Hong Kong, March 6, 2006 – The South China Morning Post scooped 13 awards in the Hong Kong Newspaper Society News Awards 2005, making it the most awarded newspaper in the city.
The awards were announced on March 1 2006 and saw the Post take the top prize in four of the fourteen categories, including the coveted "Best Business News Reporting" for one of a series of articles on Hong Kong’s competition law, and "Best Science News Reporting" for ongoing coverage of Bird Flu. In the English section, the Post won "Best News Writing" for a piece on inadequate social services in Tin Shui Wai and "Best Headline" for a story about fertility issues titled "Sperm meets egg? It’s just not enough any more." Nine Runners Up and Merits completed the awards haul for articles covering subjects ranging from nanotechnology to the plight of South Asian tsunami orphans.
Editor Fanny Fung commented, "In 2005, we invested time and effort in investigative and issues reporting, so we were particularly pleased to win outright in the Best Business News and Best Science News categories which are hotly contested by all newspapers in Hong Kong. In the English language section, we were very happy to win Best News Writing and Best Headline Writing, and we are proud of Vivien Cui (1st runner up, Best Young Reporter) who successfully completed our mainland internship scheme, run in conjunction with Peking University and now in its third year."
Fung continued, "2005 was a very busy year in news, and we are delighted to have won 13 awards, which tops all newspapers in Hong Kong. This is a great achievement, and is a reflection of the hard work and professionalism of our colleagues. I am proud of them."
The Hong Kong Newspaper Society, founded in 1954 has been running awards for decades. Judged by a panel comprising of dozens of local and regional experts, including academics and practicing journalists, the period from 2000 to 2005 has seen the South China Morning Post consistently outperform its peers with 65 awards in five years.
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ABOUT SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
The company publishes the South China Morning Post and the Sunday Morning Post, Asia’s premier English language daily and Sunday newspapers. With over 100 years of history, the South China Morning Post is a leading commentator on Greater China and is widely read by government officials, business people, professionals and academics.
According to the Nielsen Media Index 2005 Mid-Year Report, the paper has 95% of the English language newspaper readership in Hong Kong. It is also the market leader for display and recruitment advertising. Its Internet edition, scmp.com, is an award-winning subscription-based web site which offers a global audience access to the editorial content of the print edition, breaking news updates throughout the day, e-newsletters, news in traditional and simplified Chinese, podcasts, online business travel guides and news on PDA.
The South China Morning Post receives constant recognition for its editorial and technical capability. Awards won in the last 12 months include Pacific Asia Travel Association 2006 Grand Award for Heritage, five category wins for excellence from the Society of Publishers in Asia Editorial Awards, two category wins for excellence in printing and picture reproduction from PANPA, 13 winners and runners-up for journalism and photography at the Hong Kong News Awards, two design awards from IFRA and two in the Society for News Design’s 26th Best of Newspaper Design Competition and one category win and five merits in the 10th Annual Human Rights Press Awards.
South China Morning Post Publishers Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SCMP Group Limited. SCMP Group is listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.
For more information contact Amanda Turnbull, Director, Marketing and Communications on 2250-3130 or email amanda.turnbull@scmp.com