As a sequel to its book on political ads, Newsbreak launched Selling Candidates: Political Ads in the 2007 Senatorial Elections last May 13, 2008 at the Hyatt Casino and Hotel in Manila.
A follow-up to Spin and Tell , which discussed the political ads and the 2004 elections, Selling Candidates takes a look at the 2007 senatorial elections by analyzing the roles of political ads in the victory or defeat of the candidates. Written by Pulse Asia executive director Ana Maria Tabunda, Newsbreak writers and Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism winners Carmela Fonbuena and Aries Rufo, the book also discusses how the media covered the campaign and election periods.
A panel discussion that included members of the media, politics, and advertising sectors was held after the book launch. The panelists discussed the relationship between political ads and electoral results. - Marrian P.R. Ching
The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) is accepting nominations for the 2008 World Young Reader Prizes annually given to recognize excellence in newspaper activities that develop young readership.
The prizes are open to newspapers that have developed innovative projects for people aged 25 and below. Entries will be judged on the basis of their contribution to newspaper business in terms of revenue generation, circulation, readership growth, or brand awareness as well as benefits for its audience. The deadline for entries is on July 31. Projects submitted should have been done in the past 24 months.
The four core categories include: Editorial strategy, which honors a break-through newspaper content strategy with and/or for young people; Newspapers in Education, which recognizes activities that use the newspaper as a teaching tool; Public service, for effective public service projects that promote press freedom and youth civic involvement among others; and Brand building, for other projects that improve a newspaper brand’s relationship with the young.
For this year, WAN has added the special category Newspapers and Literacy which will acknowledge an effective project that supports the basic ability of people to read and write.
WAN is a non-profit, non-government organization for the newspaper industry that represents more than 18,000 publications worldwide. Norway-based Norse Skog, the leading producer of newsprint and magazine paper worldwide, is the sponsor of the awards.
Filipino-American Jose Antonio Vargas of the Washington Post was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for two articles he wrote about the April 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. The Washington Post put together the two stories along with seven others as their entry in the breaking news reporting category.
‘Pop, Pop, Pop’: Students Down, Doors Barred, Leaps to Safety” narrated how witnesses recounted what happened during the shooting rampage while “Students Make Connections at a Time of Total Disconnect” talked about how students of Virginia Tech used the Internet to communicate with and console each other after the incident.
The Washington Post received a total of six Pulitzer Prizes, the most among all US newspapers, this year. Its other awards were for public service, national reporting, international reporting, feature writing, and commentary.
Mexican investigative journalist Lydia Cacho Ribeiro, who has been the target of threats and attacks for her work about prostitution and child pornography, is this year’s Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize awardee. Ribeiro received the award given by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) during the World Press Freedom Day ceremonies last May 3 in Maputo, Mozambican.
Published in 2004, her book Los Demonios del Eden: el poder detras de la pornografia infantile (The Demons of Eden: the power behind child pornography) exposed the involvement of businessmen, politicians, and drug traffickers in prostitution and child pornography.
The publication of her book placed her life at risk but despite the death threats, imprisonment, police harassment, and legal barriers thrown at her, Cacho steadfastly persisted in her expose of political corruption and organized crime. Her response to the endless threats was a countersuit for corruption and for violation of her human rights. This made Cacho, also a contributor to the daily newspaper La Voz del Caribe (The Voice of the Caribbean) the first woman in Mexico to file a federal suit against a governor, a district attorney, and a judge for corruption and attempted rape while she was in prison.
-Karen Nicolas |
