Ziyanda Ngobo, a 19-year-old Public Relations and Communication student at the University of Johannesburg recently won the Public Relations Institute of South Africa (PRISA) news reading competition and was announced the first host of PRISA NEWS.

She explains, “On the 10th of March 2022, an announcement was share on the SPRA official WhatsApp group stating that PRISA was looking for news readers. Without any hesitation, I privately messaged her to say that I was interested. It took me about an hour to record a 30 seconds demo of myself reading news from YouTube. After an hour of stressing and anxiety kicking in, I finally sent the demo to Ms. Lindiwe Majola from PRISA. While waiting for her response, she responded saying I should go to the PRISA offices the next day”.

“On 11 March 2022, I went to the PRISA offices, I was shocked to find that I was the only one called in – I was the winner. For the first time in my life, I had won a competition and not just any competition, a competition that aligned with what I am studying. I was beyond happy; no words could explain the emotions I felt during that moment”

“I got to experience a day as a news reader and in a workspace. It was an overwhelming experience, being in a boardroom with members of such a big institute and having to do something that no one has done for the organization before. I was literally shaking in my seat but with the help of PRISA president, Mr. Tebogo Ditshego I was able to pull myself together and do what was expected of me to do”.

Tips on how I won:

Creating a professional setting for the YouTube video
Using clear and understandable language
Using a bold and confident voice
Dressing professionally

Written by: Ziyanda Ngobo and Seriane Morapeli