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Shortlisted winners from South China Morning Post (Left to right): Juliana Liu (Best digital news start-up); Mat Booth (Best use of online video); Ravi Hiranand (Best digital news start-up); Adolfo Arranz (Best data visualisation); and Marcelo Duhalde (Best data visualisation) at the event in The Mira Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: SCMP

Post takes home five prizes at Asian Digital Media Awards

  • Two gold, one silver and two bronze in three categories at prestigious continental awards
  • Editor-in-chief says awards are ‘validation’ of paper’s digital transformation
SCMP

The South China Morning Post collected five prizes – two gold, one silver and two bronze – in three categories at the Asian Digital Media Awards in Hong Kong on Thursday.

The newspaper bagged gold awards in the Best Digital News Start-up category, for its new platform on Chinese tech, Abacus, and in the Best Data Visualisation category, for its infographics on North Korea.

Another of the Post’s digital news platforms, Inkstone, came second in Best Digital News Start-up. Inkstone gives readers a unique insight on China and is available on the web and via a smartphone app.

South China Morning Post staff at the event at The Mira Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: SCMP

Getting to grips with North Korea in 15 graphics

Adolfo Arranz, the Post’s deputy head of graphics and illustration, said of the moment the results were announced for Best Data Visualisation: “We’re very happy, especially with the North Korea work because it was sort of breaking news and we only had three days to finish it. Everybody in the team worked very hard.”

The infographic project on North Korea, a joint effort of Arranz and designers Marcelo Duhalde and Marco Hernandez, walks readers through a visual history of Pyongyang’s nuclear missile launches and tests, as well as taking a look at the country’s natural resources and trading partners.

The China Ship

A joint project titled The China Ship, by Arranz and Hernandez, won them a bronze medal in the Best Data Visualisation category. It explains sea trade in the 16th century, when the Spanish silver dollar went transcontinental.

Editor-in-chief Tammy Tam welcomed the awards as both an honour and a validation of the digital transformation of the Post.

Wang Fuman (right), his sister Fumei (centre) and their grandmother Yao Chaozi at home in Ludian county, Yunnan province, China. The Post’s video, ‘Ice Boy’ by Tom Wang, won a bronze prize for Best Use of Online Video. Photo: Alice Yan

“These awards are not only prestigious, they are a matter of inspiration and encouragement for us as we continue our mission to elevate thought and deliver the best news product to our readers,” she said.

“I am confident we will move from strength to strength, and we have the brightest talent in town to take us there.”

Ravi Hiranand, executive producer of Abacus, said of his team’s win: “We were up against some stiff competition, so I’m very happy to receive this award. It’s a testament to the incredible work done across this company to build something new and unique; to bring a fresh take on China tech for a global audience.

“Abacus looks like nothing else out there, and I’m really proud of how everyone contributed to build this site.”

The Post also won a bronze prize in Best Use of Online Video. It was a project by Beijing-based video journalist Tom Wang on eight-year-old Wang Fuman – the so-called Ice Boy – and the problems of poverty in some of China’s remote corners.

We’re more ambitious, we’re going further and we’re giving our video team the best opportunities to tell incredible stories
Mat Booth, head of video, South China Morning Post

The video is titled Extreme poverty in China: a family portrait of the ‘Ice Boy’. The Yunnan province boy melted hearts on social media after a picture of him making a funny face after arriving in class covered in frost was shared online.  

The Post’s head of video, Mat Booth, said: “We’re so proud of our video by Tom Wang on Wang Fuman, the Ice Boy of China. It touched the hearts of millions of people around the world and it represents a sea change in the way the South China Morning Post does video.

“We’re more ambitious, we’re going further and we’re giving our video team the best opportunities to tell incredible stories.”

The Asian Digital Media Awards 2018 was jointly presented by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers – or WAN-IFRA – and Google. It recognises publishers that have adopted digital media and mobile strategies into their output to adapt to changes in how people consume news and information.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Post lifts five honours at digital media awards
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