SOPA Announces 2017 Journalism Awards Finalists

Winners to be announced at SOPA Awards Gala Dinner on June 15

Gala Dinner tickets on sale; speaker ex-HK Governor Chris Patten

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - May 17, 2017 - The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA), a Hong Kong-based not-for-profit organization, today announced the finalists for the SOPA 2017 Awards for Editorial Excellence following a record entry for the third consecutive year.

The finalists (see the full list here) were shortlisted from more than 750 English or Chinese-language entries submitted by international, regional and local media across the region.

Now in their 19^th year, the awards are widely considered the most prestigious in the Asia Pacific publishing industry and a world-class benchmark of journalistic best practice.

Participating media competed in 17 categories, including two new categories this year -- Excellence in Journalistic Innovation and Excellence in Video Reporting -- to reflect the region's evolving media landscape and growing use of digital tools and short-form videos.

The entries were assessed by a judging panel of more than 100 media professionals, including journalists, editors and columnists from some of the region's most influential publications, along with academics from a number of Asia's leading journalism schools.  

The winners will be named at the SOPA Awards Gala Dinner to be held on June 15 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Chris Patten, Hong Kong's last governor, will deliver a keynote speech at the dinner by video from London. Coming just two weeks before the 20th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover, Mr. Patten will share his thoughts on the future of Hong Kong and the current worldwide backlash against globalization.  

SOPA will also organize workshop and media tours at Google, Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters during the afternoon of June 15.   

The SOPA 2017 Awards for Editorial Excellence are supported by Invest Hong Kong (Platinum Sponsor), Google and Facebook (both are Gold Sponsors). FleishmanHillard, Media OutReach and High Technology Printing Group Limited provide SOPA with support respectively on public relations, newswire and printing services.

Tickets for the dinner are now available at http://www.sopawards.com. For corporate tables of 12 seats, bookings should be made through the SOPA Secretariat (contact information below).

About SOPA

The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) was founded in 1982 to champion freedom of the press, promote excellence in journalism and endorse best practices for all local and regional publishing platforms in the Asia Pacific region. SOPA is a not-for-profit organization based in Hong Kong and representing international, regional and local media companies across Asia. The Society of Publishers in Asia is also host to the prestigious annual SOPA Awards for Editorial Excellence, which serve as the world-class benchmark for quality journalism in the region. www.sopasia.com

Press release prepared on behalf of The Society of Publishers in Asia by FleishmanHillard.

Distributed on behalf of The Society of Publishers in Asia by Media OutReach.