A bicycle’s 40-day trip to S’pore, ‘moon landing’ picture among ST wins at global Eppy awards
Before any good bicycle transforms a person into a commuter, it must first travel across the globe.
But this transnational journey is mostly invisible, with the only proof that bicycles were shipped across the world being receipts and hushed admissions by middle men like logistics agents and cargo workers.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, a team of journalists from The Straits Times followed the journey of a humble bicycle to chart how the global supply chain crunch had stretched this typical trip from 14 to 40 days.
Ms Joyce Lim, one of the journalists who contributed to the story, said they wanted to use the simple scenario of a bike delivery to illustrate how congestion at some of the world’s major ports could cause delays.
But hunting down the story itself led to multiple challenges in tracking the movement of the bicycle.
Ms Lim said: “It was challenging to track down the bicycle especially when it was moved by land at the last minute to different seaports in China before it got loaded onto a vessel to Singapore… This was because the bicycle was handled by different logistics agents in China who were initially unwilling to disclose the route as they wanted to maintain a competitive advantage.”
But once the data was collected, Ms Lim said the ST digital graphics team was able to illustrate, with the help of satellite images, how this congestion would have looked like in real time.
Published in December 2021, the infographic – “Supply chains, interrupted: Why a bicycle takes 40 days to reach Singapore” – was one of four ST projects to top the global Editor & Publisher Eppy Awards 2022.
The annual awards, which began in 1996, received global submissions across over 30 categories this year.
The panel of judges said the infographic allowed them to “be on the journey with the bicycle” and that it was incredibly informative.
“Climate code red: Saving Singapore’s shores”, an interactive story about the effects of climate change on the island’s coastline, was crowned the best innovation project on a website.
Ms Stephanie Adeline, the team leader who pulled the project together, said: “We wanted to show, not just tell, readers what that could look like. But it’s also equally important to show that what we do in the next few decades can make a difference.”
To do so, data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report was extracted to approximate the impact of climate change on the well-known site of Merlion Park, depending on efforts taken to curtail it.
Ms Adeline added: “(With this project) we wanted to strike a balance between showing all the scenarios – even the extreme worst-case scenario while also delivering the message that these are merely projections, and it’s not too late to minimise the damage.”
It was praised by judges for its “first-rate reporting and visuals that show what will happen to Singapore if climate change is not adequately addressed”.
Two other projects also scored big at Eppy 2022, with “Over the Moon” winning best photojournalism and “JI arrests, 20 years on: How they joined the Jemaah Islamiah regional terror group” winning best editorial or political cartoon.
ST photo editor Stephanie Yeow said the collection of photos in “Over the Moon” was the team’s annual shooting excursion to commemorate Singapore’s National Day in 2022.
Judges praised the iconic photo of a parachutist appearing to “land” on a supermoon shot by chief photojournalist Kevin Lim.
Ms Yeow said: “We have an extremely talented group of photojournalists who can be depended on to bring back great, exciting images… I’m happy that their efforts have been recognised with this award. They deserve it.”
The political cartoon by senior executive infographics journalist Celestino Gulapa D Rosario was lauded by judges for engaging audiences effectively.
Noting that he was influenced by Filipino comics he had read at a young age, Mr Rosario said: “I chose this ‘comics’ style of illustration to reflect the characters’ facial expressions and provide a sense of foreboding atmosphere… I think the approach translated into video rather well and am glad the judges saw it the same way.”
The “CloseUp Series” and “Loh Kean Yew: Badminton Bromance parts 1 and 2” were runners-up for best investigative/enterprise video and best sports video respectively.
ST editor Jaime Ho said awards such as these are an important recognition and validation of the paper’s continuing efforts to reach audiences across all platforms and formats.
Mr Ho added: “Our newsroom is committed to building on this, to deliver on our commitment to reaching our audiences in the most innovative ways.”
ST’s winning entries
First prize
1. Best use of data/infographics: Supply chains, interrupted: Why a bicycle takes 40 days to reach Singapore
What it is: We track a bicycle order from China to Singapore as global supply chains break down.
What judges said: “Loved everything about this. The ships in the beginning set the tone for the data ahead... I was on the journey with that bicycle! Excellent work, incredibly informative - Bravo!”
2. Best innovation project on a website: Climate code red: Saving Singapore’s shores
What it is: To drive home the danger of climate change, this interactive provides a simulation of how Singapore will be affected by rising sea levels, using the iconic Merlion landmark to illustrate its impact.
What judges said: “Important and first-rate reporting and visuals that show what will happen to Singapore if climate change is not adequately addressed.”
3. Best photojournalism on a website: “Over the moon”
What it is: Getting the perfect shot often requires the stars to align. But in the case of chief photojournalist Kevin Lim, it was the moon.
Confined to a fixed position on the rooftop of The Float @ Marina Bay, he had few angles to work with as his movements were restricted. But in this challenging situation, Mr Lim captured a stunning photo of a parachutist from the Singapore Armed Forces’ Red Lions team appearing to “land” on the moon.
What judges said: “Being in the right place and right time to catch a photo is one thing. But that’s often not enough to tell the story behind the image. The jets in an intricate dance, the energy of the diver off the helicopter, and the city celebration – these photos make the viewer feel like they were present. Of course, life often has its own ideas as the landing parachutist discovered.”
4. Best editorial/political cartoon
What it is: To complement the print and online news on the 20th anniversary of the Jemaah Islamiyah arrests in Singapore, ST decided to use editorial illustrations to highlight events leading to the capture of Singapore’s most wanted fugitives. This powerful tool is deployed to illustrate scenarios that do not have photos or videos to start with.
What judges said: “Great use of images to tell a story. The comic-like style and captions are engaging and effective in narrating this interesting story.”
Runner-up
1. Best investigative/enterprise video: “CloseUp Series”
2. Best sports video: “Loh Kean Yew: Badminton Bromance parts 1 and 2”
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