In the PR World we have a ‘difficult to define’ relationship with journalists – we hate it when they don’t publish our puff pieces and love them to bits when they do.
In any event journalism as an industry is under threat and it is behove upon us as PR Professionals to support and promote the journalism industry upon which we rely more than we will admit.
So, MYPR does a weekly feature on journalists along with giving journalists the OPTION to promote their work via a FREE FEATURED JOURNALIST SUBMISSION on MyPR of their latest article – we are not asking the journalist to just post a few sentences or paragraphs but also to give a personal narrative about their article and why they wrote it.
That submission form is at the bottom of this article or can be found HERE.
In addition to the above MyPR also has a dedicated section where journalists can request the help of an expert.
These articles about journalists popped up this past week:
Journalism Awards:
Fox News celebrated one of their own in an artcile tilted; Fox News’ Trey Yingst honored at First Amendment Awards, stresses importance of ‘unflinching’ journalism.
Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst emphasized the importance of journalism that is “unafraid, unwavering and unflinching” on Thursday night, 6 March 2025, when he was honored at the RTDNA Foundation’s 2025 First Amendment Awards.
The RTDNA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Radio Television Digital News Association, honored Yingst at a black-tie dinner at the famed Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. Each year, the foundation celebrates those who practice, promote and defend journalism. Past winners have included journalists, members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senators…
GSport highlighted the excellent work done by journalist Lynn Butler here: Award-Winning Lynn Butler: A Decade of Captivating Sport Storytelling.
Butler was a finalist at the #gsport15 Awards, but it was in 2024, at the 19th edition of South Africa’s premier Women in Sport Awards, that she lifted the coveted gong. Not a woman of many words in person, but certainly a force with the pen, Butler expressed her gratitude following the recognition on the gsport stage…
Tough Times Ahead:
Gillian Schutte from IOL tackled Chris Roper with an opinion piece titled; Why Chris Roper’s Media Tactics Are Harmful to African Journalism – which was republished in The Star
Chris Roper—self-styled strategist, a temporary Knight Fellow (thanks to the NED-funded International Centre for Journalists), once flaunting your achievements in African media: what an embarrassment you have become. Funny how you conveniently pop up whenever someone needs a hit piece to undermine whoever threatens your donor-driven agenda. It is as though Code for Africa, Media Monitoring Africa, Daily Maverick and your circle of usual ‘sleeper agents’ activate on cue, each of you a well-oiled cog in a monopoly of donor-funded crusades. You share the same backers, the same talking points, the same pieties about “transparency” and “accountability”—yet it is painfully transparent how you all collude to paint enemies in whichever shade of villain your sponsors prefer….
SANEF marked the passing of Tumelo Mofoleng with a tribute titled; Sanef saddened by the passing of Daily Sun photojournalist, Tumelo Mofokeng.
Tumelo Mofokeng passed away on Saturday, 1 March 2025, following a short illness.
According to his family, Mofokeng was admitted to the Sebokeng Hospital in the Vaal on Thursday, 27 February, but died two days later.
Mofokeng, a respected journalist, was a dedicated and passionate storyteller who served his community with integrity. His work extended beyond Daily Sun, having contributed to the Sowetan, ThethaFM, and he also founded his own publication, The Weekly Post.
Amnesty International commemorated the 10 year anniversary of disappearance of Zimbabwean journalist and pro-democracy activist Itai Peace Dzamara with an article titled: Zimbabwe: Ten years without answers since journalist and activist Itai Dzamara’s enforced disappearance
On the morning of 9 March 2015, five men abducted Dzamara from a barber shop in the capital Harare’s Glen View suburb. The men accused him of stealing cattle before handcuffing him and driving off with him in a white truck with concealed number plates. All attempts by relatives and human rights lawyers to establish his whereabouts have been unsuccessful…
Journalists Under Threat:
On 5 MArch IOL published an Appeal by the Community for help in finding missing Pretoria journalist – saying that the SAPS had launched a search operation for a Pretoria-based journalist Aserie Sibusiso Ndlovu and his partner, Zodwa Mdhuli, who were reported missing on February 18, 2025.
Ndlovu, a journalist and founder of an online radio Capital Live SA 99.0 FM, was last seen leaving his workplace at Denlyn Mall in Mamelodi around 6pm on the day of his disappearance….
The Northern Sound emphasised a position that all journalists are taught – to be fair – with an article titled; Ireland can’t afford to be anything other than neutral.
Speaking on the Joe Finnegan show, Editor of the Anglo Celt, Linda O’Reilly said that Ireland simply can’t afford not to be neutral…
Reporters Without Borders celebrated the Release of Kashmiri journalist Majid Hyderi in India.
After 527 days in detention, Majid Hyderi was finally reunited with his family. The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir ordered his immediate release on 19 February, ruling that, according to case law, negatively criticising government policies could not justify preventive detention, especially in the absence of concrete evidence demonstrating a disturbance of public order. Frequently invited to televised debates, Majid Hyderi, also known as ‘Jimmy’, was critical of corruption within the local bureaucracy.
