Malayala Manorama’s manoramaonline.com bagged the ‘Best in News Website’ South Asian Digital Media Award for the third time in a row. Among the winners are The Hindu, Hindustan Times, The Quint, Mojo Story, NDTV Convergence, Times of India Digital, and Sakal.
The 2021 awards in their fifth edition received more than 140 entries, a record jump of close to double the number of entries in the previous year. These awards, presented by Wan-Ifra, recognize South Asian publishers who have delivered unique and original digital media projects in the last 12 months. These projects inspire us all, from new approaches to digital subscriptions to impactful native advertising campaigns. The ‘Gold’ winners automatically enter Wan-Ifra’s World Digital Media Awards competition.
Winners of South Asian Digital Media Awards 2021
The winners of South Asian Digital Media Awards 2021 for the different categories are –
Best News Website (or) Mobile Service
- Gold – Manoramaonline.com, Malayala Manorama
- Silver – thequint.com, The Quint
- Bronze – bloombergquint.com, Quintillion Business Media
Best Use of Online Video
- Gold – Life in an Auto – The Inspiring Story of 74-year-old Sole Breadwinner, Desraj Jyot Singh, The Quint
- Silver – Girls on a Mission, People Like Us Create (PLUC)
- Bronze – A Night at India’s Largest Farmer’s Protest, BBC News
Best Newsletter
- Gold – Times TOP 10, Times of India Digital
- Silver – The India Cable, Foundation for Independent Journalism
- Bronze: Here’s the thing – Weekly Members-only Newsletter, Spunklane Media.
Best Data Visualization
- Gold – West Bengal Elections 2021, NDTV Convergence
- Silver – Covid-19 pandemic – Full Coverage, NDTV Convergence
- Bronze – Kerala Assembly Election 2021, The Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing
Best Reader Revenue Initiative
- Gold – HT Codeathon, Hindustan Times
- Silver – Support The Wire, Foundation for Independent Journalism
- Bronze – Freedom Sale 2021 – The Hindu Group, The Hindu
Best in Audience Engagement
- Gold – Bring Back Milk Bikis Campaign, The Hindu
- Silver – Teen Goshti, BBC News
- Silver – Kissan Protein Champs – Knowledge Series & Brain-teasing Activities, The Hindu
- Bronze – Njanoru Naran, M M Publications (Vanitha)
Best Podcast / Digital Audio Project
Gold – Sakalchya Batmya / Daily Sakal News, Sakal Media Group
Silver – Club FM Cinema Katha, The Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Co. Ltd.
Bronze – Vivechana, BBC News
Best Brand Marketing Campaign (for News Brands)
- Gold – Doctor’s Day Campaign – Hindustan Times
- Silver – Neel Barir Lorai – Anandabazar Patrika
- Bronze – HT Fresh – First Voice, Last Word – Hindustan Times
Best Special Project for Covid-19
- Gold – On The Road with the Pandemic: Counting India’s Uncounted Covid Deaths, Mojo Story
- Silver – Hindustan Covid Actions, Hindustan Media Venture.
- Silver – Covid-specific Jagran Dialogues Series, in collaboration with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Unicef India, Jagran New Media
- Bronze – BBC’s coverage of Covid in India, BBC News
Best Branded / Sponsored Content Campaign
- Gold – Unacademy Let’s Crack CSE, The Hindu
- Silver – HT Codeathon, Hindustan Times
- Silver – Break the Taboo, The Daily Star
- Bronze – Bring back Milk Bikis, The Hindu
- Bronze – HTLS 2020, Hindustan Times
The entries were evaluated by an international panel of jury which included – Adam Tinworth, Digital Publishing Consultant, UK, Alberto Lucas López, National Geographic, Angela Robson, multi-award-winning TV, radio and print journalist, Corinne Podger, Reuters & BBC Certified Consultant, Australia, Dickens Olewe, Journalist, Kenya, Emanuel Karlsten, Media Consultant, Hans Peter Janisch, newspaper designer and consultant, Iryna Vidanava, independent online media consultant, Belarus, Jacqui Park, journalist, editor and media strategist, Jerusha Raath, Head of Brand Studio, 24.com, Juan Velasco, Founder and Creative Director of 5W Infographics, Michael Cooke, consultant and editor, Murdoch Davis, consultant and editor, Rob Montgomery, Mobile Journalism consultant, Lucie Lacava, Design Consultant, Steve Yelvington, Media Consulting and Training, Kuek Ser Kuang Keng, Award-winning digital journalist, Kuala Lumpur, Rakesh Dubuddu, founder and chief executive officer, Factly, Chhavi Sachdev. Storyteller – Podcast Producer, Editor, Aniruddha Pawade, Podcast Consultant, Gurman Bhatia, Independent Information Designer, Prem Koman, Narrative & Storytelling consultant, Kavita Chandran, Thomson Reuters Foundation and Sambit Pal, Associate Professor, International School of Broadcasting and Journalism.
The winners will receive their awards virtually at the upcoming South Asian Digital Media Awards 2022, which will take place from 8-10 March.
