For his timely story on a drug trial that went wrong 24 years previously, retirees being denied their pensions in Osun State and the underserved communities drinking from contaminated streams, Dataphyte’s multimedia journalist Samad Uthman has been shortlisted for the Thompson Foundation Young Journalist award 2021.
Samad is a journalist with vast experience in investigative and data-driven journalism. He is the only Nigerian journalist and one of the three Africans in this year’s ten shortlisted finalists for the award.
The Thomson Foundation Young Journalist award, which started in 2013, is in its ninth edition.
Nine other journalists from around the world were also selected for the prestigious global award. Carmen Valeria (El Salvador); Parth Nikhil (India); Shrouk Ghonim (Egypt); Daniel Lutaaya (Uganda); Kai Hui Wong (Malaysia); Tatiana Pardo(Colombia); Ibrahim Khalilullah(Bangladesh); Mahima Jain (India); Zuha Siddiqui (Pakistan) made the shortlist.
The organisers noted on its official website that Samad together with other finalists were selected by the foundation’s judging panel, Helen Scott, Deborah Kelly and Hosam El Nagar, from nearly 200 entries from 55 countries.
After the next rounds of judging, the winner will be announced on 29th November at the FPA Awards ceremony in London, which will also be live-streamed on its Facebook page.
After this stage, independent judges selected by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) – Inigo Gurruchaga of El Correo in Spain; Niaz Alam of Dhaka Tribune in Bangladesh; and Tinne Hjersing Knudsen of DR Nyheder in Denmark – to select three finalists to go through to the final round of judging.
The chosen three will be profiled on the Thomson Foundation website at the beginning of November and receive learning bursaries to the value of £1,000 each.
Speaking on the award, Samad expressed gladness at the global recognition, he also said he would keep giving voice to the voiceless and will ensure quality in his journalism.
Samad Uthman was also recently shortlisted for the West African Media Excellence Award for his outstanding stories and investigative tenacity.
The Thomson foundation award is supported by the UK’s foreign press association.