for your news story in a red speedo - but that is exactly what the eNCA reporter Yusuf Omar just did.

For his latest eNCA (DStv 403) story Yusuf Omar dropped trou to cover (or uncover) the DaREDevil Run of 1 300 Speedo-clad guys jogging in Baywatch style through Sandton on Friday to raise awareness for testicular cancer.

Yusuf Omar also took part in the race (below left) - keeping his spiffy jacket and tie on, but dropping his pants for a red speedo and lime green sneakers as he jogged along with his own handheld camera,  as a cameraman filmed the insert.

Then Yusuf Omar did his end link. Whilst the camera angle initially started with a close-up shot and Yusuf Omar only seen in his jacket and tie as for a conventional to-camera closing, the camera then panned out and back to suddenly reveal the "surprise": that he's actually wearing a red speedo too. Look ma, no pants!