SINGAPORE: Channel NewsAsia’s digital team scooped two out of five awards at the Mediacorp News Awards on Friday (Apr 20) with in-depth digital features that struck a chord with readers.
Tides That Bind – an interactive special rolled out in November 2017 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2007 Singapore dragonboat tragedy – was named Digital Feature Story of the Year.
CNA Insider took home the News Story of the Year accolade, for its story spotlighting the plight of Singapore’s elderly poor.
The Tides That Bind special took Channel NewsAsia senior digital journalist Justin Ong back to Phnom Penh, almost 10 years after five of his teammates drowned while representing Singapore in a dragonboat race.
In taking on the project, Mr Ong said he hoped it would “set the record straight when it came to the events of November 23, 2007”, and “that it would help parents of the departed heal, knowing their children are not forgotten and their deaths were not in vain – for the community and sport of dragonboat has both learnt its lesson and grown tremendously”.
“My personal account was just one out of five stories. The core of this project is still that of my five late teammates, and I’m glad I had an extremely capable team to help see through a story that I truly believe is of nationwide importance,” he said.
Channel NewsAsia visual journalist Gaya Chandramohan, who worked on the photos and footage of the project, said the hardest part was imagining the hardship of the families who lost their loved ones in the tragedy.
“The journey to tell their story was not without obstacle but every decision we made regarding the project, we made with the families of the men in mind.”
The others involved in the project were digital news deputy chief editor David Bottomley, supervising editor Chung Lyn-Yi, visual journalist Howard Law, web programmer Calvin Chia and graphic designer Kenneth Choy.
Channel NewsAsia supervising editor for digital news/features Yvonne Lim who received the award on behalf of the team for News Story of the Year. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
On winning the News Story of the Year award, Channel NewsAsia supervising editor, Digital News/Features Yvonne Lim said it is a “team effort for CNA Insider, both past and present”.
“I’m constantly amazed at the impact that this story continues to have, even a year after we’ve run the story. Everybody remembers who the ice-cream uncle is,” said Ms Lim.
For more than 10 years, 85-year-old Ng Teak Boon has made a living selling ice-cream – but his life hasn’t been quite as sweet. READ MORE: The faces and insecurities of Singapore’s elderly working poor.
This is part of CNA Insider’s regional series on elderly poverty.
Former CNA Insider team members who worked on Lonely and ‘waiting to die’, Singapore’s elderly poor find hope in many helping hands include Mr Kane Cunico and Ms Jade Han. The story was part of a regional series on the elderly poor, which brought CNA Insider to Vietnam, Myanmar and South Korea to uncover heartbreaking stories.
“I’m hoping that every time anybody encounters an elderly cleaner in a hawker centre, your office cleaner, a hawker’s assistant, an ice-cream uncle like him, I hope they stop and think about what these people are going through in their lives, and how we as a nation can do more to help these people,” said Ms Lim.
“The awards are testimony to how far Channel NewsAsia’s digital content has come in recent years,” said Mr Jaime Ho, digital news chief editor at Channel NewsAsia. “I am especially proud that both awards come from team efforts. It shows good journalism can come from people who love what they do, and when they do it together.”
The team behind Get Real: Escape from Marawi took home the award for Documentary of the Year. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
Channel NewsAsia’s current affairs team won the Documentary of the Year for Get Real: Escape from Marawi, which detailed the harrowing siege of the southern Philippine town seized by terrorists last year.
From left: Journalist Afifah Ariffin, Mediacorp CEO Tham Loke Kheng and English Current Affairs senior producer Jaclyn Low Minmin. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
The judges also picked two Young Journalists of the Year – Jaclyn Low Minmin, a senior producer from English Current Affairs, as well as Afifah Ariffin, a journalist with Channel NewsAsia’s Singapore Desk.
Channel NewsAsia’s Jeremy Koh won Journalist of the Year at the Mediacorp News Awards 2018. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
Two veteran journalists picked up the biggest accolade of the night – Journalist of the Year.
Mr Jeremy Koh, formerly Channel NewsAsia’s senior correspondent based in Beijing, was one of the winners. He is now an editor with the channel’s International Desk.
The other winner was Ms Pearl Forss, a senior producer with English Current Affairs, who was unable to attend the awards ceremony.
Winners at the Mediacorp News Awards 2018. (Photo: Jeremy Long)
