Group B
Local newspapers and small magazines published in English, including their affiliated online publications and websites and independent online publications.

 

1. Excellence in Investigative Reporting

Award of Excellence

Publication:South China Morning Post
Entry Title: Dirty Secrets
Journalist:Al Guo
Comments: Brilliantly written. The reporter took a story of global interest, went to the heart of the issue and found out how the scandal was allowed to happen. Well written and brilliantly researched under difficult conditions. Excellent.

Honourable Mention

Publication:The Sun
Entry Title: Public Land Gone
Journalist:R'Nadeswaran, Terence Fernandez
Comments:The reporters were fearless in their pursuit of the truth and exposed new ground in the public interest. Excellent investigation.

2. Excellence in Reporting Breaking News

Award of Excellence

Publication:The New Paper
Entry Title: 1. 4 Minutes of Terror: Student captures S'pore Zoo workers death on video
2. Face to face with Tigers. He did not want to die
3. Victim's sisters watch video of Tiger attack
Journalist:Teh Jen Lee, Desmond Ng, Tan May Ping, Tay Shi'an, Mohd Ishak
Comments:Tenacious, resourceful, fast reporting - a humane story resulted. Super! The reporters took what could have been a routine story and ran with it. Their tenaciousness, smart use of multiple resources, and ability to reach out quickly to a variety of key contacts all yielded a gripping, humane story.

Honourable Mention

Publication:The Straits Times
Entry Title: 1.Shifting ground under their feet
2.State jewels but little experience to govern then
3.Anwar plots opposition's next move
4.Malay swing stuns both opposition and Umno
5.Umno battles its own demons
Journalist:Carolyn Hong, Reme Ahmad, Leslie Lopez
Comments:This was smart, balanced election reporting tapping into a range of key angles and never leaving the reader bored.

3. Excellence in Business Reporting

Award of Excellence

Publication:Jakarta Globe
Entry Title: Tripanca’s Collapse
Journalist:Kafil Yamin
Comments:Easy to follow yarn and a textbook example of jumping on a big story and wrestling it to the ground.

Honourable Mention

Publication:The Straits Times
Entry Title: Retirees recount their big losses
Journalist:Francis Chan
Comments:This story shows how ordinary people were swept up by the global economic storm, in a newsy engaging way. Good anecdotal examples. Well told.

4. Excellence in Human Rights Reporting

Award of Excellence

Publication:The Phnom Penh Post
Entry Title: Escape from hell on the high sea: nine trafficked men return home
Journalist:Christopher Shay, May Titthara
Comments:Enterprising work from a small publication.

Honourable Mention

Publication: South China Morning Post
Entry Title: Help Wanted
Journalist:Staff Reporter
Comments:Excellent on-the-ground reporting on an important topic.

5. Excellence in Reporting on the Environment

Award of Excellence

Publication:The Far Eastern Economic Review
Entry Title: Playing Air-Quality Games
Journalist:Steven Q. Andrews
Comments:A convincing, deep and impressive reporting.

Honourable Mention

Publication:South China Morning Post
Entry Title: Power at a Cost
Journalist:Shi Jingtao
Comments:The series was admirably ambitious and brought into perspective one of the most pervasive economy vs. people phenomena in China.

6. Excellence in Feature Writing

Award of Excellence

Publication:South China Morning Post
Entry Title: Luck Beats a Lady
Journalist:Joyce Siu
Comments:Interesting view of one element of society; well told; would have preferred to see women use their real names, but the anonymity in this case is understandable and the significance of the issue justifies it.

Honourable Mention

Publication:Muse Magazine
Entry Title: It started with a fire
Journalist:Sylvia Chan
Comments:A poignant, well-researched piece of writing that brings an abandoned public housing estate back to life. A fascinating reminder of how rich the routine of daily life was - and remains - in Hong Kong's neighbourhoods.

7. Excellence in Opinion Writing

Award of Excellence

Publication:South China Morning Post
Entry Title:Dealing with Disasters
Journalist:Wang Xiangwei
Comments:Best reporting. Well written. Critical issues for China, willingness to criticize where criticism is warranted and give credit where credit is due. Good perspective and ability to compare to a variety of other nations. The reporter has emerged as an important voice on Chinese politics.

Honourable Mention

Publication:MINT
Entry Title:Café Economics
Journalist:Niranjan Rajadhyaksha
Comments:The reporter combines strong prose with trenchant analysis, and has a gift for setting national issues in a much wider context. Truly a voice that speaks from India to the world. The reporter was my clear favourite, partly for his lucid writing style, partly for the breadth of his thinking.

8. Excellence in News Photography

Award of Excellence

Publication:The Phnom Penh Post
Entry Title: Boeung Kak Lake Land Evictions
Journalist: Vandy Rattana, Chhay Channyda, Rick Valenzuela
Comments:Striking, heartbreaking images that are also visually complex.

