MANILA, Philippines?Cebu Daily News (CDN), a sister publication of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, won two major prizes in the 2009 Civic Journalism Community Press Awards.
The paper was cited as Best Edited Newspaper and for Best Editorial Page in the dailies category during the awarding ceremony on Thursday night at Diamond Hotel in Manila.
?Crisp, hard-edged writing and editing and the snap shots?pictures that tell the story itself and make the story linger in the reader?s mind?make CDN a standout,? the judges said in their citation.
In citing CDN for having the Best Editorial Page, the judges said ?the opinion pieces tackle wide-ranging issues but invariably try to tie these up with the concerns of the community ? The opinion writers take strong position and the passion shows.?
?The editorial writer and the columnists, without exception, have a good grasp of the language and carry their message across with style and force,? they added.
Exemplary work
The annual awards given by the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) and Coca-Cola Export Corp. recognize the exemplary work of community papers in the country.
The trophies were received by CDN editor in chief Connie E. Fernandez and publisher Eileen G. Mangubat from PPI trustees and Supreme Court administrator Jose Midas Marquez.
Two other local dailies in Cebu also won.
Other winners
SunStar Cebu received the Best Business and Economic Reporting award, while The Freeman tied with SunStar Cagayan de Oro for Best Photojournalism in the dailies category. SunStar Davao won for Best in Science and Environment Reporting.
The Baguio Midland Courier swept three of the five awards in the weekly category: Best in Business and Economic Reporting, Best in Science and Environment Reporting and Best Editorial Page.
SunStar Davao Weekend received the Best Edited Newspaper award among the weeklies. There was no winner for Best Photojournalism.
Industry concerns
This year?s board of judges was led by Augusto Villanueva of the Journal Group of Publications as chair. Members were Joy C. delos Reyes of Malaya, Luz Rimban of the University of the Philippines-Diliman Department of Journalism, Rolando Inciong of the Asean Centre of Biodiversity, and Evelyn M. del Rosario of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.
The annual award was the highlight of the 14th National Press Forum of the PPI on June 23-25. The forum tackled such issues as post-election assessment of how the media fared in covering the 2010 elections, killings of journalists and the Freedom of Information Act.
The forum theme was ?Assessing the 2010 Automated Elections.?
