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THE
BusinessMirror motoring section was recently adjudged as
the Best Motoring Section during the seventh staging of
the annual Henry Ford Awards (HFA) held on December 5 at
the Teatrino, Promenade in Greenhills, San Juan City.
The Best
Motoring Section award, one of the two newest categories
in the annual prestigious event organized and sponsored
by Ford Motors Philippines, was the most awaited as well
as the most prestigious on that evening that was held to
honor outstanding journalists and their work in various
media.
Adjudged
as the best in “overall look and quality of layout,
content and topics, local relevance and consistency of
the motoring section,” the BusinessMirror beat four
other finalists, among them the Philippine Daily
Inquirer, Philippine Star, Manila Bulletin and C!
Magazine. Edited by Popong Andolong, the BusinessMirror
motoring section is composed of art director Ed Davad,
editorial assistant Renie Salvador, columnists/writers
Andy Sevilla and Al Mendoza, and writers Jude Morte, Ira
Panganiban and Lorenz Nipales.
Proud crew.
(From left) Andy
Sevilla, Popong Andolong, Jude Morte, Tet Andolong and
Edward P. Simon celebrate after the BUSINESSMIRROR
Motoring received the nod as the Best Motoring Section
during the 2007 Henry Ford Awards.
--NONOY LACZA
“I
couldn’t believe it. Beating the three major newspapers
and one noted magazine in the said premiere category is
no mean feat. I share this award with all my colleagues
in the section and with all those who have worked on it.
We would also like to thank the judges and organizers,
Ford Motors Philippines, for deeming our publication
worthy of such a recognition,” Andolong said after
receiving the trophy.
The
BusinessMirror also snatched another award—Best
Published Photograph for Newspaper—from the total of 13
that were disputed that night. Photographer Edward
Simon’s “Cars, For Art’s Sake” bested several others
submitted in the said category.
The
Henry Ford Awards, which is now on its seventh year,
gives recognition to excellence in automotive
journalism. There are now 30 winners from the media in
the HFA Hall of Fame who have shared the prestige and
glory of being recognized as an outstanding journalist
since the first Henry Ford Awards in 2001.
“The
Henry Ford Awards has been known throughout the region
as an event and endeavor truly worth the experience,”
said Ford Group Philippines president Rick Baker, who
attended his first HFA since joining the Ford local
office early January this year. “Gathering our dear
friends from the media under one roof and seeing them
celebrate their achievements is very exciting and
heartwarming altogether. On top of this, it is also a
venue for celebrating the annual Christmas party held by
Ford for its friends and partners, adding a touch of the
holiday season to such a momentous event.”
This
year’s two-phased judging process included a jury panel
comprised of an impressive set of individuals from
different sectors related to automotive journalism—from
academe, government and the private sector. The
first-phase judges included Florina Vistal, vice
president for Government and Corporate Affairs of Ford
Group Philippines; Bert Suansing of the Department of
Transportation and Communications; Jerrie Abella, editor
in chief of the Philippine Collegian, University of the
Philippines; and Ma. Socorro Prado, managing director of
Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide/Manila. Jun Miranda,
president and program director of the Philippine Center
for Creative Imaging, served as the special judge for
both photo categories. The second-phase judges were
composed of Baker; Ramon Tuazon, president of the Asian
Institute for Journalism and Communication; Mandy Eduque,
executive director of the Automobile Association of the
Philippines; and Randy Aquino, managing director for
advertising of Ogilvy & Mather Philippines.
The
different categories and respective winners are
Published Photograph for Newspaper—Edward Simon,
BusinessMirror, “Cars, For Art’s Sake”; Published
Photograph for Magazine—Jose Antonio Acosta, Top Gear,
“Bato, Bato Pick Up”; Automotive Test-Drive/Automotive
Event Story—Manny de los Reyes, Philippine Star, “Saving
Planet Earth with the Toyota Drive”; Automotive Online
Feature Story—Ulysses Ang,
www.motioncars.com, “Practical haulers: MPVs that
don’t break the bank”; Motoring Column Issue—Jason Ang,
Top Gear, “Have car, can’t travel”; Environment and
Conservation Feature Story—Junephrey Ocampo, People’s
Journal, “From frying pans to your car”; Safety Feature
Story—Auto Review, “Ford Drive for Life Summer Camp”;
Motorsports Feature Story—Tessa Salazar, Philippine
Daily Inquirer, “20 questions for a woman drifter”;
Automotive Television Feature—Hotwire TV, “Ford Ranger
leads the way to Sierra Madre”; Special Category:
Automotive Industry Feature Story—Vernon Sarne, Manila
Times, “What now?”; Special Category: Ford Feature
Story—Myrna Velasco, Manila Bulletin, “Flex Fuel
Vehicles: Traversing the road to a wider market”;
Special Category: Mazda Feature Story—Vince Pornelos, C!
Magazine, “Alpha v Omega”; Special Category: Best
Motoring Section—BusinessMirror. |
