Group A
Regional newspapers, large magazines and wire services published in English, including their affiliated online publications and websites.

 

1. Excellence in Investigative Reporting

 Award of Excellence
Publication:International Herald Tribune
Entry Title: Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and its Aftermath
Journalist:Choe Sang-Hun, Thomas Fuller, Mark McDonald, Seth Mydans
Comments:A brilliant and moving account of a disaster. The reporters faced considerable risks and hardships in getting the story and protecting their sources in the face of authorities bent on preventing the journalists from doing their work.

Honourable Mention

Publication: Newsweek
Entry Title: Murder at the Drum Tower
Journalist:    Written by Melinda Liu, Photographs by James Whitlow Delano
Comments:The story has effectively shown the stresses in Chinese life. This is probably the most purely investigative piece that focuses on Asia-based reporting.

2. Excellence in Reporting Breaking News

 Award of Excellence

Publication: The Wall Street Journal Asia
Entry Title: Terror in Mumbai
Journalist: Eric Bellman, Geeta Anand, Yaroslav Trofimov, Peter Wonacott, Gaurav Raghuvanshi, Matthew Rosenberg, Zahid Hussain
Comments:An excellent mix of breaking detail and the unfolding context behind the terror. Telling quotes, anecdotes and the sheer microscopic detail painted a vivid picture of the attacks.

Honourable Mention

Publication: TIME Asia
Entry Title: Saving Burma
Journalist: Hannah Beech
Comments: Dodging military checkpoints, hiding in the hulls of boats, the reporter captured the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis in her gripping account. Even more, her outraged point of view indicted a suppressive junta "…more concerned with keeping foreigners out than allowing aid in”.

3. Excellence in Business Reporting

Award of Excellence

Publication: The Wall Street Journal Asia
Entry Title: China's New Economic Struggle
Journalist:Mei Fong, Sky Canaves, James T. Areddy, Andrew Batson, Shai Oster
Comments:The series combined some really excellent coal-face reporting with a lot of balanced context. It was researching from the bottom, speaking to lots of sources and providing a lot of very original work. Again the kind of labour intensive, detailed but ground breaking journalism that really needs to be applauded and acknowledged. An excellent series. Detailed, insightful, ground breaking.

Honourable Mention

Publication: International Herald Tribune
Entry Title: The Food Chain
Journalist:    Keith Bradsher, Andrew Martin, Somini Sengupta
Comments: Takes a complex topic, breaks it down nicely, and makes the issues clear through strong reporting. It’s the kind of journalism that makes you proud to be a journalist as it tackles a complex and important issue from so many angles with a lot of energy and thought.

4. Excellence in Human Rights Reporting

Award of Excellence

Publication:Newsweek
Entry Title: Lured into Bondage
Journalist:George Wehrfritz, Erika Kinetz, Jonathan Kent, Joe Cochrane, Jonathan Adams, Ron Brownlow, Marites Vitug, Tonette Orejas, Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop, Sudip Mazumdar, Akiko Kashiwagi
Comments:It is exactly what great human rights reporting should be: A heavily researched, nuanced and multi-faceted look at the exploitation of millions of emigrants merely seeking to improve their lives. It produced a powerful picture of globalisation's ugly underbelly. The article, while brief, covered all the bases. It really went beyond the norm. This shows what a regional publication can do with the proper application of resources to a subject. Multinational reporting like this connects the dots in important ways and it is rarely done this well.

Honourable Mention

Publication: International Herald Tribune
Entry Title: In the Shadow of the Olympics
Journalist:Andrew Jacobs
Comments:Absolutely superb deadline reporting on a human rights issue. Dogged coverage of a topic essential to human rights, freedom of expression.

5. Excellence in Reporting on the Environment

Award of Excellence

Publication: Discovery Channel Magazine
Entry Title: The Man Who Saved the Aral Sea
Journalist: John Dyson
Comments: It really stood out as being well reported and a great story, going to the heart of environmental degradation and innovative ways to mobilize people and resources to find a way back to a healthier interaction between man and nature.

Honourable Mention

Publication: TIME Asia
Entry Title:A Wound in the Earth
Journalist:Petter Ritter
Comments: It should be mentioned as a good combination of a down-to-the-village-level approach to an environmental problem, and an easy-to-understand scientific explanation of that problem. Exciting to read.

6. Excellence in Feature Writing

Award of Excellence

Publication: TIME Asia
Entry Title: Crazy for Gold
Journalist:Hannah Beech
Comments: Excellent, sensitive "write what you see" reporting. This story stood out with good first hand feature that told the story of China’s medal machine vividly through the words of the athletes.

Honourable Mention

Publication: The Wall Street Journal Asia
Entry Title:China's Olympic Moment
Journalist:Geoffrey A. Fowler, Rebecca Blumenstein, Ian Johnson, Jason Dean, Betsy McKay
Comments:Bravo. Not only were these pieces well reported and written, but they exploited fresh angles and approaches for explaining themes that many others were writing about at the same time.

7. Excellence in Opinion Writing

Award of Excellence

Publication:International Herald Tribune
Entry Title: Letter from India
Journalist:Anand Giridharadas
Comments:A different, absolutely compelling take on India. The reporter’s humanistic reflections shares with readers the paradoxes of today’s India society and its people, from the apathy of the affluent, the distinct sentiments towards Western influence between the early- and the late-adopters, and the “feminist” in chic-lit versus the village women who decided to take things into their hands. His column is an exemplary blend of humour and serious contemplations, leaving readers yearning for more the next week.

