The Society of Publishers in Asia announces the winners of the 2012 Awards for Editorial Excellence

Winning entries in 17 categories are a benchmark for quality journalism in Asia

Hong Kong, June 7, 2012 – The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA), an organization dedicated to best practices in professional publishing, presented 95 awards for outstanding journalism at its annual SOPA Awards for Editorial Excellence gala dinner at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong tonight.

Over 300 senior media executives, editors, journalists and industry affiliates from around  the region attended the event, joined by keynote speaker, Christine Loh, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the independent, non-profit public policy think tank Civic Exchange. As a former legislator and a democracy advocate, Christine is a major political voice in Hong Kong. At the SOPA Awards, she focused on Hong Kong’s progress toward democracy and provided insight on freedom of the press and the rights of journalists in Hong Kong and China.

In addition to the keynote speaker, there was also a short video address from Yu Jie, a prominent Chinese writer, dissident and defender of human rights who is also the mentee of Nobel Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo. The recorded video was tailored exclusively to the SOPA audience, championing awards that fortify a free press in Asia.

Both speeches were a sober reminder of the importance of freedom of speech and the press in a time when trusted and independent information is more vital than ever to the growth of our region in terms of economics, governance and human rights.

“It is a great honor and privilege for us to have Christine Loh, a well-respected, authoritative voice for democracy in Hong Kong,, as a keynote speaker. Likewise, the message from Yu Jie on the foundation of rights and freedom as a whole. SOPA supports the same ideals and acknowledges and appreciates their dedication and efforts, ” said David Smith, Chairman of SOPA.

SOPA Awards Committee Mr. Tom Leander added “Our two distinguished speakers underscored the importance of the universal values of free speech and a free press, in a region where these values are frequently under attack. Moreover, as Yu Jie said, the SOPA awards emphasize Hong Kong’s unique role as a guardian of these values for Asia.”

This year, the awards received a record number of entries from across Asia, with around 580 nominated works vying in 17 categories among English and Chinese regional, local print or digital publications and wire services.

The entries were evaluated by 111 expert judges worldwide under the stewardship of Head Judge Rusty Todd,. The judges comprised journalists, designers and photo editors from leading publications around the world, as well as notable academics from the media departments of prestigious universities.

The 14th SOPA Awards is supported by Invest Hong Kong (Gold Sponsor), JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong (Silver Sponsor), Swiss Post and Getty Images (Associate Sponsors) and a number of international media organizations and regional media industry press including The Asia Media Journal as the media partner.

As part of its aim to support literacy, SOPA also announced at the gala dinner a charity donation to Bring Me a Book Hong Kong, a non-profit organization that serves children who do not have access to quality books and who are not read aloud to on a regular basis. The charity provides libraries of quality, hardback children’s books and read-aloud-training to children and families through innovative library and training programs. .

  

About SOPA

The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) is a 30-year old non-profit regional body incorporated in Hong Kong in 1982, dedicated to promoting excellence in journalism and best practices across all local and regional publishing platforms in Asia Pacific.

SOPA is dedicated to:

  • Freedom of the Press across the region.
  • Promoting and sharing best business and operating practices for the benefit of members, their readers and customers through understanding and embracing emerging platforms and technologies.
  • Developing the skills of media professionals across the region.
  • Bringing together media owners, marketing agencies, business partners and clients for the mutual benefit of the professional publishing industry and its stakeholders in the region.

SOPA runs the prestigious annual SOPA Awards for Editorial Excellence to set world-class benchmarks for journalism in Asia. For more information, visit SOPA’s official website at sopasia.com

Or visit the “SOPA 2012 Awards for Editorial Excellence” website at sopasia.com/awards/2012/

Issued on behalf of The Society of Publishers in Asia by Lee Wolter Co. Ltd.

 

For further information, please contact:

SOPA Secretariat

Tel: +852 2807 1272

Email: [email protected]