A total of 643 title awardees have emerged from the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME) in the past 34 years.
The Chairman of DAME, Mr Lanre Idowu, gave the figure at the 34th presentation of the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence on Tuesday night.
He, however, regretted the death of DAME Lifetime Awardees – Dr Doyin Abiola, Mr Dan Agbese and Christopher Kolade.
Idowu said that DAME had given 31 lifetime awards in 19 years and 11 honorary fellowships in five years.
“In total, 685 names have entered the DAME Hall of Fame; that is an average of 20 names a year.
“These are names that have been carefully chosen as the best in their fields.
“Overall, we are proud of the strides covered by our DAME ambassadors over the years,” he said.
He listed such ambassadors as Messrs Azu Ishiekwene, Sam Omatseye and Reuben Abati.
Idowu described the death, in 2025, of Agbese, Abiola and Kolade as bad developments for the organisation.
Idowu said that 34th DAME presentation was holding at an important period in Nigeria.
“A lot is happening on the domestic scene, which is attracting concerning attention outside.
“We must not give in to despair. We must dig in and rediscover our strength as a people. We must make our resilience count for the better. We must make our voices heard.
“In the works that were nominated for awards, the voices from the media have been strident. They call attention to a lot that is happening in our society.
“In part, they make us think. In part they make us cry, and in part they reassure us that all is not lost.”
He said that the work of the journalist as a faithful interpreter of social reality often came with dire consequences.
“Those who remain faithful to the traditions of a free, strong and responsible media, those who are committed to rendering good journalism that is ethical in orientation and conscientious in duty, are those who are best placed not only to keep good journalism alive, but indeed, protect the future of our country.
“The lesson from this year’s exercise is that good journalism has a great part to play in repositioning the country.
“Office holders must be made accountable through a fair and robust appraisal of the service rendered to the public.
“Our media has tried, but our media can do a lot more,” Idowu said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that PUNCH won top honours, including Newspaper of the Year and Editor of the Year, for the second consecutive year, at the event.
PUNCH had the highest number of nominations, 15, winning nine of them at the ceremony attended by many journalism industry leaders and veterans.
The PUNCH Editor, Mr Oyetunji Abioye, beat editors of The Nation, ThisDay, Daily Sun, and Premium Times to clinch the Editor of the Year Award.
Daily Trust beat Leadership and ThisDay to win the Best Designed Newspaper of the Year Award. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)