Ryland Fisher
Ryland Fisher

Ryland Fisher replaces Mapi Mhlangu, as this years convener of the judging panel he has more than 40 years of experience in the media industry as an editor, journalist, columnist, author, senior manager and executive. He is the former Editor of the Cape Times and The New Age, and was assistant editor of the Sunday Times. However, his experience in the media industry extends across all media platforms, including broadcast, online, books and events. He works with several media companies, in South Africa and abroad. Early in his career, he was one of the pioneers of alternative community journalism in South Africa, working at newspapers such as Grassroots, South and the New Nation. Fisher recently edited and compiled the book, The South Africa We Want To Live In, based on a series of dialogues on this topic. His first book, Making the Media Work for You (2002), provided insights into the media industry. His second book was Race (published 2007), which dealt with race and racism in post‐apartheid South Africa. In mid‐2018, he wrote and published a book about the history of the Atlantic Philanthropies in South Africa. He has contributed chapters to several other books. Among others, he has edited several books on Nelson Mandela and on empowerment, a book on 20 years of democracy in South Africa (published in July 2014) and two books on the National Development Plan (published in 2015 and 2017). He has also edited several publications on, among others, empowerment, youth development, human rights, local government and social corporate investment. Until recently, he wrote a weekly column for the Weekend Argus, called Thinking Allowed, and he still writes occasional articles for other publications in South Africa and abroad.

Arthur Goldstuck
Arthur Goldstuck

Arthur Goldstuck is founder of World Wide Worx, South Africa’s leading independent technology market research organisation. He is an award-winning writer, analyst and technology commentator and has been presented with the Distinguished Service in ICT Award by the Institute of IT Professionals of South Africa, for his contribution to the industry. He is author of 19 books, editor-in-chief of SA’s oldest consumer technology magazine, and writes a weekly trends column for Business Times in the Sunday Times, Africa’s largest-circulation newspaper. He has given talks to audiences globally and, in 2021, was inducted into the Southern African Speakers Hall of Fame. In 2022, the global analytics community Esomar named him to the Insights 250 honour roll of the world’s top innovators in market research, enterprise intelligence and data-driven marketing. He was named to the Southern African Educators Hall of Fame in 2023 for his role in mentorship and demystification of technology. He has been a judge in the Vodacom Journalist of the Year awards since 2011.

Neo Ntsoma
Neo Ntsoma

Neo Ntsoma is an award winning photographer, educator, curator, visual content strategist and creative consultant whose photos have appeared in international renowned newspapers, magazines and books as well as exhibitions worldwide. In 2004, Ntsoma became the first female recipient of the Mohamed Amin Award, the CNN African Journalist of the Year Photography Prize. Among many of her accolades, Ntsoma is also the recipient of the National Geographic All Roads Photography Award and the co-author of ‘Women by Women’, a book on 50 years of women’s photography in South Africa commissioned by the Ministry of Arts and Culture and published by Wits University Press. She has been a guest at the New York International Centre for Photography (ICP) (2005), Stanford University (2005), Yale University (2018) as well as Pathshala South Asian Media Institute in Bangladesh, where she taught for a year from 2002 to 2003. Ntsoma also serves as a global nominator in narrative art and visual storytelling for the well-known Joop Swart Masterclass and the 6×6 Global Talent Program of World Press Photo. In 2006, Neo Ntsoma was named one of the ‘100 Most Influential Women’ by Africa’s largest media group, Media24, and in both 2004 and 2006 Cosmopolitan magazine included her in their top thirty "awesome women". In 2019, Ntsoma was also featured in the Mail & Guardian bulletin of Top 100 Women Changing South Africa.

