Nigerian Breweries (NB) Plc has restated its commitment to strenghten the practice of journalism as the 9th edition of the Nigerian Breweries’ Golden Pen Awards open with a promise to honour journalists who abide by the ethics of the profession.
The company’s Corporate Affairs Adviser, Kufre Ekanem, told newsmen at the flag-off of this year’s edition in Lagos last week, that the award was introduced to promote professionalism and objective reportage of events in Nigeria.
According to him, with the completion of the three-year period focus on education, youth empowerment and talent development, the company is directing attention of the Nigerian media to the area of agriculture, local sourcing and industrial development as the theme for the 9th Nigerian Breweries Golden Pen Award.
He said: “You will agree with me that the focus on agriculture, local sourcing and industrial development is not only in tandem with the current push for economic recovery in the country, but also key to making our country achieve its full potential to become a self-reliant and developed country with a diversified economic base.”
Ekanem enjoined journalists from all media platforms with reports published and broadcast in 2016, focusing on agriculture, local sourcing and industrial development to submit a maximum of three entries for the award.
The entries, he added, should be sent to TPT International via [email protected] or the corporate address on PR Place, 6/8, Bola Ogunsanya Crescent, Magodo GRA, Shangisha, Lagos. The call for entries, which opened on Monday, July 3, 2017, will close on Friday, August 4, 2017.
He disclosed that at the end of the collation period, an independent panel of judges comprising distinguished professionals would analyse the entries for originality, news value, and use of resources, credibility and factuality. Other areas of interest would include info-graphics, lay out/headline, clarity and social responsibility.
Ekanem said that the 9th NB Plc Golden Pen Awards ceremony will hold on Friday October 6, 2017 where winners will be announced in the three categories of the award: Nigerian Breweries Golden Pen Reporter of the Year, Nigerian Breweries Golden Pen Photojournalist of the Year and Nigerian Breweries Report of the Year.
According to him, the prizes for winning entries for the awards have also been reviewed upwards. “The Nigerian Breweries Golden Pen Reporter of the Year will get a cash prize of N2 million plus a gift item; the first runner up will get N1 million, while the second runner up will go home with N750,000,” he said.
He added that in the Photojournalist category, the overall winner would receive N1 million plus a gift item while the first and second runners up will be rewarded with N750,000 and N500,000 respectively. The winner of the Nigerian Breweries Golden Pen Report of the Year will receive N1 million and a gift item.