CEO happy with recognition from international media

HONG KONG: The Star won four prizes at the 13th Asian Media Awards presented by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) here.

Reporter Isabelle Lai received the gold award in the Best in Editorial Content (Newspaper Breaking News Article) category for her report in The Star last May 19 on the rape of Cameron Highlands, where some 40ha of virgin forest were chopped down in a spate of land-clearing.

A story on a Palestinian man who had been sleeping on a couch at the KL International Airport transit area for over 50 days unbeknown to security officers won the bronze award in the same category.

It was written by associate editor T. Selva and reporters P. Aruna and Rashitha A. Hamid and published in The Star on July 13 last year.

Assistant chief photographer Glenn Guan won the bronze award for the Best in Photojournalism (Sports) category for his dramatic image of women’s 10m platform synchronised diving at the 15th FINA World Championships in Barcelona.

It was published in The Star on July 23 last year.

The newspaper was recognised with a bronze medal in the Best in Community Service category for its efforts in inspiring a spirit of volunteerism through its ongoing Do Good Volunteer 2.0 campaign.

Star Publications (M) Bhd corporate communications senior executive Selina Ng received the award.

“We are very happy to receive continued recognition from the international media industry on our tradition of excellence in editorial content as well as the innovative marketing approaches that The Star takes,” said Star Publications (M) Bhd group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai.

The Star, he said, is proud to remain ahead on the best way to display news and give what the readers and advertisers want.

Wong said that as the leading English daily, The Star would continue to be in the forefront and offer new approaches to all its users in the print and digital mediums.

The ceremony, part of the WAN-IFRA Publish Asia 2014 Conference and Expo here, was held at the Kowloon Shangri-La Grand Ballroom and officiated by Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying.

The 13th Asian Media Awards drew 534 entries for the 15 categories. WAN-IFRA is an organisation that represents over 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and 3,000 companies in 120 countries.