The 11th edition of the Mining Media Awards were successfully held last Friday the 15th of November 2024 by Mejrkh Communications and Media Advisory in Harare. The awards saw an overwhelming response from journalists as entries increased this year by 20 percent from 78 to 98 compared to last year.
Due to media inquiries asking for finer details of the awards we have compiled a Question and Answer sheet which we hope will help clarify issues about the awards.
Yours sincerely,
Moses Charedzera (Mining Media Awards Coordinator)
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- Question: When was the Mining Media Awards launched?
Answer: The Mining Media Awards were launched by Mejrkh Communications and Media Advisory in 2014 to build media practitioners’ capacity to effectively articulate mining sector issues and to reward excellence in mining sector reporting.
- Question: What has been the impact of the Mining Media Awards?
Answer: The opportunity to mix and mingle with the media has created a platform for building better relations between mining companies and the media fraternity. Relations have been strengthened between reporters, mining companies and the government. When we started the awards the relationship between media practitioners and mining companies was often fraught with hostility, but we have seen a thawing of relations over the years.
- Question: Who is eligible to enter the Mining Media Awards?
Answer: Any journalist who is working in Zimbabwe and has their articles published locally or internationally is eligible to enter the awards in compliance with the terms for submission of entries.
- Question: What is the prize money for the awards?
Answer: The prize money for the winner in each category is USD 200 with half the portion paid in ZiG. The prize money for the runner-up in each category is USD 150 with half the portion paid in ZiG. The overall winner takes at least USD 450 including USD 250 and a category prize as he or she is chosen from the category winners. It is not unusual for the winner to clinch other categories or be a runner up in other categories, meaning the winner goes away with a substantial amount.
- Question: Are there any chances of increasing the prize money?
Answer: As we get more sponsorship for the awards we will be looking to increase the prize money. We know this would be good for such highly regarded awards which receive the crème de la crème of entries from mining journalists.