Honourable Mention

Publication:South China Morning Post
Entry Title: Against the odds
Journalist:Robert Ng
Comments:Powerful, heartbreaking but also subtle images. The reporter found the individual stories swirling within that tornado of pain, and treated them directly but sensitively.

9. Excellence in Feature Photography

Award of Excellence

Publication:DestinAsian
Entry Title: A World Away
Journalist:Matthieu Paley
Comments:Simply stunning photos, the kind that leap off the page and invite you to walk into them. Gorgeous images from a far-away land I know I'll probably never get to, but now at least can dream about.

Honourable Mention

Publication:DestinAsian
Entry Title: Into The Heart of Siberut
Journalist:Martin Westlake
Comments:Rich, sensitive portrayal of a unique culture. Depicts human and geographic scales effectively. Great dignity shown in Siberut's people. Never condescends or stoops to cliché!

10. Excellence in Special Issue or Special Section

Award of Excellence

Publication: South China Morning Post
Entry Title: Beijing 2008, Olympic Odyssey
Journalist:SCMP Sports team: Editor – Noel Prentice, Art Director – Carl Jones
Comments:Competent job by a seasoned team of sports journalists. An entertaining and comprehensive look at the Olympic Games.

Honourable Mention

Publication:Options, The Edge
Entry Title: On The Heritage Trail In Penang
Journalist: Surinder Jessy
Comments:Good combination of editorial, pictures, design and local knowledge to produce a stand-out issue on a topic that has been covered often but not usually as well.

11. Excellence in Information Graphics

Award of Excellence

Publication:South China Morning Post
Entry Title: Campaign Face-Off
Journalist: Terry Pontikos
Comments:Eye catching, good sense of humour, comprehensive.

Honourable Mention

Publication:The New Paper
Entry Title: Raising a Dead Princess
Journalist:Fadzil Hamzah & Celestino del Rosario Gulapa
Comments:Informative and elaborate graphics. "Boy's Own" stuff, made with love.

12. Excellence in Newspaper Design

Award of Excellence

Publication:South China Morning Post
Entry Title: Dream Finale
Journalist: SCMP Production Team, Production Manager: Ung Mah Pheng, Art Director: Terry Pontikos
Comments:Mature layout with excellent grid line, fonts and high level of editorial photos. The whole layout are well balanced and reader friendly. Unique and unforgettable.

Honourable Mention

Publication:MINT
Entry Title: Obama Issue
Journalist:Art Director: Abel Robinson
Comments:Nice usage of colours, fonts and creative elements like colour shades and lines. Great use of photos, particularly the double truck, and sheer volume of material gave it the edge.

13. Excellence in Magazine Design

Award of Excellence

Publication:ish
Entry Title: ish 9.5 - Shopping for Life
Journalist:ish team
Comments:A real standout. Good concept, fun photos and spreads, interesting work with pages. It delivers visual excitement that is only possible with terrific photography and a willingness to take risks in terms of graphics design.

Honourable Mention

Publication:Power Magazine
Entry Title: Power December Issue
Journalist: Group Art Director: Darren Long
Comments:This is just blazing -- great photos, great page design and the elements it brings together, from editorial to photographs to graphics and layout, are separately great and integrated beautifully in this truly beautiful new publication. I just loved this magazine.

14. Excellence in Digital Journalism

Award of Excellence

Publication: Chosun Ilbo
Entry Title: On the Border
Journalist:Lee Hark Joon, Park Jong In, Bang Jung O
Comments:Breathtaking stories that once again define the ultimate form of investigative journalism. Authoritarian oppression and the irrepressible longing for freedom are a familiar theme but an effective combination of print, online and broadcast journalism makes it a refreshing experience for the audience.

Honourable Mention

Publication:South China Morning Post
Entry Title: Space Invaders
Journalist: SCMP News and Multimedia teams
Comments:The story is a vivid example of how an Asian society such as Hong Kong's is often still torn between commercial modernity and political/cultural underdevelopment with regards to human and civil rights. At the same time, it's indeed an innovative form of news reporting for print media seeking a new business model.

15. The Scoop Award

Award of Excellence

Publication:South China Morning Post
Entry Title: Oil Territory
Journalist:Greg Torode
Comments:This is an example of top-notch reporting and writing. The reporter dug up an important and far-reaching story, researched it well and told it well, exploring the international ramifications in knowledgeable and understandable terms.

Honourable Mention

Publication:The JoongAng Daily
Entry Title: North Korea allows a separated couple to reunite after 47 years
Journalist:Ryu Kwon-ha, Ser Myo-ja
Comments:The paper worked for more than a year on the story and managed to keep it under wraps; the story had international impact. Nicely done!

16. Journalist of the Year

Award of Excellence

Publication:South China Morning Post
Journalist:Greg Torode
Comments:Strong regional coverage. Authoritative and wide-ranging. Solid work.

 

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