2017 BPC Media Award Winners

RESULTS – THE BAHAMAS PRESS CLUB MEDIA AWARDS 2017

THE KENNETH NATHANIEL FRANCIS AWARD FOR NEWSPAPER DESIGN AND COMPOSITION

WINNER: Ayhisha Small – Paginator, The Nassau Guardian

THE BURSELL BRADSHAW PRESS PHOTOGAPHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

WINNER: 4 – Torrell Glinton – Photographer, The Nassau Guardian

THE ERIC WILMOTT AWARD FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM

WINNER: Karissma Robinson - News Anchor/Journalist, ZNS

THE CYRIL STEVENSON AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING POLITICAL JOURNALISM

WINNER: Taneka Thompson – News Editor, The Tribune

THE LEON TURNQUEST AWARD FOR SPORTS PRINT JOURNALISM

WINNER: Renaldo Dorsett – Sports Reporter, The Tribune

SOCIAL MEDIA AWARD – BLOGGERS, PODCASTERS, LIVE STREAMING, ETC.

WINNER:  Timothy Bain – Instagram Reporter

THE AWARD FOR BEST TELEVISION NEWS STORY

WINNER: Kyle Walkine – Reporter, Our News/The Nassau Guardian

THE LESLIE HIGGS FEATURE WRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD

WINNER:  Jessica Robertson - Journalist/Marketing/Advertising/PR

 

THE PAN-AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION-WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION EXCELLENCE IN HEALTH PROMOTION AWARD

WINNER: Shavaughn Moss - Lifestyles Editor, The Nassau Guardian

THE AWARD FOR BEST EDITING FOR TELEVISION NEWS STORY OR DOCUMENTARY

WINNER: Rossano Deal – Social Media Editor, The Nassau Guardian

The P. ANTHONY WHITE AWARD FOR COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Inigo ‘Naughty’ Zenicazelaya – Columnist, The Tribune

UNIVERSITY OF THE BAHAMAS BEST FEATURE STORY AND BEST HARD NEWS STORY TV/RADIO (UB Students Only)

WINNER: Leah Cooper – Student, Media Journalism, University of The Bahamas

PM's Remarks at BPC Media Awards

                                                                                                                                                                 

Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis at the Third Annual Bahamas Press Club Awards.

Remarks by Dr. The Hon. Hubert A. Minnis, M.P.

Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas

                                            At

The Third Annual Press Club Media Awards

Saturday, November 18, 2017

British Colonial Hilton

SALUTATIONS: Press Club President Capron;

Executives;

Nominees;

Invited guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Thank you for the invitation to bring brief remarks at your third annual awards banquet. Let me begin by congratulating this year’s nominees.  I also wish to recognize the Lifetime Achievement Award granted to Gladstone Thurston for his contribution to journalism over many decades.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The press has an essential role in promoting good governance, transparency and accountability. By pressing public officials for accurate and timely information, the press helps citizens to learn about the decisions being made by a government on their behalf.

But in addition to the sometimes-heated moments or events of the day, there is much more that the press may report on, especially on matters of public policy.  There has been a tendency by political journalists to mostly report on the clashes and drama of politics.  Such reporting is fairly easy and exciting.  Still, while there is news in such events, there is considerably more, much more, when reporting on politics and the workings of government.  Some in the press often miss important and more consequential stories on important public policy questions.

By example, the landmark legislation that will be introduced to enable a certain classification of women and men denied equal access to citizenship in the Constitution has been unreported, while some other stories have gained more traction. Drama undeniably excites viewers and readers.  This is much easier to report on.

But certainly the press has a broader obligation to report on policy matters that will have a greater impact than some stories that are less substantial.

I have often found that the better reporting in our daily newspapers is to be found in the business sections, where the writers report in more detail on critical issues, which will have a significant and long-term impact.  It is telling that the headlines in the business sections are not tabloid in nature.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 A good journalist does not think or write in clichés.  A good journalist appreciates nuance and complexity. Often missing from local reporting is a broader context, which helps readers and viewers to understand an issue or story, with greater historical background and comparison with other countries and jurisdictions.

    I recall a conversation in which someone referred to a matter as a Bahamian problem.  They were corrected by someone else in the conversation, who rightly said that the matter at hand was a human problem, with a Bahamian twist.

Good public servants and good journalists have a broader, more global horizon. It is easy for public officials, business people, journalists and others to be insular, to navel-gaze, while avoiding a broader horizon.

Journalism that is not nourished by in-depth reading and by external news sources such as international broadcasts, magazines and newspapers, remains narrow and insular.

The government of the day is committed to creating a new culture when it comes to official corruption.  We are instituting a number of measures to promote cleaner government and to stem corruption.

This would be a good moment for the media and certainly for an enterprising reporter to research and report on the clean government and anti-corruption regimes of other jurisdictions.

Likewise, on other matters of public policy, it would be useful for the media to give their readers and viewers a more global perspective – in both senses of the word, “global” – on issues being debated in The Bahamas.

A good journalist is one who is curious and who continues to learn.  A good journalist appreciates the need for comparative reporting.  Readers and viewers are short-changed when reporters and editors become rote, mundane and predictable in their reporting.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

While I understand that journalists in The Bahamas must take on multiple roles given the number of reporters and limited resources; it is still surprising that some who serve as editors also regularly write or offer commentary.  This is not a practice that would be allowed by journalists in other countries.  I am not speaking here of editorial writing.

