BABALO NTSINI and
ALIZWA DAYILE
Go! & Express editor Mfundo Piliso, pictured right, was crowned the national winner in the competitive writing: hard news and investigative category at the annual AVBOB Forum of Community Journalists (FCJ) Excellence Awards held in Pretoria on Friday. The gala dinner at Menlyn Maine brought together print journalists, editors, and media practitioners from across SA to celebrate ethical, high-impact community journalism.
Piliso took first place in the category, leading a competitive top 10 field evaluated by a panel of industry veterans led by convenor Andre Gouws. AVBOB FCJ Excellence Awards: hard news and investigative top three:
Winner: Mfundo Piliso, Go! & Express
Second Place: Wayne van der Walt, Highvelder
Third Place: Tumelo Brain Dibakwane, Lowvelder
Chris van Heerden, product manager of Ubuntu Media community titles, shared his immense pride regarding the news.
“The community journalism landscape thrives on reporters who hold those in power accountable and shine a light on local issues.
“At the forefront of this mission is our very own editor, Mfundo Piliso, whose relentless dedication to impactful community service reporting has earned widespread national acclaim,” said Van Heerden.
“This latest win at the Forum of Community Journalists (FCJ) Awards marks a sensational chapter for local storytelling. It adds a major milestone to a remarkable streak of achievements, following closely on the heels of his nomination at the prestigious Sikuvile Awards earlier this year,” said Van Heerden.
Piliso said the body of work, Dereliction and Danger, was a collective effort between Go! and its sister paper, the Daily Dispatch. Making the final cut from more than 600 entries was, he said, “mind-blowing ”.
“Daily Dispatch and Go! news desks worked tirelessly to ensure I was probing and poking all the holes in the story.
“This award is dedicated to all of them and to all our Go! Readers,” said Piliso.
Speaking at the ceremony, AVBOB CEO
