The Editors and Journalists of the Amazwi Villager would like to congratulate Linky Matsie, The Villager’s Education Journalist, for being awarded the Vodacom Community Media Journalist of the Year for the Northern/Southern region of South Africa ( a region that includes Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Guateng, and a portion of Northwest).

The Northern/Southern Region winners of the prestigious Vodacom Journalist of the Year 2008 Awards were announced at an awards function in Johannesburg on 13 October. These regional winners, who each receive R7 500, will now compete in the national finals, which will be held on 7 November.  Linky Matsie will compete against five other journalists from across the country for the national award.

The Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award has fourteen categories across print, broadcast (television and radio), and web journalism. The category that Liky has been recognized within is Community Media, defined as “independent grassroots community media focused on community issues across all media.”

Specifically, Linky Matsie — a graduate of the Amazwi School of Media Arts (2007) and participant of Amazwi’s 2008 on-the-job journalism program– was judged on her April 2008 article titled, “Taverns and Schools: a Dangerous Combination.” The judges said: Linky Matsie raised a very important subject that goes to the core of the fabric of society, about the kind of society we want to build. Her piece about taverns next to schools is extremely important in that it brings awareness to the community about the dangers of such practice.