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Former president Nelson Mandela was honoured as the National Press Club's Newsmaker of the Year for 2013 last night at the awards event in Pretoria.
Club Chairman Jos Charle said they were not commemorating his death but celebrating the life of a world icon and legend, as well as his role as an international
statesman.
He said Mandela's death had riveted the attention of the world for 10 days.
Charle said that one hour after the announcement of Mandela's death, two million tweets were generated.
More than six million tweets were recorded on the 5th of December, the day of his death.
Charle added that when Mandela was sick with a recurring lung infection, media camped outside his hospital for 86 days last year.
The club has named Nelson Mandela as its newsmaker before.
Previous recipients include President Jacob Zuma, former presidents FW de Klerk, and Thabo Mbeki, actress Charlize Theron, Eskom, EFF
leader Julius Malema and, in 2012, the South African rhino.
