#NASSAU, The Bahamas – March 4, 2020 — The Bahamas Press Club held its Fifth Annual Media Awards Ceremony themed: “Media in The Digital Age”, in Black Tie fashion at the British Colonial Hilton on Saturday, February 29, 2020.
The
awards ceremony was held under the Patronage of Their Excellencies The Most
Honourable Cornelius A. Smith, ON, Governor-General of The Commonwealth of The
Bahamas and Mrs. Clara Smith.
The
evening attracted many who laid the foundation for a thriving media profession
in the country. There was entertainment by Solo, lots of gifts and prizes.
Anthony Capron, President of The Bahamas Press Club 2014,
underscored that “from the beginning of time and through the ages, the central
message has not changed. What has changed, overtime, is the method by which
that message is brought to the public.”
Communication has transitioned from rock paintings of zigzag
lines, dots, and symbols during the Stone Age, to this current era of new
communication technologies. Now, stories can be typed and transmitted;
photographs taken and sent; newspapers read; radio listened to; and television
watched from one medium alone: a smartphone, Capron described.
A Blue
Ribbon Panel of judges spent record-breaking hours reviewing the works
submitted by the media in various categories including hard news, sports,
features, business, politics, investigative, columns, documentaries and social
media. The work must have been printed or aired between November 2018 and
August 16, 2019. The deadline for submission was August 17, 2019.
The Press Club selected
for the Trail Blazer Award, the Rt Hon
Hubert Alexander Ingraham, Former Prime Minister, for establishing the
framework private broadcasting and Cable TV, throughout The Bahamas.
And, the top honour for the evening – The Etienne Dupuch Lifetime
Achievement Award, the recipient was journalist and diplomat Ed Bethel who began his journalistic
career in 1959 at the Nassau Tribune under the tutelage of Sir Etienne Dupuch
and Sir Arthur Foulkes. He went on to join ZNS as a sports in 1963, and spend
many years there, worked at JCN and other news agencies; a stint a Bahamas
Information Services as its Executive Director and served as Consul General to New York and as High
Commissioner to the Court of St. James’s, London, and Ambassador to the
European Union. He is
also a former President of The Bahamas Press Club.
SEE
BELOW, THE LIST OF CATEGORIES AND WINNERS:
1 – Leon Turnquest Award for Sports Print Journalism –
WINNER – Simba French – Sports Reporter, The Nassau Guardian
2 – The Phil Smith Award for Outstanding Sports Broadcast
Journalism
WINNER: Jay Phillipe, Sports Reporter, ZNS (Northern
Station)
The Kenneth Nathaniel Francis Award for Newspaper Design and
Composition – WINNER: Whiteley McKinney, Page
Designer, The Tribune
4 – The P. Anthony White Columnist of the Year
WINNER: Rogan Smith – Columnist
5 – The Leslie Higgs Feature Writer of the Year
WINNER: Jeffarah Gibson – Features Writer, The Tribune
6 – The Cyril Stevenson Award for Outstanding Political Journalism
Usually hosted in November of
each year, The Bahamas Press Club 2014’s 2019 Awards Ceremony was postponed by
Hurricane Dorian. As preparations for the November 2020 ceremony begin, The
Bahamas Press Club 2014 looks forward to a continued outward expression of
resilience- from members of the media and, overall, The Commonwealth of The
Bahamas.