The School of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese University has announced the results of the 2nd CUHK Journalism Award. The winner of the electronic media category is executive producer (special projects) of TVB News Mr. Au Ka-lun and the winner of the print media category is South China Morning Post reporter, Ms. Ravina Shamdasani. They will each receive a trophy and a certificate on top of a cash prize of HK$20,000. The awards ceremony will take place at the 40th anniversary dinner of the School of Journalism and Communication, to be held on 22nd October 2005. The officiating guests are Prof. Lawrence J. Lau, vice-chancellor of the University, and The Hon. Mr. Justice Patrick Chan, Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal.
The CUHK Journalism Award has been launched in 2003 by the CUHK School of Journalism and Communication and the Journalism and Communication Alumni Association to promote excellence in professional practices in journalism. The panel of judges this year included Ms. Cheung Man-yee, former director of broadcasting, RTHK, Mrs. Sally Lam, executive director of the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Mr. C.K. Lau, executive editor of the South China Morning Post, Prof. Paul S.N. Lee, director of the CUHK School of Journalism and Communication, Prof. Leung Tin-wai, head of the Department of Journalism and Communication, Shue Yan College, Mr. Ng Ming-lam, consultant, Metro Broadcast, and Prof. Georgette Wang, dean of the School of Communication, Baptist University.
Mr. Au Ka-lun, a journalist of 15 years who has been involved in the production of a number of celebrated news programmes, won the prize for his comprehensive reports on problems relating to the construction of a dam on the Nu River in Yunnan Province. The panel of judges praised these reports for their breadth of coverage which included the environment, politics and villagers' livelihood.
Ms. Ravina Shamdasani, an Indian born and raised in Hong Kong, drew attention with her in-depth analyses of racial discrimination and human rights issues. She pursued journalism studies at North Western University in the US after completing her secondary education in Hong Kong, and subsequently enrolled on a master's programme on human rights law at the University of Hong Kong. Ms. Shamdasani's news reports won the judges' praise for arousing public attention through their examination of hardships faced by invisible asylum seekers in Hong Kong.
Mr. Ng Ming-lam said the judging panel had a hard time picking the winner, especially for the electronic media section, as the overall standard of the news programmes were extremely high.