Newsmaker 2012
2012-12-20 09:45
The unrest at Lonmin’s platinum mine in Marikana has been
named the Newsmaker of 2012 event.
News24, South Africa’s largest digital news platform, named
the Lonmin unrest, which culminated in the police opening fire on protesting
miners, killing 34 of them, its Newsmaker after users voted for the candidate
or event of their choice.
Other notable events or people that made the final list were
E-tolls, Nkandla, Julius Malema, The Spear and the Limpopo text book scandal.
Jannie Momberg, News24’s Editor-in-Chief says: "2012
was a year where many local events took a decidedly negative turn. Internationally
the major stories included the on-going effects of the financial crisis, the
re-election of Barack Obama, new leadership in China, the escalating war in
Syria and the London Olympics.” said Momberg
"The Lonmin unrest and its aftermath was by a clear margin
our users’ Newsmaker for 2012. Local news stories remain the most popular
content on News24 and none generated as much interest as the Marikana
shootings," he added.
A shortlist of 11 newsmaker finalists, chosen each month
from a panel of three, were put forward for the public's vote during the first
half of December.
Previous winners include Jacob Zuma (2007), Barack Obama
(2008), Michael Jackson (2009), the Soccer World Cup (2010) and Julius Malema
in 2011.
