23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
The Straits Times wins two awards at annual Inma Global Media Awards
(From left) Mr Daniel Buenas, head of business planning and integration in the editor-in-chief office, EMTM, Inma President Gert Ysebaert and SPH Media deputy CEO Kuek Yu Chuang at the Inma Global Media Awards in New York on May 22. PHOTO: INMA
SINGAPORE - The Straits Times bagged two awards at the annual International News Media Association (Inma) Global Media Awards in New York on May 23 (Singapore time).
Winners across 20 categories were announced during a ceremony at the Edison Ballroom in New York City, with the Association of Independent Regional Press Publishers of Ukraine taking the top honour of global best in show .
ST's interactive audio feature Sounds of Singapore was awarded first place in the Best New Audio/Voice Product or Feature (National Brands) category. S econd place went to Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, while News Corp Australia took third place.
The feature, which was published ahead of National Day 2024, captured nine sounds that resonate with the Singaporean experience.
For the project, team members visited areas such as Marsiling, Orchard Road and Toa Payoh to find sounds and sceneries to record.
They built three programs that detect and illustrate different aspects of sound – rhythm, texture and musical tones. The programs use sound waves and pitch data to generate animated shapes.
The recorded audio, animated shapes and video footage were then combined into collages. Each collage opens with a poem and then followed by the animated shapes, before segments of the footage gradually appear on the screen.
The 15-second clips are presented as interactive quizzes, challenging readers to identify the sounds as quickly as possible before the complete video is revealed.
The project was led by digital graphics designer Shannon Teoh and featured contributions from journalists Shawn Hoo and Cherie Lok, as well as senior video producer Shawn Lee Miller.
'The team is very happy and honoured that our love letter to Singapore is getting international recognition,' said Mr Teoh, 29.
'Having came back recently after living abroad for four years, I've come to further appreciate how lovely our Singaporean sounds and sceneries are. This was only possible with the editors encouraging the spirit of pushing the envelope in terms of design, creativity, coding.'
Separately, a nine-part infographic chronicling American popstar Taylor Swift's musical career won second place in the Best Use of Print (National Brands) category.
ST INFOGRAPHIC: YAMINI CHINNUSWAMY, BILLY KER
The infographics were published over nine days, ahead of the Singapore leg of Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour. Each represented one of the singer's albums - commonly referred to by fans as a music era - covered in the concert's setlist, from Fearless (2008) to Midnights (2022).
It featured photographs, hand-drawn illustrations and information such as factoids, achievements and note-worthy news from each era.
When combined, all nine infographics will form a composite image of Swift.
Correspondent Yamini Chinnuswamy and executive infographics journalist Billy Ker helmed the project, which also involved editors and sub-editors from various desks across the newsroom. ST executive infographics journalist Celestino Gulapa contributed two large drawings of Swift from the Folklore and Evermore eras.
'This was a project that could only work in print, and which ST was uniquely positioned to work on, not just because we are one of the few print media outlets left in Singapore, but also because we continue to maintain a dedicated lifestyle desk and a dedicated art team with strong expertise in the fine art of infographic journalism,' said Ms Chinnuswamy, 37.
'This was so gratifying, and shows that if you can execute innovative ideas at the right moment in time, there is still space for print media to be relevant and impactful to the culture.'
Mr Ker, 37, added: 'I was genuinely excited by the idea that our team's hard work might be acknowledged and celebrated.
'The thought of receiving recognition not just for the final product, but for the collective effort, creativity, and dedication that went into it from every member of the team, was incredibly rewarding. It felt like a validation of all the long hours, brainstorming sessions, and attention to detail that made the project what it was.'
The top prize for the category was won by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, while Croatia's Hanza Media took third place.
'To innovate, newsrooms need the space for experimentation,' said ST editor Jaime Ho. 'We already have the talent.
'These awards are the highest recognition of this ST's brave blending of our creativity, collaboration and courage in bringing new forms of journalism to our audiences. It will continue to inspire us to do more and better.'
Other SPH Media titles also received accolades at the annual awards.
Tamil Murasu's Daily News mobile app, launched in October 2024, won second place in the Best New Digital Product (National Brands) category.
Berita Harian, meanwhile, clinched third place in the Best Innovation in Newsroom Transformation (National Brands) category for its digital transformation.
The Business Times' thrive initiative, which aims to attract a younger audience such as Gen Zs and fresh graduates, was given an Honourable Mention in the Best Initiative to Bolster Next-Generation Readership (National Brands) category.
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