Media Council of Malawi (MCM) has awarded Nation Publications Limited (NPL) the Newspaper of the Decade for its contribution to the country’s information and communication industry.
NPL was among 14 recipients honoured on Monday night in Lilongwe during the Access to Information and Media Awards held to celebrate MCM’s 30th anniversary and fourth Annual Media and Access to Information Conference (Amatic).
MCM programme officer Phil Chinkhokwe said the awards were meant to promote the highest ideals of journalism and public-interest communication.
| courtesy of MHRC
In its citation, MCM said NPL’s award was in recognition of its “sustained contribution to professional, independent and public interest journalism on Malawi through investigative reporting, accountability journalism and reporting on issues affecting the lives and livelihoods of Malawians”.
“These are not awards for outstanding media performance, but for the values and professional standards that should define the media,” said Chinkhokwe.
He said the awards align with the council’s emphasis on promoting professionalism, ethical standards, pluralism and accountability, adding that the values should be emulated by the next generation of media practitioners, educators and institutions.
In other awards, veteran journalist Alaudin Osman, founder of Capital FM and the country’s first presidential press secretary, received the Lifetime Achievement in Media Award while Platform for Investigative Journalism executive director Gregory Gondwe was presented with the Most Resilient Journalist of the Decade Award with former Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi Chapter chairperson Tereza Ndanga receiving the Women in Media Leadership Award.
Media trainer Levi Zeleza Manda received the Media Academic Contribution Award while social media influencer Stanley Onjezani Kenani was honoured with the Responsible Digital Media Influencer Award.
Times Media Group received the Media Industry Leadership Award while Zodiak Broadcasting Station earned the Public Interest Broadcasting/Journalism Award while Trans World Radio got the Religious Broadcasting Contribution Award.
Mudzi Wathu Community Radio Station received the Community Radio Station of the Decade Award, MBC Radio 2 FM received the Entertainment Radio Station of the Decade Award, Misa Malawi got the Press Freedom Star Award, Montfort Media walked away with the Democracy Champion Media Award, and Sangwani Mwafulirwa received the Public Service Communication Legacy Award.
Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) also recognised institutions under its access to information assessment awards, with NPL among those recognised for its role in providing information to the public.
Minister of Information and Communications Technology Shadric Namalomba hailed the institutions and individuals for their contribution to sharing information and serving the public.
“Tonight has been a night of awards to appreciate the contributions that a number of our people have made in the industry, particularly in information, making sure that information is shared, publicised and gets to the people, the citizens themselves,” he said.
The awards followed a day of engagements and discussions aimed at strengthening the communication industry and promoting access to relevant, credible and reliable information.
Established in July 1993 at the dawn of multiparty democracy, NPL is the sole surviving publisher of the 30-plus newspapers born during the transition. It has over the years earned recognition for excellence in journalism by various institutions, including Misa Malawi Chapter which once again this year awarded it the Print Media House of the Year. NPL publishes The Nation, Weekend Nation, Nation on Sunday and Nation Online (www.mwnation.com).
