She has 20 years of experience in journalism and her hard work has recently been rewarded.
Bianca Du Plessis, well known journalist at Hermanus Times, was honoured for the quality of her work at the Media24 Boland Media/WP Media Annual Awards function held last Thursday in Durbanville, Cape Town.
Not only was she named the best in the human-interest category, but was also named Journalist of the Year.
Her article “Tests turn into testimony”, which appeared in Hermanus Times, 16 February 2022, about domestic violence captured the attention of the judges. They said: “This article brilliantly underscores the human face of domestic violence, a mother with a small child, a survivor who has lived to tell her tale. It is a story essentially created by the person in question, told in a narrative with good flow that also serves as a good source of information for women with similar stories to tell.”
With hard news stories such as the woman from Elim who was murdered by her ex-husband and other crime-related articles, human-interest stories and sport stories under her belt Du Plessis was judged the year’s best. The judges stated she was awarded for the variety of her footprint and the sheer power of stories selected.
Mariëtte Strydom, editor of Hermanus Times, said it is an honour to work with Bianca. “This is not the first time her work has been recognised. Bianca has been nominated several times as Journalist of the Year at the Forum of Community Journalism Awards and has previously been named Photographer of the Year at the Boland Media Awards. Bianca is truly one of the best journalists I have ever worked with, and the precision with which she tackles her stories has no equal.”. Boland Media is a division of Media24’s Community News. It comprises Breederivier, Eikestad, Helderberg, Paarl, Overberg and Weskus media, publishers of a range of free and sold newspapers distributed throughout the region weekly. These include three sold titles Paarl Post, Worcester Standard and Weslander; as well as six free titles in DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette, Eikestadnuus, Swartland Gazette, Hermanus Times, WeskusNuus and Breederivier Gazette.
