The late former President Nelson Mandela has been named as the National Press Club's Newsmaker of the Year for 2013.
There was an unprecedented outpouring of emotion when Madiba passed
away on 5 December at the age of 95. President Jacob Zuma declared 10
days of mourning.
Press Club chairperson Jos Charle said on Wednesday night that both
in terms of impact and media coverage, Nelson Mandela dominated the news
in 2013. His death riveted the attention of the world for 10 days.
It consumed South Africans - and much of the world - as the
country pulled out all stops to bury the father of the South African
nation with military precision and ancient Xhosa customs.
The world's news media - television, radio and print media -
extensively reported on Nelson Mandela's life and his role in South
Africa's liberation struggle for weeks following his death.
One hour after the announcement of his death, two million
tweets were generated, with over six million tweets recorded on 5
December.
The hash tags #RIPNelsonMandela, #Madiba and #RIPMandela were the top
three topics on Facebook and Twitter that morning. At one stage, there
were 95 000 tweets per minute and more than 13 million over a month.
"The Nelson Mandela Facebook page gathered over 2.2 million likes and
several posts, including tributes from the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
"Within minutes of the announcement, broadcast internationally,
crowds of all hues began flocking to the former president's home where
they prayed, sang and laid flowers in front of the world's media," said
Charle.
Ninety-one heads of state attended Madiba's funeral, with 4 500
journalists from all over the world covering the funeral. South African
broadcast houses ran programmes about Madiba for more than 10 days.
"Add to this the fact that for 86 days last year, the world's media
camped outside the Medi-Clinic Heart hospital in Pretoria where Mandela
had been admitted for a recurring lung infection, and it becomes clear
that he generated huge media interest - both nationally and
internationally," said Charle.
On 11 February - the date on which he was released from Victor
Verster Prison - Mandela will become the first non-Briton to be honoured
with a memorial service at Westminster Abbey, the iconic venue that has
been the coronation church for every British monarch since 1066 and the
burial place of 17 royals.
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