African Digital Media Awards 2019 finalists

WAN-IFRA has announced the 2019 finalists for the prestigious African Digital Media Awards ahead of the much-anticipated two-day conference to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 11 - 12 September 2019.

Image source: Gallo/Getty.

The judges noted an increase in the number of projects submitted as well as a wider range of finalists from more countries on the continent. The entries were submitted from across Africa including Burundi, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Kenya and Egypt.

“A huge thanks to all of our judges. We’re really excited by the diversity of projects this year, especially among the startups. As expected, there was a strong showing from the big media players in South Africa – and that’s something to inspire news publishers across the continent. The projects on the shortlist include some great case studies in growing digital revenue from both advertising and subscriptions,” said Nick Tjaardstra, director Europe & Africa, WAN-IFRA.

The awards will be announced on 11 September 2019 at the Digital Media Africa conference which has attracted leading digital media thinkers. Registration for the conference is still open.

The winners of the African Digital Media Awards are automatically entered into the World Digital Media Awards competition.

The categories of Best Innovation to Engage Youth Audiences was changed to Best Digital Project to Engage Younger and / or Millennial Audiences.

This year’s finalists:

BEST DATA VISUALISATION

Dominion, Code for Africa
News24 elections: live data coverage, News24, Media24
TimesLIVE SA elections website 2019, Tiso Blackstar Group (Pty) Ltd

BEST DIGITAL NEWS START-UP

Farmers For Change, Food for Mzansi
The Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh Xperience (#SMWX), South Africa Media Innovation Program
M&G Data Desk, Mail & Guardian

BEST DIGITAL PROJECT TO ENGAGE YOUNGER AND/OR MILLENNIAL AUDIENCES

M&G 200 Young South Africans, Mail & Guardian
Netwerk24 Die Student, 24.com
The Promised Land, Mail & Guardian

BEST NATIVE ADVERTISING/BRANDED CONTENT CAMPAIGN

The Anthem Project, 24.com
I'm a First Grader, Media24
#YouthIgnite, South Africa Media Innovation Program

BEST NEWS WEBSITE OR MOBILE SERVICE

Daily Maverick
Netwerk24.com, 24.com
Africanews.com

BEST PAID CONTENT STRATEGY (INCL. PAY WALL, MEMBERSHIP OR CROWD FUNDING MODELS)

Maverick Insider, Daily Maverick
Vrye Weekblad, Tiso Blackstar Group (Pty) Ltd
MAP NEWS DISPLAY, The Moroccan News Agency (MAP)

BEST USE OF ONLINE VIDEO (INCLUDING VR)

Buried Truth: Unearthing the story of murdered farmworker Adam Pieterse, News24, Media24
How a gifted young girl was kidnapped and murdered: The Siam Lee story, Tiso Blackstar Group (Pty) Ltd
'Amstel! Hallelujah!' Inside SA's 'unconventional' churches, Tiso Blackstar Group (Pty) Ltd

BEST IN SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT

BBC Media Action Arewa Facebook page, BBC Media Action
Food for Mzansi, Farmers for Change

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, or WAN-IFRA, is the global organisation of the world’s press. It derives its authority from its global network of 3,000 news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs, and its legitimacy from it’s 80 member publisher associations representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries.