January 26, 2010 02:00AM
NEXT reporter Ruona Agbroko has won the 2010 edition of the FitzGerald Prize for Young African Journalist.
A statement by Matthew Tostevin, Editor, Africa at Reuters says the prize qualifies her to undergo “an honours course in Journalism at Wits University in Johannesburg this year before joining a Reuters Bureau for an internship.”
Reward for hard work
The statement added, “The prize drew applications from across Africa and Ms. Agbroko won against tough competition. ...she works for Nigeria’s ground breaking independent newspaper, NEXT, and has produced outstanding reporting on difficult subjects.
Her father, a journalist who proudly defended editorial independence despite pressures from many quarters, was murdered in 2006.”
On winning the prize Ms. Agbroko said, “I am really grateful to have this opportunity. It has changed my life just to go this far. It is proof that practising transparency in journalism is not a lost cause. My father was killed for his work as a journalist and this is a huge thing for me to have this chance.”
The prestigious FitzGerald Prize was established to give opportunities to young African journalists who have already shown great promise. It is named after Niall FitzGerald, co-Deputy Chairman of Thomson Reuters, who has a long association with Africa, having served as Chief Executive Officer of Unilever’s foods business in South Africa in the early 1980s. He also co-chairs the Investment Climate Facility (ICF) for Africa.
*Photo by REUTERS
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