PREMIUM TIMES has emerged as the winner of the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Reporting Category at the 2025 ReportHer Awards, an initiative celebrating Nigerian newsrooms that demonstrate excellence and intentionality in gender-balanced journalism.
The awards, held in Lagos on Friday, were organised by Women Radio 91.7 FM in partnership with the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), with support from the Ford Foundation.
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Why PREMIUM TIMES won
Judges said PREMIUM TIMES distinguished itself through balanced sourcing, strong legal context and sustained coverage of women and vulnerable groups.
Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of the International Press Centre and a member of the judging panel, described the assessment process as thorough and deliberate.
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He said: “The entries were many… in some cases, because they wanted justification, some media outlets sent as many stories as they could for the different categories. And we needed to go through all of them.”
“…We looked at the diversity of these stories in terms of the various sources that were consulted, the different dimensions that they looked at, not just in terms of looking at women as victims, but even looking at the legal environment, looking at other factors, including the situation of women in the IDPs and the rest of them,” he said, noting that PREMIUM TIMES exemplified the standard the category seeks to promote.
While PREMIUM TIMES earned the top recognition, the judges also acknowledged the efforts of fellow nominees Social Voices and BONews, who were shortlisted for their strong work in GBV reporting.
Other category winners
FRCN won the Female Leadership Representation award ahead of TVC and NTA. BONews topped the Inclusive Advocacy and Reportage category, with Social Voices and Naija Feminists Media also nominated. NAN secured the Pro-Women Workplace Policy award, edging Social Voices and TVC.
Calls for more gender-fair newsrooms
Speaking at the event, Motunrayo Alaka, Executive Director of WSCIJ, said the awards are part of a broader push to improve gender fairness across Nigeria’s media ecosystem.
“The face and voice of news as we speak is male,” she noted, urging newsrooms to deepen fair representation in leadership and sourcing.
Women Radio CEO Toun Sonaiya added that the platform aims to reward organisations that “create an enabling environment for women to thrive, shine and lead.”
About ReportHer
The ReportHer Awards is a collaborative effort of Women Radio 91.7 and the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism to recognise media organisations that prioritise women’s representation.
Since 2015, Women Radio 91.7 FM—Nigeria’s only female-centric radio station—has served as a powerful tool for women’s development, rights and inclusive governance.
For two decades, the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism has championed courageous, inclusive journalism that strengthens media leadership and advances gender and social equity through training, mentorship, collaborations, the Report Women programme and the Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting.
