The Straits Times has won two awards at this year's Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers' Association (Panpa) awards held in Sydney, Australia.
The newspaper's e-book, Myanmar Sunrise, was the winner in the "Specialty/Niche Sites and Niche Apps" category. It beat competition from Australia and New Zealand.
The Straits Times Appreciates Readers (Star) programme won the best "Newspaper Event" award for newspapers of 90,000 and above in circulation. It beat programmes from publications like Australia's The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
These awards were handed out at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney on Thursday evening.
Myanmar Sunrise was launched earlier this year and offers a compelling multi-media look at fast-growing and fast-changing Myanmar.
The e-book is packed with lively narratives and insights from veteran journalists including Straits Times' Foreign Editor Ravi Velloor and Indochina bureau chief Nirmal Ghosh.
ST Editor Warren Fernandez said Myanmar Sunrise is a part of ST's ongoing effort to transform its newsroom into a truly multi-media outfit, able to deliver content not only in print but also on mobile devices like the iPad.
"If you have not seen it, do check it out on the iTunes store. It tells an engaging story, in words, visuals and videos, on the remarkable transformation taking place in Myanmar. We will keep on developing our ability to bring interesting content to our readers wherever they are and anyway they want it," he said.
Click here to see it on the iTunes store.
The Straits Times' Asia Report microsite was also a finalist in the "Speciality/Niche Sites and Niche Apps" category.
The newspaper's Star initiative, meanwhile, kicked off last year with the aim of engaging better with readers and building a reader community. It is also The Straits Times' way of thanking its readers for their loyalty and support.
It started with a concert at Gardens by the Bay. Since then, readers have attended movie previews, had special access to the panda exhibit at the Wildlife Reserves Singapore and attended exclusive parties at the Social Star Awards and Singapore Social Concerts. Last Sunday, more than 12,000 runners took part in the inaugural ST Run at Punggol Waterway.
ST editor Warren Fernandez said winning the Panpa award from peers in the newspaper industry in the Pacific region was a big boost.
"It will spur us to do more to build on this programme. Our readers will be the biggest winner as a result," he said.
Panpa is a not-for-profit association founded in 1969, with a vision of engaging, inspiring and raising the standards of newspapers. It has a participant base consisting of more than 1,000 newspapers and websites from Australia, New Zealand, South-East Asia and the South Pacific.
Four photographs by Straits Times photographers were also finalists at this year's Panpa awards.
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), which publishes The Straits Times, also won Panpa's best advertisement or campaign promoting print in a trade publication or as an in-house ad for circulation of 90,000 and above.
The winning campaign was an advertisement calling for entries for this year's SPH iink Awards, which was themed around the adventures of Alice In Wonderland.
The iink awards are SPH's search for the most original advertising concept that made full use of SPH's media platforms from print and digital to radio and out-of-home.
