THE GLEANER Company Ltd. yesterday won the Advertising Agencies Association of Jamaica's (AAAJ) Media of the Year Award for the sixth consecutive year.
The announcement was made at the AAAJ's 40th anniversary awards luncheon at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston.
The Gleaner beat out Television Jamaica (TVJ) and The Jamaica Observer, which were placed second and third respectively. The Gleaner also won three of 11 certificates of merit awarded to advertising executives. These went to accounts executive Maxine McTaggart, deputy advertising manager Nordia Craig and advertising manager Yvonne Senior, who accepted the Media of The Year Trophy on behalf of the company.
Accompanied by fanfare and following jokes to heighten suspense, Radcliffe Butler annou-nced that The Gleaner's chairman and managing director, Oliver Clarke, was this year's recipient of the AAAJ's Award of Excellence for his contribution to the development of media.
"The Gleaner and the media in Jamaica have taken a quantum leap forward due to the innovative excellence and dynamism of Oliver Frederick Clarke," Mr. Butler said.
The AAAJ, headed by Arnold Foote Snr., also honoured other persons who contributed significantly to its development and communication. Citations, accompanied by special plaques of merit commemorating the AAAJ's 40th anniversary, were awarded to veteran logistics and protocol guru Merrick Needham; veteran broadcaster and media pioneer Wycliffe Bennett; Neville Blythe, head of the UGI Group of companies and CVM Television's chairman; Dr. George Phillip for his contribution to the Jamaica Observer; and Karl Young, head of IRIE FM and ZIP FM. His son, Chad Young, accepted the award.
Mr. Needham, formerly of Radio Jamaica and the defunct Jamaica Broadcasting Corpo-ration (JBC), is also known for his outside broadcasts at ceremonial occasions including the annual National Awards ceremony at Kings House and he was one of the key forces in handling protocol for Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Jamaica in February.
He still "voices radio and television commercials and is an outside broadcaster on major state ceremonial occasions, the only professional broadcaster in Jamaica still on the air after more than a half a century," Mr. Butler said.
Mr. Bennett was commended not only for broadcasting excellence but for ensuring that "every media practitioner who came under his influence left with the indelible mark of a man who exuded clarity, class and professionalism".
For his part, Dr. Phillip, an executive director of the Sandals group, was credited for helping to turn around the then fledging Jamaica Observer and for his contribution to raising advertising standards through his appointment to the Advertising Standards Council.
Yesterday's function was chaired by Oral McCook and the vote of thanks was given by treasurer, Andrew Rousseau.
