THE Financial Gazette — the country’s number one business publication — and its fast-growing national television station stablemate, 3Ktv, have bagged more awards.
The Pink Paper, as the iconic FinGaz is popularly known as, received the most outstanding weekly paper award at the weekend, while 3Ktv once again bested its peers in the broadcasting category.
Albert Masaka, one of the key players behind the four-year old Zimbabwe Community Trailblazers Awards, said the gongs were meant to reward both individual and corporate achievers doing amazing things in their communities. Z
3Ktv, The Financial Gazette, as well as the influential Daily News, the Daily News On Sunday and e-newsletter, Business Live, all fall under the Jester Media Services Group (JMS). These latest awards come on the back of an excellent 2023 for the media house — in which its well-known brands and staff won countless honours.
An over the moon Group EditorIn-Chief of JMS, Guthrie Munyuki, said it was “most pleasing that the group, its brands and dedicated staff” were continuing with their winning streak and mentality in 2024. “As one Dwayne Johnson said, success is about consistency. Indeed, consistent hard work and consistent high standards lead to great success.
“It is very good to see early in this new year that all of us at JMS are not resting on our laurels, but putting even more effort into our work. Our valued audiences and key business partners can see this and are voting with their custom. We are most thankful for their support, which has made our group commercially sustainable for the past 13 wonderful years,” Munyuki said.
The weekend awards come a month after 3Ktv bagged most of the awards on offer at the inaugural Zimbabwe Annual Film and Television Awards (ZAFTAs) ceremony, which was held in Harare. The country’s fastest growing TV channel garnered 10 awards at the glittering event — adding more silverware to its already bountiful trophy cabinet.
The ZAFTAs are organised by the Cinema Society of Zimbabwe (CSZ) and recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements and contributions of actors, directors, producers, writers, presenters, technicians and other industry players. Ever bubbly 3Ktv presenter and popular host of Zim Uncovered, Edith Marwiro — who is better known as Mazwi on the silver screen — won the ‘Outstanding TV Presenter’ category.
She beat the likes of Mai Chisamba, Charles Mabika and Candice Mwakalyelye to the gong. 3Ktv’s much-loved productions that include Jangano, Maliwe, Faking it, Amanxeba, Hakata Bundu and Tangled — also came out tops in different categories.
Amanxeba scooped four awards for ‘Outstanding Directing for a Television Series’, ‘Outstanding Editing for a Television Series’ (Solomon Mandaza and Ibraheem Kuvawoga), ‘Outstanding Television Actress’ (Donna Odendaal) and ‘Popular Television Series’. Faking It won the ‘Outstanding Television Series’ gong, while its lead actor, Lucian David, took home the ‘Outstanding Television Actor’.
Bundu won the ‘Outstanding Achievement in Wardrobe and Costume Design for Television’ award, while Hakata — which is directed by Willard Slimaz Magombedze — won the award for ‘Outstanding Indigenous Culture, Language and Tradition in a Television Series’.
3Ktv — which was licenced in November 2020 after coming tops in a competitive and public bidding process — went on air amid palpable excitement on February 28, 2022, becoming the first licensed private commercial station to operate in the country since television was first introduced in the then Southern Rhodesia in November 1960.