A UK journalist, who blew whistle on BBC Gaza documentary, said: ‘I caught them in bed with Hamas’ to the Times of Israel.
David Collier, who swiftly revealed the film’s narrator to be ‘Hamas royalty,’ believes the episode could be a turning point for an outlet perennially accused of anti-Israel bias.
It took investigative journalist David Collier exactly five hours to find out that Abdullah, the narrator and main subject of the BBC documentary “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone,” was the son of a high-ranking Hamas official.
Collier’s discovery has led to the film’s removal from streaming and ignited a very public crisis at the media outlet, long regarded as the gold standard for international journalism.
The Hindu published an article titled Media bodies condemn arrest of journalist in Uttarakhand – demanding that concrete measures to ensure the safety and protection of journalists in Uttarakhand, including withdrawal of the “false cases” registered against journalist Sudhanshu Thapliyal.
“The aggrieved journalist stated that he was arrested merely for a four-line post on January 29, in which he stated that 13 days had passed since a young woman lost her life in a road accident, yet the accused had not been arrested. The police deemed this simple question an act of defamation. Before taking him into custody, the police seized his mobile phone, denied him any contact with a lawyer or acquaintances, and unlawfully detained him in lockup overnight,” the statement said…
The Malaya Mail highlighted the perils of being a journalist under cover with an article titled; Malaysiakini journalist accused of bribery says he was undercover to expose KLIA ‘Fly’ network.
The journalist then self published an article to clear the air, standing firm that he had never solicited a bribe.
In the article titled “Bribe allegation: This is my story” published by Malaysiakini, the journalist who remained firm that he was arrested for doing his job, outlined the timeline of what had transpired in the alleged case.
“For the record, I neither requested RM100,000 nor negotiated the amount to settle for RM20,000,” he wrote in the article.
Sharing his story, the journalist said he was investigating a ‘Fly’ syndicate operating at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which was involved in falsifying immigration exit and entry stamps for foreign workers…
To be a journalist who has been spied upon sounds glamorous but the reality is a lot less so. In a BBC article titled I’m lucky to be alive, says journalist tracked by Russian spies – a journalist targeted by a Russian spy cell run from a former guest house in Norfolk has said he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered the operation against him.
Roman Dobrokhotov, editor-in-chief of The Insider, was followed through Europe by Bulgarian spies who were working for Moscow – three of whom were convicted on Friday.
Dobrokhotov told the BBC: “I’m very lucky to be alive”.
Accolades for Journalists:
In an opinion pices titled; MSNBC’s new hire will bring aboard 100 journalists ahead of an upcoming shift – Scott Matthews, MSNBC’s new senior vice president of newsgathering, is expected to hire field producers, correspondents, photographers and more.
The network brought Scott Matthews on board to be MSNBC’s senior vice president of newsgathering. He will run the editorial and production newsgathering operation and coordinate day-to-day breaking news coverage. He will also establish an assignment desk. Matthews’ extensive journalism career includes stints at CNN, CNBC and many local markets, including most recently as vice president and news director at WABC-TV in New York City…
Forget Popularity Focus on Dedication – Sports Journalist Tebogo Motebejane – is the tile of the article by GSports lauding this dedicated Sports Journalist.
When we look at how the sports media industry has evolved over the past few years we have seen many shifts and pivots as the space moves with the changing times, and someone who has been using this to their advantage has been Tebogo Motebejane.
The journalist started her journey into the media began during lockdown when, like many, she was looking to hone in a new skill, and that’s when she realised she wanted to be a sports writer. She began her blogging about various sports, and like they say the rest is history.
These days, Motebejane writes for the Guardian Report and Limpopo Chronicle.
She hails from a village in the northern most province of South Africa and being a part of the sports media industry was an idea she didn’t even entertain as a youngster, given her humble beginnings. Motebejane is now a familiar face at various press conferences and sporting events.
Motebejane shared some of her precious time with gsport and spoke about how her career started, what her career dreams are, and gave some advice for those looking to make their way into the industry…
All is not doom and gloom as Broad Media are seeking a Journalists for Internships – Paid Position.
Broad Media is growing its editorial team and has great opportunities for graduates who want to work in digital media.
As a Broad Media journalist intern, you will learn to cover the latest news, produce interesting articles and features, and sub-edit content for publication – all while receiving first-class training.
The internship provides successful candidates with a full-time and paid position for three months.
A permanent journalist position may then be offered to candidates who successfully complete the internship.
All graduates are encouraged to apply – you do not need to have a degree in journalism.
This position is based at Broad Media’s head office in Centurion….
Please Log in to your MyPR Account and then submit at will. We will ONLY publish articles submitted by you as the Logged In user.
Submit your Press Release for free to MyPR here: MyPR Free Press Release Submission.