Headline of the Year winner aims to reel in readers
TNP sub-editor among those recognised at SPH journalism awards
He was nominated in the same category in 2015 but missed out then, so this year's win carried more weight for Mr Eugene Mok, executive sub-editor at The New Paper.
Mr Mok, 46, clinched Headline of the Year at the Singapore Press Holdings' annual journalism awards for its English, Malay and Tamil Media Group yesterday. His witty headline "By hook or by crook", for an article about a thief stealing jewellery using a fishing rod, was the favourite, and Mr Mok said: "This win is extra special (after 2015).
"Headlines are what attract readers to read stories so I put in extra effort to write a good one when the right story comes along and gives you that opportunity."
TNP also featured in the Special Award for Excellence category. Reporter David Sun, who is now with The Straits Times, was one of six winners in the category.
His exclusive stories included the National University of Singapore probing students for cheating during home exams and cigarettes and booze being smuggled into migrant worker dormitories during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Mr Sun, 28, told TNP: "I think it's nice recognition of the work done at TNP, with stories that really resonate with people. TNP has always been about the man on the street and touching on the issues that matter most to them. Long may it continue."
The Story of the Year, one of the most coveted awards, was won by ST's Malaysia bureau chief Shannon Teoh for his article "Malaysians await outcome of meeting over state of emergency", when Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin met the Malaysian King, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, for discussions on how to avert snap polls that could prove disastrous amid Covid-19.
ST's Ms Audrey Tan, 30, and Ms Choo Yun Ting, 25, were crowned Journalist of the Year and Young Journalist of the Year, respectively.
Most the 17 winners were recognised for content related to the coronavirus and its fallout around the world, in part reflecting the attention and resources newsrooms devoted to the coverage.
SPH chairman Lee Boon Yang said at the virtual ceremony that the pandemic is burned deeply into people's collective memory and newsrooms have done great work reporting on it.
"... Apart from delivering news and pandemic-related information, we also had to debunk fake news and misinformation, which was creating confusion and anxiety," he said. "This continues to be a very important service to our audience."
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