By Elesha George
Antigua Observer Newsco Limited was one of several media houses recognised on Tuesday night by the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU). The company was given the People’s Choice Award for a piece produced by Joanne C Hillhouse called “The Headkerchief”.
Hillhouse is a special column’s writer for the Observer. Her award-winning work, published in September 2022 as part of her Creative Space column in The Daily Observer, highlighted the story of Celene Senhouse, an Antiguan woman with mixed roots who made African-inspired masterpieces out of headpieces that she called headkerchiefs or “maré tèts” in French Creole. She made the wraps a fashion statement and sells them at a family boutique called Footnotes.
In June, Hillhouse also copped the Anthony N Sabga Awards (ANSA) for Caribbean Excellence in Arts and Letters Laureate. She is the author of eight books ranging from children’s illustrated stories to young adult fiction, and she founded the Wadadli Pen Prize where she awards talented up-and-coming writers from Antigua and Barbuda.
The CBU awards ceremony extended recognition to individuals and organisations from various Caribbean nations, including Barbados, Trinidad, Belize, Jamaica, Cuba, Guyana, and Suriname.
Guardian Media’s weather anchor, Kalain Hosein, emerged as a standout winner, securing an impressive five awards. Hosein’s achievements included Best Climate Change News Items in both print and digital categories, Best Coverage of the Covid-19 Pandemic (print), Best Climate Change Documentary (television), and Best Coverage of Disaster Risk Reduction (digital).
In a spotlight on environmental journalism, awards were granted for exceptional contributions to climate change-related content.
- BEST CLIMATE CHANGE DOCUMENTARY TELEVISION: Winner – Guardian Media Limited (CNC3, Trinidad & Tobago) – “COP 27 No Action, No Future” Produced by Kalain Hosein
- BEST CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS ITEM TELEVISION: Winner – Great Belize Productions Limited (Channel 5) – “Vulnerability & Livelihood Assessment for Fisheries Sector” Produced by Duane Moody; Chris Mangar – Videographer/Editor
- BEST CLIMATE CHANGE INVESTIGATIVE REPORT TELEVISION: Winner – Great Belize Productions Limited (Channel 5) – “Is Monkey River Drowning?” Produced by Duane Moody; Kenroy Michael/ Rick Romero – Videographer/Editor
- BEST CLIMATE CHANGE PUBLIC SERVICE SPOT TELEVISION: Winner – Great Belize Productions Limited (Channel 5) – “UNICEF Climate Change in Dangriga” Produced by Great Belize Productions Ltd; Rick Romero – Videographer/Editor
- COVERAGE OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION TELEVISION: Winner – CCN TV 6 (Trinidad & Tobago) “Flashpoint” Produced by Alicia Boucher
- BEST CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS ITEM DIGITAL: Winner – Guardian Media (Trinidad & Tobago) “US$150M Funding for green energy projects coming to Caribbean” Produced by Kalain Hosein
- BEST CLIMATE CHANGE INVESTIGATIVE REPORT DIGITAL: Winner – Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network (CIJN) “The Climate Test of Guyana’s Mangroves” Produced by David Nathaniel Papannah
- COVERAGE OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION DIGITAL: Winner – Guardian Media (Trinidad & Tobago) “UN Spending 3.1B To Fix Early Warning Issue” Produced by Kalain Hosein
- BEST CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS ITEM PRINT: Winner – Guardian Media (Trinidad & Tobago) “Antigua and Barbuda Moving into the Blue Economy” Produced by Kalain Hosein
- BEST CLIMATE CHANGE INVESTIGATIVE REPORT PRINT: Winner – Skrifi Foundation (Suriname) “Paramaribo versus water: The Effects of Climate Change on Paramaribo” Produced by Kevin Headley
- COVERAGE OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION PRINT: Winner – RJRGLEANER Communications Group (Sunday Gleaner – Jamaica) – “Poor Quality Building Blocks” Produced by Jovan Johnson
The CBU awards ceremony is an annual event designed to celebrate excellence in media content creation across the Dutch, English, French, and Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Journalists, media practitioners, and content creators were invited to submit their works from various platforms between January 1 and December 31, 2022, with submissions accepted until April 2023.
