By Benjamin S. Conteh
Former Editor of The Times-SL Newspaper who is currently the Managing Editor of Voice of Salone Newspaper, David Johnson, has bagged the IMC Media Excellence Award at the 9th IMC Awards ceremony held on Friday 23rd April, 2021 at Radisson Blu Hotel, Aberdeen in Freetown. He received the award for his coverages on Disability issues.
David Johnson is a brilliant writer who is very passionate about disability issues and has done many research papers on disability.
During his days at Fourah Bay College (FBC) University of Sierra Leone, he was regarded as the best student who wrote a research paper on the challenges faced by disabled people in Sierra Leone’s socio-economic sphere and was also applauded by the Disability Commission Executive Secretary, Saa Lamin Kortequee, for being the best student that broke record in FBC.
David Johnson has also been commended as the best researcher by Disability Action Group (DAAG) at the time he did a research paper on the topic: the Barrier Faced by Disabled people in the Socio-Economic Sphere and the Role of the Disability Commission in Championing the Cause of Disabled in Sierra Leone.
In the field of Journalism, he has scooped several accolades. Prominent among them is him becoming the Best Editor in 2020, an accolade given to him by the Chief Reviewer of Guild of Editors Sierra Leone, Mr. John Koroma, and his Voice of Salone Newspaper was also regarded as the Best Newspaper in 2020 in terms of upholding media ethics and practice.
Speaking after receiving the award, the CEO of Voice of Salone Newspaper, David Johnson, thanked God Almighty for giving him the wisdom which catapulted him to winning the Best Coverage on Disability Award. He thanked the Publisher of Times-SL, Sallieu Tejan Jalloh, for creating the platform for him to receive such an accolade.
He however dedicated the award to the management and staff of Times-SL Newspaper and those on his Voice of Salone Newspaper.
He said the award is a demonstration that hardwork pays and called on colleague journalists to be steadfast in their work not only for the winning of awards but also for promoting excellence in the profession.
“When you sit down to write or broadcast, don’t focus on winning an award. Your focus should be on performing a national duty diligently and playing your part in promoting ethical and professional practices,” the CEO of Voice of Salone affirmed.
