HARARE - The diversity among the 2012 National Journalism And Media Awards, (Njama) winners was a reflection of how much the competition had grown and how journalists from across the country appreciated their value.

The annual media awards are coordinated by the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, Zuj in collaboration with various sponsors.

Foster Dongozi, Zuj secretary-general said this year’s entries were the largest ever which meant the competition was even stiffer with judges having to deal with bigger volumes of submissions.

“To our sponsors, we as the journalism family would like to once again express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for the new and continued sponsorship of these awards, which to us is an expression of the confidence that you have in ourselves as Zuj and the importance of holding media awards,” said Dongozi.

He said the primary aim for Njama was to ensure journalistic, professional and ethical conduct in our output hence contributing to the development of our country through production of news that improves the lives of our people.

 “In line with attempting to bring positive developments among Zimbabweans, our theme this year: Hate Speech Hurts the Nation: Towards an Ethical-Balanced Media is designed to ensure that we as journalists should guard against promoting hate speech in our productions as it may hurt our nation.

“The message is even more relevant given that we will soon be writing and broadcasting on the upcoming referendum and elections, which can be very emotive issues and hence the need for a responsible media,” said Dongozi. “We believe therefore a media which is conflict-sensitive and sticks to ethical practices can play a big role in ensuring that peace prevails in our country.”