TOP AWARD FOR PHUKETWAN WRITERS

Phuketwan journalists Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian have won two Society of Publishing in Asia (SOPA) awards for their coverage of the Rohingya story.
The pair, jointly with journalists from the South China Morning Post, won in the Excellence in Investigative Reporting category, and in the Excellence in Human Rights Reporting category.
Commenting on the first win, judges said: ''An excellent series that uncovered serious government abuses and had a material impact in correcting them. Exclusivity. Strong reporting. Hard-hitting piece with international implications.''
Of the second award, judges said: "Excellent investigative work that exposed serious human rights abuses of oppressed people. Intrepid reporting of a hidden subject. This is a high-caliber series buttressed by solid on-the-ground reporting and great pictures. All militaries are challenging subjects for investigative reporters and Thailand’s is no exception. The team clearly went to great lengths to get sources, break news, and provide the details that prodded the government into action."
Phuketwan broke the story of Thailand's treatment of the Rohingya exclusively online in January 2009 then reported it for the South China Morning Post.
Other SOPA award winners included journalists from the Financial Times, TIME Asia, Newsweek, the International Herald Tribune, the Wall Street Journal Asia, the Straits Times and Reuters. Phuketwan was the only Thai winner.
Earlier this year, the Phuketwan team also shared the honor of being awarded the prize for Scoop of the Year at the Hong Kong News Awards 2009, and later the general news prize at the Human Rights Press Awards in Hong Kong.
Morison, who is Editor and Publisher of the Phuketwan website, said: ''We've sparked coverage of a number of vital themes on Phuket and around the Andaman region, and we intend to continue reporting the important issues.''