MediaCorp honours the best in journalism for TV, Radio, Press and Publishing in second News Awards

Hard-nosed journalism married showbiz glamour at the MediaCorp News Awards ceremony, the second to be held.

The awards ceremony is aimed at recognising and honouring the best journalistic talents, pitting the news teams from the different platforms of television, radio and print within the MediaCorp group.

This time, the awards were also extended to MediaCorp's writers in the magazine publishing arm and a new category – Feature Story of the Year - was added to the existing four, namely News Story of the Year, Story of the Year with Public Participation, Journalist of the Year and Young Journalist of the Year.

A panel of foreign and local judges selected the winning entries, which were broadcast or published in 2006.

And the winners are:

1. News Story of the Year
    Get Rea! Fifty Dollar Men, MediaCorp News

2. Feature Story of the Year
    Indonesia : On the Ring of Fire, MediaCorp News

3. Story of the Year with Public Participation
    Talkback : Advanced Medical Directive, MediaCorp Radio and
    Frontline : Midnight Cat Killers, MediaCorp News

4. Journalist of the Year
    Derrick Augustine Paulo, MediaCorp Press

5. Young Journalist of the Year
    Jasmine Yin, MediaCorp Press

The MediaCorp News Awards looks set to expand even further to recognize journalism in new media.

Says Mr Ho Kwon Ping, MediaCorp Chairman, "The exponential growth of new media means we cannot afford to have our online journalistic efforts play second fiddle to traditional media."

"I understand that to really do well in that space, the same old way of presenting the news just won't do. It needs a new skills set. But there must be one constant in all this, whether we are working in the traditional or new media space – staying true to our mission of delivering credible, relevant information to audiences."

Adds MediaCorp CEO Lucas Chow, "I am proud to say that MediaCorp is also making good strides in the new media space. CNA Mobile, TODAYonline, MOBTV and Visual Radio are but some of the new media delivery platforms we have conceived. Internally, the advent of e-learning capabilities and NexMedia infrastructure are further proof of our resolve in migrating to the digital domain."

Following are excerpts from the judges on the award submissions:

"A sound reporter with very sound holistic skills."
(Journalist of the Year, Derrick Augustine Paulo)
Associate Professor Ang Peng Hwa
Chair, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)

"Nicely edited, in the best tradition of investigative reporting"
(News Story of the Year, Get Rea! Fifty Dollar Men)
Professor Philip Taylor
International Communications, Institute of Communications
University of Leeds (UK)

"Radio by nature is interactive. The chosen topic and the level of discussion put this entry a cut above the rest."
(Joint Winner for Story of the Year with Public Participation, Talkback : Advanced Medical Directive)
Ms Chay Florentino-Hofilena
Media Ethics
Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism (Philippines)

The presentation ceremony was held on Friday, 2 February at Swissotel The Stamford, attended by not just journalists, but also newsmakers and entertainment personalities from the rest of the MediaCorp stable. In addition to the Group Awards, winners for the Annual Awards of Television, Radio, Press and Publishing were also announced.