By Frank Sainworla, Jr. in Buchanan, Liberia fsainworla@yahoo.com
Anxiety filled the air as the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) Judges of its Excellence Awards began to unfold the closely-guarded results from many weeks of vetting for those who plied the noble trade in 2017/2018.
“2017 was a critical year, that if journalists of this country could not engage in high level of professionalism, it would have driven this country into a situation that could have brought confusion and disrupt our status code,” said PUL President Charles Coffey as he introduced the annual affair on Saturday, June 9, 2018.
The venue was the port city of Buchanan in Grand Bassa County, some 88 miles from the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
Bagging the prestigious Journalist of the Year Award was former BBC/RFI Correspondent John Kollie, who is now Executive Director of the Liberia Media for Democratic Initiative (LMDI) which produces the popular Dialogue radio and TV program.
Mr. Kollie said he was surprise but elated over the honour. This is what he posted on his Facebook page on Monday:
“THE APPARENT FRUIT OF ENDLESS NATIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PEOPLE FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT IN OUR HOME LAND. THERE ARE MANY OTHER GREAT PEOPLE DOING GREATER WORK THAN ME. I AM SURPRISED AND HONORED BY THE AWARD BESTOWED ON ME BY OUR PROFESSIONAL FRATERNAL UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION, THE PRESS UNION OF LIBERIA (PUL).
I WENT TO BUCHANNAN TO RATHER HAND AWARD CERTIFICATES TO AWARDEES, BUT I ENDED BEING AN AWARDEE MYSELF. WE ARE THE WINNER OF THE PRESS UNION OF LIBERIA (PUL) BIGGEST AND MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARD, JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR FOR 2017/18. THIS IS MY SECOND AWARD FROM OUR GREAT ORGANIZATION IN TWO DECADES. MY FIRST WAS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER OF THE YEAR FOR 1999/2000.
I AM TAUGHT A HARD LESSON THAT HARD WORK, EXPECTING NOTHING IN RETURN ENDS UP WITH RECOGNITION AND HONOR FROM THE PEOPLE. I HAVE LEARNT THAT THE ONLY POWER THAT POOR PEOPLE LIKE US HAVE ARE WORK AND INTEGRITY, THAT MAKE GOOD NAME. INTEGRITY IS THE POOR MAN’S ACTUAL WEALTH. FIGHT FOR INTEGRITY THROUGH HARD WORK NOT KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT, FOR NOTHING IS OURS IN OUR LIFE TIME UNLESS WE WORK FOR IT.
I DEDICATE THIS GREAT NATIONAL AWARD TO OUR GREAT TEAM AT THE LIBERIA MEDIA FOR DEMOCRATIC INITIATIVES (LMDI), THE DIRECT PEOPLE TO PEOPLE ENGAGEMENT PLATFORM WE FOUNDED TO GIVE LIBERIANS A REAL SPACE TO TALK TO AND WITH THEMSELVES. I WONDER, IS THIS GREAT AWARD REALLY MINE?
DO I REALLY MERIT AND DESRVE IT? AS IT HAS GONE THE PEOPLE ARE THE JUDGE. I AM HUMBLE TO CONTINUE WORKING FOR LIBERIA. PLEASE HELP US WORK TO ACHIEVE THE UNEXPECTED. ZEE-MAANNEH-ZEE-MAANNEH, THE SEARCH FOR PEACE AND ENJOYMENT FOR LIBERIA CONTINUES.”
For the institutional award, the Inquirer newspaper of veteran Journalist Philip N. Wisseh won best newspaper of the year award, while one of the youngest news and talk radio, OK FM of renowned broadcast Journalist Smith Toby took the best radio station of the year award.
Power TV of another veteran broadcast Journalist Aaron Kollie, for the third time, in the roll took away Liberia’s best TV station of 2017/2018. Also winning award for the third time is Anthony Stephens, a news editor for Power TV and Power FM, also won three awards including the Investigative Reporter of the Year, Extractives Industry Reporter of the Year, and Environmental Reporter of the Year.
Other journalists awarded were Bettie Johnson-Mbayo from FrontPage Africa, who received three awards – Judicial Reporter of the Year, Women’s Rights Reporter of the Year, and Health Reporter of the Year.
Reporter Mbayo was awarded women rights, judiciary and health reporting awards on Saturday, June 9, at a well-attended event held at the Unification Pavilion in the port city Buchanan.
FrontpageAfrica’s prolific Reporter, Mbayo is an investigative, human rights and women rights and other development issues.
Mrs. Mbayo has the judiciary, gender, the police and the security sector as her regular news beat.
Bush Chicken online news outlet’s sports reporter, Kla Wesley bagged the Sports Journalist of the Year award, while its Maryland reporter, George Momo was winner of the Human Rights Reporter of the Year award.
Another Bush Chicken Reporter, Sampson David who covers Grand Bassa County was presented the award for reporting on the County Social Development Fund. Reporter Gbatemah Senah of Bush Chicken also won Land Rights Reporter of the year. He previously won three awards last year.
The PUL also gave out awards to the best community radio stations in each of the 15 counties.
The winners included Radio Kakata in Margibi, Radio Bong Mines in Bong, Peace FM in Grand Gedeh, Voice of Rural Montserrado, Radio Bomi, Radio Cape Mount, Radio Dugbar in Grand Bassa, River Cess Broadcasting Service, Voice of Karn in Nimba, and Voice of Lofa, Radio Kpoo in Gbarpolu, Voice of Pleebo in Maryland, Radio Gee of River Gee, and Voice of Grand Kru. No station in Sinoe was announced as winner because the nomination forms had not been collected, according to the awards committee.
Several of the winning community radio Managers were on hand to receive the 2017/2018 awards at the Buchanan Fair Ground.
They included Zinnah Cassell of Radio Bomi, George Karyee of Radio Gee, Kwekwe Miller of Radio Life in Zorzor and Matadi of Radio Karn in Nimba County.
The panel of Judges were media professional including Jalawor Tonpo, Hotatio Bobby Willie, Torwon Sulonteh Brown, Caroline Myers Zoeduah and George Kennedy.