Collin Nxumalo
Collin Nxumalo

A journalist with over 30 years’ experience. I started my career at the now defunct World Newspaper in 1975, where after my internship, I was later appointed education correspondent for the paper. Following the newspaper’s banning in 1977, I joined the South African Press Association (SAPA), becoming the head of the Africa Desk, a section that looked after the then self-governing tribal homelands. In 1982 I enrolled at the Rhodes University for a Journalism & Media Studies Degree (I left after two years due to lack of funding). I later joined the oil company BP Southern Africa and assumed the position of Public Relations Officer. From there I proceeded to take up a position at Tiger Oates (now Tiger Brands) where I was appointed Public Relations Manager for their subsidiary, King Foods Corporation in1991. In 1996 he joined a public relations consulting firm, Diagonal Street Communications, and assumed the role of a director in charge of African affairs and Business Development. In 1998 I took up a position as editor-in-chief of the Portfolio Publications Group of companies, with specific responsibilities for the Portfolio of South Africa (Government profiling publication), and also the Portfolio of Black Business. In 2007 I became editor of the business publication, Enterprise Magazine, and at the beginning of 2009, I together with a colleague, launched Aspire Magazine, a quarterly business publication. In 2013 was awarded a Certificate in Advance Legal Studies by UNISA, following a two-year study course as part of the Introduction Programme to Legal Studies.

Dr Elna Rossouw
Dr Elna Rossouw

Elna recently retired from the University of Johannesburg after teaching Journalism for more than twenty years. She completed her BA Communication (1978) and BA Honours in Communication (1979) at the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU). After her studies she joined Beeld newspaper and later became a feature writer for the women’s magazine, SARIE. Elna resigned in 1987 to raise a family and start a freelance career in journalism contributing to various South African publications. In 1991, she joined rooirose magazine as supplements’ editor and was later promoted to managing editor of the magazine. At the start of the millennium, Elna decided to pursue an academic career and joined the Department of Communication at the Rand Afrikaans University (now UJ). In 2005, she was awarded her MPhil in Journalism (cum laude) at Stellenbosch University, and in December 2021 she gained her PhD (Journalism) from the same university. As a journalist-turned-educator, Elna engaged in teaching and learning, supervision, and curriculum development in the Department of Communication and Media at UJ. She acted as an external examiner for several South African universities, served as a judge on industry panels that recognise excellence in journalism, and is a member of the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF).

Professor Gilbert Motsaathebe
Professor Gilbert Motsaathebe

Prof Gilbert Motsaathebe, PhD is an NRF-rated Research Professor in the research entity Indigenous Language Media in Africa at the North-West University in South Africa. He was until recently the Editor-in- Chief of the Journal for Communication Sciences in Southern Africa. Previously he taught Journalism at the University of Johannesburg, the United Arab Emirates University in the UAE, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and several institutions in Nagasaki, Japan. He also worked as Deputy Director of Media Relations in the Office of the Premier of the North West province in South Africa. Prior to that, he worked as News Producer for Bop Television/SABC and ETV. He has published extensively in top-notch peer-reviewed journals in the area of Journalism and Mass Communication. His latest co-edited books include Television in Africa in the Digital Age published by Palgrave Macmillan and Radio, Public Life and Citizen Deliberation in South Africa published by Routledge. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the SEPHIS award which was tenable in India and the IVLP award which was tenable in the United States of America.

Manelisi Dubase
Manelisi Dubase

Manelisi Dubase is a seasoned journalist who worked for both print and broadcast media. He spent a year and half at the now defunct New Nation newspaper under the editorship of the late Zwelakhe Sisulu. He then joined the SABC in 1994 in Cape Town. During that period he covered the "talks about talks" and later the actual negotiations in Kempton Park and the 1994 election. In 1995 he was appointed as one of the SABC's first crew members who covered the first democratically elected parliament and its first president, Nelson Mandela. He remained in parliament until 2004 when he was appointed the broadcasters' Bureau Chief in New York and Washington. Here part of his assignment was to open SABC 's offices and coordinate news coverage throughout the US and the rest of South America. He returned to the parliament as the senior correspondent in 2010. In 2012 he was appointed as the SABC 's stakeholder representative in the National Council of Representatives, otherwise known as the NCOP. He returned to full time journalism in 2014 before he retired in 2021. Dubase was born in Gugulethu in 1968 and matriculated at Malefo High school in the North West. He enrolled at the school of journalism at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town. He is a father of three boys and a girl. He is currently doing freelance jobs and participating in community and school activities. He is an ardent reader, jogger and traveller.

