Post journalists lauded in regional news awards
Senior South China Morning Post journalist Quinton Chan was last night named local journalist of the year in English.
Judges at the annual Society of Publishers in Asia press awards commended him for writing 'great investigative pieces that challenge the government and reflect real digging as well as commitment to the public interest'.
His stories displayed 'great breadth with a good selection of issues important both to the civic life of Hong Kong and the personal lives of Hong Kong residents.'
The panel said Chan made very effective use of high-quality sources to bring out exclusive and revealing information on these issues.
The South China Morning Post and the Sunday Morning Post cemented their reputation for newspaper excellence by carrying off nine accolades.
The Post was named winner in three other categories: news photography, newspaper design, and environment reporting.
It received honourable mentions for special issues and sections, editorial cartoons, design, business reporting, and in the scoop award for exclusive reporting.
The awards, established in 1999, were open to English- and Chinese-language papers across Asia and attracted entries from the mainland, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and the United States.
The results were announced at a gala dinner at the JW Marriott hotel in Admiralty after a speech by the guest of honour, Li Datong, a prominent mainland journalist and former editor of Freezing Point, a weekly supplement of the China Youth Daily newspaper.
Former Post reporter Robin Kwong's article 'Sick in the City', about air pollution in Hong Kong, won the top prize for environment reporting for 'a well-organised piece that brings clarity to a complex topic'. The report was 'a comprehensive analysis of the air pollution problem in Hong Kong with good use of statistics', the panel added.
The paper won top news photography award for its coverage of the clock tower saga at the Star Ferry Pier, which was eventually demolished.
The Post also picked up the top award for its 'classy design'.
The layout was clearly structured with decent font usage and reader-friendliness, the judges said.
Post editor C.K. Lau said the awards were a reflection of the dedication of the papers' journalists.
'We will continue to strive for the highest standards to bring the best to our readers. It is an honour to achieve such recognition, especially in a year when competition is keen.'
Mr Lau said Chan deserved to be congratulated on his award. 'Quinton has been with the Post for almost 15 years and has a track record of breaking exclusive and insightful stories.'
