KOTA KINABALU – The Vibes bagged four merit awards at the Kinabalu Press Awards last night, the second year in a row for the news portal.
Sandakan-based The Vibes journalist Rebecca Chong clinched awards in the Entertainment, Arts and Culture, News Reporting, Business and Economics, and Environmental Journalism categories.
The merit-winning entries are “We long for young members: group seeks to keep Cantonese opera alive” for the Entertainment, Arts and Culture award – while the prize for the News Reporting category involved a series of reports on Covid-19 vaccination for rural communities, as well as coverage on turtle eggs and conservation in Sandakan.
A total of 270 articles were submitted for the 2021 Kinabalu Press Awards in six categories – namely Entertainment, Arts and Culture, News Reporting, Business and Economics, Environmental Journalism (English language), Sports Journalism, and Features done in Malay, Chinese, English, as well as broadcasting categories.
Another category is the Best Picture Award for outstanding photojournalism.
“The win would not be possible if not for the guidance and support from The Vibes’ whole editorial team, especially our managing editor, Terence Fernandez, executive editor, Himanshu Bhatt, and Sabah bureau chief Jason Santos,” Chong said.
Apart from certificates, Chong also took home RM500 for each merit award category.
The slew of awards won last night was not Chong’s first few accolades. Last year, she also bagged one gold and two merit awards at the 2021 edition of the Kinabalu Press Awards.
The gold and merit awards last year saw her winning a cash prize of RM2,500, along with certificates.
One of the merit awards was for her series of news stories on the Batu Sapi parliamentary constituency and its by-election, and the other was for her reporting on pangolins and clouded leopards facing extinction. – The Vibes, December 19, 2022
