The Society of Publishers in Asia Awards for Editorial Excellence Smashes Last Year’s Record-Breaking Total

The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) received a record- breaking number of entries for the 2016 SOPA Awards for Editorial Excellence for the second year in a row. Now in their 18th year, the SOPA Awards attracted more than 700 entries in English and Chinese.

The awards are widely regarded as the most prestigious in the publishing industry in the Asia Pacific region. The list of finalists will be released in May, and the winners will be announced at a gala dinner on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

"The number of entries again this year illustrates how much SOPA recognition is valued," said S.K. Witcher, chair of the SOPA Editorial Awards Committee. "There was a significant rise in participation by media outlets in Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia. And within the categories themselves, a large increase in the number of entries in the digital news and information graphics categories underscored the growing importance of presenting news for a mobile audience."

The SOPA Awards for Editorial Excellence are given in 18 categories, including news, photography and lifestyle coverage. Last year, such local and international organizations as Reuters, the Financial Times, The International New York Times, Time magazine and the South China Morning Post were among the recipients. One of the highlights of the gala dinner is the award for Journalist of the Year, won last year by Nancy Carvajal of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Each category will be evaluated by a panel of judges appointed by the awards administrators, the Journalism & Media Studies Centre of the University of Hong Kong (JMSC), and conducted by a team of 100 judges from around the globe, including journalists, editors, columnists from leading publications and notable academics from university media departments.

The judging panel will be led by Jeffrey Timmermans, an associate professor of practice at JMSC and director of its undergraduate journalism program. The deputy head of judges will be King-wa Fu, an assistant professor at JMSC.

"The SOPA Awards for Editorial Excellence are recognized as the industry 'gold standard,' celebrating the very best in journalistic quality and integrity," said SOPA Chairman Raymond Warhola. "SOPA Awards are prestigious, and their winners reflect an elite group in Asia. The record number of entries received again this year continues to affirm SOPA's leadership and unwavering commitment to publishing excellence in the region."

This year, as it did last year, SOPA is organizing media tours at Bloomberg and Google on the same day as the gala dinner on June 15th. Google will host a breakfast networking and workshop event, and Bloomberg will provide a media tour in the afternoon. For more information, visit http://www.sopawards.com/workshop-and-media-tours/

The SOPA 2016 Awards for Editorial Excellence are supported by Invest Hong Kong (Platinum Sponsor) and Google (Gold Sponsor). CatchOn is the public relations partner, Media OutReach is the newswire partner and CTPS is the printing partner.

Tickets for the gala dinner are on sale now. To reserve your tickets for the SOPA 2016 Awards for Editorial Excellence at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on June 15, please contact the SOPA Secretariat at Tel: +852 3589-9778 / [email protected] or visit http://www.sopawards.com.