The winners in the different catergories with Amb. Sadek(C) after receiving their accolades(Photo/Joyce Namugambe)
Joyce Namugambe
African Centre for Media Excellency (ACME) has awarded best perfoming journalists under the Uganda National Media awards 2023, who have excelled in different fields after the nomination committee went through the right procedures to make the final selections of the best runners.
The Uganda National Media Awards which were inaugurated in 2014 are considered the country’s largest and most reputable celebration of journalism excellence, which has motivated journalists to expand their creative horizons and get into critical subjects and advocate for positive change in the society.
ACME’s Excective director Dr. George Lugalambi emphasised that these awards are not only to celebrate excellent journalism, but also serve as a reminder that the persuit of verified truth and authentic public information is of paramount importance in our ever evolving world.
The judges particularly appreciated the remarkable quality and quantity of submissions in the Community Reporting category. The panel applauded the dedication of journalists who participated in this category, acknowledging their commitment to amplifying local and grassroots narratives.
The judges particularly appreciated the remarkable quality and quantity of submissions in the Community Reporting category. The panel applauded the dedication of journalists who participated in this category, acknowledging their commitment to amplifying local and grassroots narratives.
The total number of entries was 262, of which 186 was the number of participating journalists, 27% being female journalists. Under media type representation, Newspaper covered 35%, online platforms 30%, Television 20%, Radio 13%, and News magazine 2%. And under regional distribution , Kampala covered 57%, Northern region 19%, Eastern region 10%, Western region 8%, and central region 6%.
During the awarding ceremony that took place at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, the united nations Ambassador in Uganda Jan Sadek noted that if journalists are given freedom to do their work, they can fully execute creativity during their work for the good of the country and urged government to look into the matter for journalists to get their freedom.
The Chairman board of directors of ACME Susan Nsibirwa said that these awards are aimed at motivating journalists for their creativity especially for the hard time they go through for afull year.
The chairman for the nomination committee Benson Oluka noted that many journalists out there produce good stories but have no means of being appreciated. He arged media employers to help their journalists produce quality stories so that they can excel in their cariers.
Among the winners include Nalweyiso Barbra and Dan Ayebare for community reporting, Ronald Musoke and Gerald Tenywa for urbanisation and land reporting, Richard Wetaya and Walter Mwesigye for science and Technology reporting, Ester Oluka, Elizabeth Namurungi and Henry Sekanjakko, for business and finance reporting, Culton Scovia Nakamya for culture reporting, David Kiyengo for Environment reporting, among others.
ACME extends its heartfelt congratulations to all the finalists and commends all participating journalists for their unwavering commitment to impactful and meaningful journalism in Uganda.