Jovial Rantao
Jovial Rantao

Jovial Rantao is editor The African Mirror and former Group Ombudsman for Independent Media. He was the founding editor of the African Independent. He was also previously editor of The Sunday Independent, The Sunday Tribune and Deputy Editor of The Star. Before these appointments, he held numerous positions including executive editor, news editor, political editor and political as well as a labour correspondent. He is the chairperson of The African Editors Forum and former chair of the Southern African Editors Forum and the South African National Editors Forum. Rantao has also co-authored the book The Life and Times of Thabo Mbeki, published in 1999. He serves on the boards of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism and the Special Olympics of South Africa.

Obed Zilwa
Obed Zilwa

Obed Zilwa is a renowned South African photographer who has attracted photographic acclaim with an impressive collection of images that capture defining moments in South African and Southern African history. Obed started photography in the 1980s and worked for the Cape Times and the Cape Argus before joining the International News Agency, The Associated Press. His vast archives cover life under apartheid, South Africa’s transformation to democracy, Southern Africa’s struggles and triumphs, world leaders, artists and much more. Among other awards, Obed received the Mogadishu Fellowship Award for photography from Reuters.

Patricia McCracken
Patricia McCracken

Patricia McCracken is a multi-awardwinning writer with a strong interest in science communications and edited Veld & Flora, the magazine of the Botanical Society of South Africa, for more than five years. She is also a non-executive director of the board of the Consumer Goods & Services Ombud. She co-authored the well-received 2018 book, Strelitzias of the world: A historical and contemporary exploration of the paradise plants, which received a publishing award from the Stanley Smith (UK) Horticultural Trust. Her co-written history of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement is published this year. Patricia has contributed to specialist business, health and environmental media, as well as to mass media newspapers and in particular to magazines. She has also acted as an editorial consultant to organisations such as UNICEF, Health Development Trust, African Development Bank and the South African Tourism Enterprise Partnership. Patricia graduated from the University of Cambridge and worked in investment banking before moving into journalism. She received about 40 reporting award credits in fields such as personal finance, consumer, business, ICT, health and environment. These include a Vodacom Journalist of the Year National Print Feature for an investigation into the dangers of paraffin stoves that helped change SA law.

Advocate Robin Sewlal
Advocate Robin Sewlal

Robin Sewlal is an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa, and serves as an advisor, consultant, editor, strategist and trainer for various entities. He is the Chairperson of Radiocracy that encapsulates radio, democracy and development. Robin is a Judge of the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) and the United Kingdom Community Radio Awards. He has served the tertiary education sector for over three decades, and has extensive experience in both the print and electronic media having commenced freelance work with The Leader newspaper and Capital Radio. Robin was the Chairperson of the Board at the King Dinuzulu Hospital, and contributed as a board member to several organisations. Some other roles were as a Commissioner at the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA), and KwaZulu-Natal representative of the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef). Robin has edited several publications, and the book "Reflections of the South African Media: 1994-2019" is a tribute to Nelson Mandela. His current offering My Radio Memory™ is in celebration of a century of the charming medium in the country.

Portia Kobue
Portia Kobue

Portia Kobue is a passionate broadcast journalist advocating for women’s representation in media. With an Honours degree in Journalism and Media Studies from Wits University, she focuses on social justice issues, including poverty and gender-based violence. Kobue began her career at Radio Bop in 1993 and later joined the SABC, Highveld Stereo, and Kaya FM in various roles. She is a Catherine Fanning Fellow at the Kettering Foundation, researching media’s role in democracy. Kobue has also lectured at the University of Johannesburg and worked as an external examiner for Wits University’s Radio Journalism Course.