Chennai: Manorama Online has won the Wan-Ifra South Asian Digital Media Gold Award for the best news site. Manorama Online's mobile app was picked for the silver medal in the same category for the third consecutive year. The bronze medal went to The Quint.
Vanitha's 'Ivide Nalla Vishesham' campaign earned the gold medal for social media engagement. The BBC ranked second in this category.
Manorama Online, the online portal of Malayala Manorama daily, is one of the most-read news websites in India.
The Wan-Ifra recognition comes after an overhaul of the news site with a new design and new logo.
Manorama Online is getting the coveted Wan-Ifra prize for the third time.
The site had won the Wan-Ifra prize in 2016 for the best news site in the world.
In its 22-year history, Manorama Online has received more than 20 international and national awards, including the Internet and Mobile Association Award for Best Local Website (2011) and the Telly Bronze Award for best 360 presentation (2017).
Manorama Online's English edition Onmanorama was awarded the Wan-Ifra Digital Media Bronze Award for Best News Website in South Asia in 2016.
Vanitha (www.vanitha.in) won the social media engagement award for a programme with a hashtag #IvideNallaVishesham. The programme dwelt on the hardships faced by couples without children and thousands shared their experiences online.
Wan-Ifra is a global media organization representing over 3,000 publishing houses and 18,000 publications in 120 countries.
The awards are intended to recognize media institutions that come up with new solutions for an audience tuned in to digital and mobile platforms.
Manorama surpassed 80 entries from more than 20 South Asian media institutions to bag the honours. The entries were selected by a panel of internationally known experts.
The awards will be distributed in the Digital Media India Summit 2020 to be held in Delhi on February 18.
The entries selected for the gold prize in each category will compete for the World Digital Media Awards during the World New Media Congress in Spain from June 17-19.