Honourable Mention

Publication:International Herald Tribune
Entry Title: Asia amid the global slowdown
Journalist: Philip Bowring
Comments:The reporter demonstrates a depth of knowledge about Asia that few can match and manages to convey it in a fluid style. These stories show he was well ahead of the pack in identifying economic realities that have now become apparent to all.

8. Excellence in News Photography

Award of Excellence

Publication:Reuters
Entry Title: Gunfire erupted outside a village in Helmand province
Journalist:Goran Tomasevic
Comments:Good spot news. Catching the striking decisive moment.

Honourable Mention
Publication: TIME Asia
Entry Title: Helmand – Afghanistan
Journalist: Zalmai
Comments: Very artistic, involving daily lives. Nice contrast.

9. Excellence in Feature Photography

Award of Excellence

Publication: TIME Asia
Entry Title: Crazy for Gold
Journalist: Ian Teh
Comments: Grabs that feeling of China aiming to dominate the Olympics. A fresh look at a subject we have seen before. Great opener, strong images.

Honourable Mention
Publication:Reader's Digest
Entry Title: Democracy Comes to the Kingdom
Journalist:Scott Woodward
Comments:Dreamy and lovely.

10. Excellence in Special Issue or Special Section

Award of Excellence

Publication: TIME Asia
Entry Title: Summer Journey Double Issue: Games People Play
Journalist:Michael Elliot, Zoher Abdoolcarim
Comments:Really surprising and refreshing package of stories that go far beyond sport to illuminate the role sports play in society. Great reporting, great context.

Honourable Mention

Publication:Financial Times
Entry Title: FT Report on China
Journalist:Geoff Dyer, David Pilling, Mure Dickie, Martin Dickson
Comments:Solid and professional. Very thorough recap of China during the crisis.

11. Excellence in Information Graphics

Award of Excellence

Publication: Discovery Channel Magazine
Entry Title: Big Rig
Journalist:Illustrator: Bryan Christie Design; Designer: David Ross
Comments:Classic, meaty combo of graphics, pictures and texts.

Honourable Mention
Publication:TIME Asia
Entry Title: A Wound in the Earth
Journalist: Cecelia Wong
Comments: Beautifully realised illustration of physical calamity Olympics.

12. Excellence in Newspaper Design

Award of Excellence
Publication: Financial Times
Entry Title: Saturday 20 September issue
Journalist:Financial Times
Comments:It stands out as having the best ‘bones’ or structure for building a contemporary newspaper. It is disciplined, with enough dynamics to hold the reader. Photo editing is strong.


13. Excellence in Magazine Design

Award of Excellence

Publication: Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia
Entry Title: December 2008
Journalist:Art Director: Fah Sakharet; Editor-In-Chief: Matt Leppard
Comments:The innovation, complexity and photo editing make it outstanding. The design comes together architecturally using strong type to offset lyrical images. A really strong design, dealing with a lot of editorial complexity in an elegant way.

Honourable Mention

Publication:Female
Entry Title: Female September 2008
Journalist: Female Design Team – Jonathan Chia, Audrey Chan, Aaron Lee, Jean Lee, Penny Seow
Comments:Clean, clean, clean, the up market content is mimicked by the modern and fashion forward design. A strong, well directed magazine that exudes class.

14. Excellence in Digital Journalism

Award of Excellence

Publication:Financial Times
Entry Title: China and the Olympics
Journalist:Geoff Dyer, Jamil Anderlini, Patti Waldmeir, Edward Cheng
Comments:Great variety of stories, good use of video, pictures and writing, good reporting.

Honourable Mention
Publication: TIME Asia
Entry Title: A series of online reporting on cyclone Nargis in Burma
Journalist:Andrew Marshall
Comments:Well covered, lots of interesting anecdotes, brought the story to life. Good interviews, very compelling, good use of internet for weekly magazine, good new angles each day.

15. The Scoop Award

Award of Excellence

Publication:Financial Times
Entry Title: David Li insider trading settlement with SEC
Journalist:Tom Mitchell, Robin Kwong, Brooke Masters, Francesco Guerrero
Comments:Detailed reporting and a clear scoop. Good scoop!

Honourable Mention
Publication:Dow Jones Newswires
Entry Title: Australian Mining Mergers & Acquisitions
Journalist:Alex Wilson
Comments:Reporter broke numerous, repeated hard-news stories on this very competitive topic. An impressive series of scoops - only possible with an extensive and well-maintained network of sources.

16. Journalist of the Year

Award of Excellence

Publication: Financial Times
Journalist: Joe Leahy
Comments: From a chilling account of the terrorist massacre in Mumbai to a revealing profile of the world's sixth richest industrialist driven by killer instinct and sibling rivalry, the reporter unveils the layers, flavours and complexities of modern India.  His poignant description of a debt-desperate farmer who committed suicide and his enterprise reporting from a remote rural area about a land dispute involving one of India’s largest conglomerates together pointed to the larger story of the plight of farmers caught in the country's struggle to become an industrial power. The report’s articles and columns help readers understand the conflicts, issues and human protagonists with details and insights that illuminate and linger.

 

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