POST STRIKES GOLD AT INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
Company’s premium video arm, SCMP Films, takes top prize at Wan-IFRA Digital Media Awards while SCMP Explains wins silver in Kuala Lumpur
The South China Morning Post has picked up a string of major international awards in recent days.
The company’s premium video arm, SCMP Films, scooped gold at the Wan-IFRA Digital Media Awards in the best use of video category, while SCMP Explains won silver in the same division.
The awards recognise news publishers that have delivered unique and original digital media projects. They received their awards in Kuala Lumpur last night.
SCMP Style was named a joint gold winner for best lifestyle site, while the newspaper’s educational news product for young children, Posties, won the silver award for best digital subscription/reader revenue project.
Post editor-in-chief Tammy Tam said it was a “privilege” to represent the winners at the awards ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. “These awards are not only a fitting tribute to the worldclass journalism that we are committed to at the Post, they also reflect that we are more than Hong Kong’s newspaper of record, that we are a leading, global multimedia company,” she said. “In this fast-changing digital era, our award-winning entries prove yet again that content is indeed king, and quality journalism is what really matters at the end of the day.”
The Post’s director of video, Chieu Luu, said: “SCMP Films shows the Post’s commitment to character-driven, impactful medium and long-form journalism, and every single person on the video team has contributed to SCMP Explains, so it really is an incredible recognition of everyone’s efforts.”
Emily Tsang, editor of Posties, said her team had spent nearly a year transforming the publication, which involved curating captivating and interactive content. “The editorial team is thrilled that the award has further validated our vision and affirmed our commitment to delivering quality content to our readers,” she said.
The paper’s wins at the Wan-IFRA awards followed two other accolades announced last Tuesday in the United States.
The New York Festivals TV and Film Awards presented supervising video producer Jonathan Vit of SCMP Films with silver for “Return to Paradise” – a look at the suffering of North Korean people – in the short-form documentary category.
The film follows the story of Hyangsu Park after her uncle was lured into moving to North Korea through a PR campaign offering citizenship to ethnic Koreans from Japan, with her uncle and his family suddenly disappearing years later.
Another film from Vit, Japan’s “evaporated” people, was ranked as a finalist in the same category. The piece takes its title from the translation of the Japanese phrase
johatsu-sha and delves into an industry of specialists who can help you disappear.
On the same day, the Digiday Video and TV Awards named Luu as video executive of the year in recognition of his leadership and initiatives to continually grow his team’s reach and reputation as a top player in the digital space.
The Post’s video team was also listed as finalists for three other categories at the event.