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October 2004
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NSK Announces 2004 Editorial Division Awards
The Nihon Shinbun Kyokai (NSK) on Sept. 1 named four winners for this year's NSK Editorial Division Awards. The awards will be presented at the 57th National Newspaper Convention on Oct. 15 in Toyama City.
The NSK Awards were created in 1957 to enhance the authority and credibility of the newspaper industry (now also including wire services and broadcasting). NSK gives its prizes to people who make remarkable contributions in the editorial, business/management and technology divisions of member companies.
For this year’s awards, in the editorial division there were 78 nominations from 47 member companies, in the business/management division there were four from four companies, and for the technology division there were three nominations from three companies.
Here is the background on the winners of the NSK Editorial Division Awards:
--For their scoop on the UFJ - Mitsubishi Tokyo merger
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(Masato Hotta and Toshiki Yazawa, Economic News Division, Editorial Department, Nihon Keizai Shimbun)
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On the front page of its July 14 morning issue, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun ran a major scoop on UFJ Holdings Inc.’s move to ask rival Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc. for a merger, thereby canceling a deal to sell its UFJ Trust Bank to Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. UFJ, on the verge of collapse due to massive bad loans, was seeking help from Mitsubishi Tokyo to survive.
The problems at UFJ Holding remain a major obstacle to stability in Japan’s financial system. UFJ still likely faces criminal charges over evasion of Financial Services Agency oversight related to its alleged concealment of inappropriate dealings on loans to large borrowers. The Nikkei’s scoop on the proposed merger, which would create the world's biggest banking group with assets of 190 trillion yen, had great repercussions on the Japanese economy and attracted attention worldwide.
The scoop won high acclaim as news reporting accurately grasping the trend toward realignments in the financial services industry in which big Japanese banking groups are setting out to ensure their own survival.
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--For scoop footage of the terrorist bombing of the U.N. office in Baghdad
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| (Shoichiro Beppu, NHK Baghdad news team and Cairo correspondent, European General Bureau, NHK) |
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On Aug. 19, 2003, NHK filmed video of the live scene of the suicide bomb attack at the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad that killed more than 20 people, including U.N. mission chief Sergio Vieira de Mello. NHK released the video on its 10 p.m. (Japan Time) news, ahead of other TV broadcasters.
The NHK reporter covered the bombing while attending a news conference about the disposal of unexploded bombs at the U.N. office. He caught the moment of the explosion and the ensuing chaos without losing his cool and reported the event in a collected manner. The video vividly showed the world the deteriorating security situation in Iraq. This scoop coverage of the event that caused the temporary withdrawal of the U.N. mission from Iraq is a memorable work of TV journalism.
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--For scoops and follow-up reports on Hokkaido Police slush funds
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(Masayuki Takada, News Headquarters deputy chief, Editorial Department, Task force into Hokkaido police corruption, Hokkaido Shimbun)
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Promoted by a disclosure of inappropriate spending on investigations at the Asahikawa Central Police Station, the Hokkaido Shimbun printed a series of scoops and follow-up reports, starting on Nov. 25, 2003, on the scandal involving slush funds at each station of the Hokkaido Prefectural Police. The police eventually admitted to having a covert system to pool slush funds.
The press campaign stirred a protest among the local public, and with the strong support of its readers, the newspaper obtained tip-offs from various whistleblowers inside the police organization.
Making clear the newspaper’s basic stance in covering police affairs, the press campaign forced the National Police Agency to formally ban accepting all receipts under fictitious names. The reporting triggered moves nationwide to expose accounting irregularities at police stations.
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--For a long-term series re-examining the North Korea abduction issue
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(Masahide Takahashi, Deputy News Editor and senior editor, Task force on North Korea and the abduction issues, Niigata Nippo)
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On Nov. 15, 2003, the 26th anniversary of the abduction of Megumi Yokota by North Korean agents, the Niigata Nippo launched a long-term series on the issue in an attempt to find the facts and contribute to a resolution. The series ended on June 28 of this year.
In its campaign, the newspaper's task force interviewed families, relatives and friends of abductees as they patiently and vividly depicted their agony and struggle. As the abduction issue surged from stalemate to the repatriation of some victims, the newspaper closely reported the feelings of the families and their sympathizers in anticipation of a full resolution. The reports promoted public recognition of the cruelty of the abductions and prompted historic government action.
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Asahi Shimbun, Chugoku Shimbun agree on consignment printing
The Asahi Shimbun and the Chugoku Shimbun announced on Sept. 2 that they have concluded an agreement for the Chugoku to print the Asahi’s editions for distribution in Hiroshima Prefecture.
It is the first time that the Asahi has asked a major local newspaper with a circulation of more than 700,000 to print its editions on consignment.
Under the deal, both companies agreed to collaborate closely in handling a normalization of sales competition and promoting youth subscriptions to newspapers.
