HONG KONG-- December 08, 2022 -- The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in journalism, announced today that the SOPA 2023 Awards for Editorial Excellence are open for entries. The deadline for submissions is 3pm Hong Kong time on Thursday February 16, 2023.

Honoring the best journalism in Asia, the SOPA Awards for Editorial Excellence are celebrating their 25th anniversary next year. The awards span 21 categories and are divided into three groups according to language and size of the publication: Global and Regional, both in English language, and Chinese language.

For the 2023 competition, SOPA is adding a new category for Bahasa Indonesia publications; a single award for stories that set the domestic agenda in politics, business or social/cultural affairs.

“The SOPA Awards aim to inspire journalists to pursue excellence and innovation, celebrate the best of the best reporting across all platforms, and impress on the public the importance of a free and vibrant press,” said Madeleine Lim, Senior Executive Editor Asia at Bloomberg News and Chair of the SOPA Editorial Committee.

The annual awards give smaller publications across the Asia Pacific region an opportunity to showcase their reporting on local and regional issues. For instance, among the 2022 award winners were Hong Kong-based Ming Pao in Explanatory Reporting with 國安法一周年系列報道 / National Security Law: Year One, and VICE Asia with its regional take on Reporting on pop culture in Asia in the Arts and Culture category.

As in previous years, Google News Initiative will support media outlets entering the awards for the first time by subsidizing the entry fee. It will also assist smaller publications —those with a maximum of 20 full-time staff in total, of which at least 50% are full-time editorial staff— with a subsidy for up to two entries. That means first time entrants or smaller publications will pay only HKD$200 (US$25) per entry. Please apply early to take advantage of this offer.

The University of Hong Kong’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre, now known as HKU Journalism, has administered the awards since 2011. Senior lecturer Ting Shi is Head of Judges for the English- and Chinese-language categories, while Rita Widiadana, a long-time Jakarta-based journalist and director of the Consortium for Press Freedom Indonesia, is Head of Judges for the Bahasa Indonesia entries.