Johannesburg – News24, AmaBhungane and Daily Maverick were crowned overall winners of the Vodacom Journalist of the Year (VJOY) awards in Midrand on Thursday evening.
They were honoured for their groundbreaking work exposing the extent of the influence that the controversial Gupta family has over South African public enterprises, through a series of leaks called the #GuptaLeaks.The investigative journalists awarded for their work on the #GuptaLeaks are: Branko Brkic, Pauli van Wyk, Lester Freamon, Adriaan Basson, Richard Poplak, Adi Eyal, Micah Reddy, Susan Comrie, Angelique Serrao, Stefaans Brummer, Antoinette Muller, Marianne Thamm, Sam Sole, Tabelo Timse, Pieter-Louis Myburgh, Craig McKune, Lionel Faull, Rebecca Davis and Sally Evans.
News24 editor Adriaan Basson said he was proud of the collaboration between News24, amaBhungane and Daily Maverick and the acknowledgement they have received for their hard work on the #GuptaLeaks.
"The fact that we are all online platforms shows that investigative journalism is alive, well and thriving in the fast-paced world of digital journalism," he said.
At the gathering, veteran journalist Phil Mtimkulu was awarded the VJOY Lifetime Achiever Award.
Mtimkulu was one of the founding members of the Union of Black Journalists in 1972 and was its secretary when it was banned in 1977.