The Chugoku Shimbun will in April of next year start printing about 60,000 copies of the Asahi’s edition at its Fukuyama Production Center in Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture, for distribution to Hiroshima City and surrounding areas.
In explaining the reasoning behind the consignment deal, the Asahi has cited a reduction of printing costs and pre-emptive efforts to avoid accidents and other problems in newspaper delivery.
A Chugoku Shimbun official said that it agreed with the Asahi to jointly address the task of encouraging youth to subscribe to newspapers and to call on other newspapers to act together on this score.
Topics.......Topics.......Topics........
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Kyodo News Launches Special-Assignment Writer System
Kyodo News created the function of special-assignment senior editor on Sept. 1 and appointed Mikio Haruna, deputy chief editorial writer, to the post.
The new system is intended to promote as special-assignment writers various experienced reporters who excel in particular fields. These writers will exclusively handle newsgathering and writing, being freed from routine functions.
Special-assignment writers will work under the direct supervision of the managing editor and act independently from senior writers. In newsgathering and writing, however, they will coordinate with the office of senior writers and each section of the editorial department. The position is a term appointment, and all qualified persons are eligible for promotion to the position.
Kyodo News said newspapers are tending to run more analytical articles and interviews with opinion leaders and that demand from agency subscribers for such in-depth articles is rising. It is a requirement of the times to nurture reporters capable of producing excellent, signature articles, Kyodo News said.
Kyodo News said that the new system will boost its reputation and will produce an environment in which individual reporters will be motivated to display their full capabilities.
Haruna joined Kyodo in 1996, serving as a correspondent in New York and Washington D.C. before becoming the chief of the Washington bureau. Known as a specialist in international affairs, he won the Vaughan-Ueda Memorial Prize in 1994 and the Japan Press Club Award in 2004.
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Story of the Month>>>
Special Editions Feature Elementary and Junior High School Writers
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A number of newspapers published special supplements in early September to feature articles written over the summer by local elementary and junior high school children.
These “Children’s Newspaper” supplements ranged from 8 to 14 broadsheet pages, incorporating many color pictures and illustrations.
In each case, between 30 and 100 children, most who applied to participate, gathered news and contributed articles on specific topics of their own choosing, under the guidance of working reporters.
The Ryukyu Shimpo in Okinawa Prefecture, which has a circulation of about 200,000 for both its morning and its evening editions, assigned the young writers to the general theme of the controversial planned move of the U.S. Marine Corp’s Futenma Air Station. The Oita Godo Shimbun in Oita Prefecture, with a circulation of 250,000, set a theme of covering welfare facilities for nursing care, while the Saga-Shimbun in Saga Prefecture, with a circulation of 140,000, carried an interview with the manager of the local J-League soccer team in its special supplement.
The Saga Shimbun editor handling the children's supplement said the paper aimed to familiarize children with newspapers and to try to reverse the decline in youth subscriptions. The supplement issued by the Ryukyu Shimpo printed “kana” syllabic characters beside all the “kanji” Chinese characters, including those of personal names, to indicate the pronunciation for child readers.
The young reporters were mostly fifth- and sixth-graders in elementary schools. But the Saga-Shimbun enlisted children from fourth grade in elementary schools and third grade in junior high schools.
The number of young participants varied from newspaper to newspaper, staying at around the same level as customary for these features over the past few years. The To-o Nippo in Aomori Prefecture, with a circulation of 260,000 for both its morning and its evening editions, appeared to have the highest participation with a total of 111 children writers. One of the editors in charge there said many teachers and parents showed great interest in the program as newspapers are used as educational materials in new classes for “comprehensive study” in elementary school education.
One common theme was the consolidation of city, town and village governments, which has been taken up by many newspapers for the children’s papers. Many of the young reporters interviewed prefectural governors and city or town mayors, covered consolidation debates at local councils, and wrote about the factors behind consolidation and the various steps in the procedure, adding in their own views.
An editor of the special supplement at the Minami-Nippon Shimbun in Kagoshima Prefecture, with a circulation of 410,00 for its morning edition and about 30,000 for its evening edition, said it is natural for local children to be interested in the consolidation of their cities, towns and villages as it will affect their own future. As with some other newspapers, the Minami-Nippon Shimbun supplement also carried articles about children's short-term experiences in various jobs. Many readers wrote in to praise the assignment, which they said would help children develop their own perceptions of work.
The special supplements were included inside regular morning editions, as well as being distributed to schools where children participated in the program. The Minami-Nippon Shimbun distributed copies of its supplement to all elementary schools in its prefecture, while the Saga Shimbun did the same for all elementary and junior high schools in the prefecture.
Almost all of the participating newspapers said they plan to continue the special "Children's Newspaper" program in the coming years.
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Nihon Shinbun Kyokai
The Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association
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Copyright 2004 Nihon Shinbun Kyokai
All right reserved
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