A journalist and a columnist are distinctly different roles!

Nor the editors of The New York Times or Globe and Mail in Canada, nor the editors at the British Broadcasting Corporation would allow their editors to write commentary or to host a radio program driven by personal opinion as well as commentary that purports to be news analysis.

The 24-hour cable news shows in the United States have in a number of ways led to a lessening of standards that would not have been allowed in previous times. There has been a considerable blurring of reporting and commentary. 

It is telling when certain standards have been breached, that some in the press do not even realize that a standard has been breached. Journalists are not supposed to be champions of any political party, business, group or interest in a country. 

Journalists must avoid conflicts of interest, and must be allowed to report fairly and honestly on where a story takes them.  The best journalism criticizes, celebrates and inspires. 

I note that while some journalist are often more prone to negativity and cynicism, there are many wonderful and positive stories reported by the press, though I sometimes believe there can be more such stories.

The editor in chief of the UK Guardian news and media group Katharine Viner recently noted:

“If people long to create a better world, then we must use our platform to nurture imagination – hopeful ideas, fresh alternatives, belief that the way things are isn’t the way things need to be.

“We cannot merely criticize the status quo; we must also explore the new ideas that might displace it.  We must build hope.”

I believe that it is the great task and wonderful responsibility of all of us in the public domain, including political leaders and journalist, to “build hope” and not merely to “criticize the status quo.”  May we use our platforms in journalism and government to “nurture imagination.” 

Let me close by thanking all of you for your work as journalists. 

I especially thank the reporters and editors who work hard to inform and educate viewers and readers.

Your role in our democracy is essential.  This is why I thought it important to appoint a press secretary.  I note that Anthony Newbold is a past president of the press club.

I wish the Press Club every success as you continue to develop as an association of journalists committed to the values, ethics and principles of your craft.

Thank you all and good evening.                                                                         

Bahamas Press Club Media Awards 2017

New Anchor for JCN, Jillian Gray

Bahamas Press Club member C. Jillian Gray debuts as the new evening news anchor at JCN.  Watch her  every week on JCN Channel 14. 

Bahamian Journalist Meets with Members of Congress of Parliamentarians

Dr. Debbie Bartlett meets with Members of Congress of Parliamentarians of the Americas in Washington D.C.

The congress of Parliamentarians enjoy a membership of 700 Congressman. Senators and Parliamentarians from the United States and Latin America.

The keynote speaker for the Private dinner hosted by ADF and The Congress of Parliamentarians on October 30th 2017 was Senator Mike Lee.

Dr. Debbie Bartlett (center) meets with members of the Congress of Parliamentarians of the Americas. 

Media Awards 2017 Ticket Sale Begins Oct. 21

Media Awards 2017 tickets on sale beginning October 21.

Place ticket order at thebahamaspressclub.org or call 242-434-5643.

Bahamian Journalist and Press Club Member Participates in NBCUniversal Workshops

Bahamian journalist and Bahamas Press Club member Deandre Williamson participated in the CNBC Business News Associate Workshop and NBCUniversity at the Excellence in Journalism Convention in Anaheim, California,
September 7-9, 2017.

The Bahamas Press Club 2014 is proud that its member, Deandre Williamson was selected from among hundreds of applicants to participate in the CNBC Business News Associate Workshop and NBCUniversity at the Excellence in Journalism Convention held recently in Anaheim, California.

The Press Club congratulates Williamson, in keeping with its mission, which is to foster a culture of excellence and integrity in the profession of Journalism and Mass Communications.

The convention was held September 7–9, 2017 and hosted by the Society of Professional Journalists, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Williamson was among the few journalists who participated in the CNBC Business News Associate Workshop, designed to educate journalists about the fundamentals of world-class business journalism and demonstrate the underlying strategies that define and differentiate CNBC in the marketplace.

“The selection process for the CNBC workshop was highly competitive, but I’m excited to have been chosen,” Williamson said.

Unfortunately, the convention occurred during the passage of Hurricane Irma in The Bahamas and Williamson was unable to assist her JCN news team with its coverage.

“I was a bit disappointed that I was unable to help my colleagues at home with Irma’s coverage, but Irma became the topic of many discussions during the conference,” Williamson said.

“Since hurricanes have many business news angles, I was able to pitch several story ideas for business news coverage on Hurricane Irma during the CNBC workshop.  I had to present the story ideas and explain how the stories would be covered for CNBC, which was a part of the business news simulation exercise.”

Williamson also participated in NBCUniversity, another competitive workshop hosted by NBCUniversal.

This was Williamson’s second time participating in NBCUniversity.  She was selected to participate in this workshop in 2015 at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“NBCUniversity this year was awesome as expected.  You have to complete your script homework assignment before attending NBCUniversity,” Williamson explained.

“I saw the improvements in my broadcast script when compared to the one presented during the session in 2015.  Actually, my script was the best presented in my group.  The NBC news director, who did the critiques for my group this year, gave me thumbs up.”

This year, NBCUniversity focused on the Fourth Estate and delved into the role of journalism in the society’s emerging political and social landscape and the give and take between government and media.
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“NBCUniversity reminded me to be proud to be a journalist because journalists are in need now more than ever before.  It’s a great time to be a journalist!” Williamson said.