SINGAPORE: "Midnight Cat Killers" and "50-dollar Men" were the stories that won two of the most coveted prizes at this year's MediaCorp News Awards.

The two stories were produced by journalists from MediaCorp News, which operates Channel NewsAsia.

The annual event, which started last year, recognises the best in journalism across all media – radio, TV and print.

There were fun moments, like when Channel NewsAsia presenter Cheryl Fox was serenaded by MediaCorp Radio deejays, Don and Drew.

Entertainment aside, the star-studded event also honours those who bring you the news every day.

Competition for the top accolades had been tough with nominees in radio, TV and print pitting against each other.

But MediaCorp News producer Amelia Loh came out tops, and took home the night's biggest award - "News Story of the Year".

Together with her team from the current affairs programme "Get Rea!", she brought to light the plight of foreign workers selling themselves for just 50 dollars in Little India.

"These men all had stories to tell and it was important to draw that out of them. But nobody wanted to be on TV; nobody wanted to reveal their stories," said Ms Loh.

"There were some who wanted to beat us up. The dangers were real but we wanted to get behind that. I didn't want to give up. There was something about the story and we wanted to find out what was the true essence."

The other top award of the night, "Story of the Year with Public Participation", went to MediaCorp News Chinese Current Affairs programme, "Frontline".

Armed with just tip-offs from viewers, producers ventured deep into the minds of abusers who torture and kill stray cats.

Shaun Seow, Group Chief Editor, MediaCorp, said: "It just shows that we have a diversity of products. We've been awarding the different journalists from TV, newspapers and radio separately. Now what we've done for the second time round, we've actually awarded the best of the best. It goes to show that if it's a good story, it really cuts across different genres."

The panel of judges for the awards included not only top executives from MediaCorp but also foreign media experts from the Philippines and the UK.

When the award presentation was first held last year, it was a relatively informal affair over lunch. This year, things have got a little more glamorous, with appearances by MediaCorp artistes.

News remained the highlight of the evening with guest speaker Professor Kishore Mahbubani talking about the realities journalists face in Singapore.

He urged those in the media to push on, even when they face challenges along the way.

The Dean of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, said: "It is you who have to decide on a daily basis what to report, what not to report, how to report it, what to say, what not to say. And I know many of you agonise over these things.

"You might think 'Oh, poor us. We're in Singapore. We have very narrow OB markers. If we were somewhere else, things would be much easier'. There are OB markers everywhere. There's no society without OB markers. And in each society, there's a constant struggle about what to report, or what not to report.

"You have to, in some ways, be guided by some critical considerations. And the challenge you face is that these critical considerations will pull you in opposite directions every day. On the one side, there's no doubt that like any other journalist in any other country, you have to bear in mind the specific national circumstances of your country.

"We're a multi-racial country. In a world where virtually every other multi-racial country of similar size has failed in maintaining ethnic harmony, we're the exception. If we're the exception, why are we the exception? I suspect we respect very strict rules on what you can or cannot say on ethnic issues."

Other winners this year included Channel NewsAsia's Melvin Yong, who won the award for "Best Presenter for English News".

The awards are all set to get bigger next year, with categories to include MediaCorp online journalists. - CNA/so