SPH garners 6 editorial accolades at SOPA 2014

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) won three awards for excellence and three honourable mentions at The Society of Publishers in Asia 2014 (SOPA) Awards for Editorial Excellence. The awards ceremony was held this evening at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Mr Manuel Francisco, Executive Artist, The Straits Times (ST) won the award for excellence in the Excellence in Editorial Cartooning (Group B) category for his entry titled "Reviving the land of the rising sun". Mr Ravi Vellor, Foreign Editor, The Straits Times won an honourable mention in the Excellence in Opinion Writing (Group B) category for his article titled "Prepare for the next horror that surely will come". Mr Lim Yong, Executive Infographics Journalist, The Straits Times received an honourable mention in the Excellence in Information Graphics (Group B) category for his entry titled "Tech from nature".

Mr Jonathan Choo, Senior Executive Photojournalist, The New Paper won the award for excellence in the Excellence in News Photography (Group B) category for his photo entry titled "Little India Riot: Police cars overturned, some in flames".

SPH Magazines' SilverKris (May 2013) won the award for excellence in the Excellence in Magazine Design (Group A) category. Its sister publication The Peak (April 2013) won an honourable mention in the Excellence in Magazine Design (Group B) category.

In total, SPH had nine entries nominated in eight award categories.

1) Excellence in Feature writing (Group B)
a) The Straits Times/The Sunday Times - Behind the silver surge (Ms Radha Basu, Senior Correspondent, The Straits Times)

2) Excellence in Magazine Design (Group A)
a) SilverKris (May 2013)

3) Excellence in Magazine Design (Group B)
a) The Peak (April 2013)

4) Excellence in News Photography (Group B)
a) The New Paper - Little India Riot: Police cars overturned, some in flames (Mr Jonathan Choo, Senior Executive Photojournalist, The New Paper)

5) Excellence in Information Graphics (Group B)
a) The Straits Times/The Sunday Times - Tech from nature (Mr Lim Yong, Executive Infographics Journalist, The Straits Times)

6) Excellence in Opinion Writing (Group B)
a) The Straits Times/The Sunday Times - Prepare for the next horror that surely will come (Mr Ravi Vellor, Foreign Editor, The Straits Times)

7) Excellence in Editorial Cartooning (Group B)
a) The Straits Times/The Sunday Times - Air defence zone a "lose-lose" for Beijing? (Mr Miel Prudencio Rosales Jr, Senior Executive Artist, The Straits Times)
b) The Straits Times/The Sunday Times - Reviving the land of the rising sun (Mr Manuel Francisco, Executive Artist, The Straits Times)

8) Excellence in Feature Photography (Group C)
a) Lianhe Zaobao/联合早报 - 伶人说戏 (or The Storytelling of Traditional Chinese drama) (Mr Douglas Ho, Photographer, Lianhe Zaobao)

Mr Warren Fernandez, Editor, The Straits Times, said: "We at the Straits Times are fortunate to have writers and artists who can hold their own against the best, as these awards show. We are proud to have them as part of the ST team, which strives to do our best for our readers."

Mr Simon Ker, Chief Photographer, The New Paper, said: "Jonathan is a very senior photographer, with decades of experience under his belt. He knew the situation well. He hid his camera in his sling bag, kept his alertness and managed to creep close enough to capture this winning shot of rioters hurling rocks at police while cars burned in the background. Although he took a big risk, the result is this picture which is set to become an iconic picture of Singapore not seen in the last 40 years."

Ms Joanna Lee-Miller, Group Editor, SPH Magazines, said: "Recognition by our peers is the best compliment and this accolade is extremely gratifying for the SilverKris team who are committed to delivering a top quality publication with a global readership."