As a tribute to journalistic excellence in consumer rights issues and concerns, the Consumer Rights Reporting Awards (CRRA) has successfully concluded its 17th consecutive year, with 249 entries received setting a record high in 10 years. Meanwhile, to spearhead an even wider participation across different media and to recognize more exceptional reporting work, the Awards’ categories have been re-designed in this year to embrace online journalistic reports with a purpose to promote greater public vigilance of consumer rights.
Among entry categories, 119 pieces came from text, 11 from audio, 44 from audio-visual, while press photo and campus had 46 and 29 contesting respectively. Winning entries encompassed an array of topics, some of which involved major issues that have impacted consumers for years such as auto fuel price monitoring. There were also reports unveiling clandestine consumer scams like bid-rigging of building management/maintenance works and traps of purchasing graveyards that were still under construction. Some reports spoke for the underprivileged consumers, exposing problematic operations of residential care homes for persons with disabilities and how a fitness gym coerced a man with mild intellectual disability into purchasing a membership scheme. Furthermore, fostering a sustainable consumption environment has become a matter of growing importance, as evidenced by stories of tracing imports of electronic waste and development of food waste technology.
Mr. Edward Yau Tang-wah, GBS, JP, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development; and Professor Wong Yuk-shan, BBS, JP, Chairman of the Consumer Council officiated at the Awards ceremony today. Together, they presented 31 awards in 7 categories and 3 Sustainable Consumption Awards to winners in attendance.
In his opening address, Prof. Wong said, “With the fast proliferation of smart phones and social media in recent years, CRRA also has kept abreast of the times by including, for the first time, reporting work online.” He added, “I believe that the inclusion of different journalistic formats would reinforce the Awards in both the gravity and magnitude and hence strengthening surveillance and defenses of consumer rights through concerted efforts.”
Mr. Edward Yau said, “The Government attaches great importance to its relationship with consumer rights advocators and the media. The former highlights consumers’ awareness of legislations and policies, through surveys and researches, to let them obtain consumption information in a fast and accurate manner and have knowledge of their own rights so as to make informed and responsible choices. On the other hand, the media initiates and covers consumer-related issues to hold traders accountable. This way, the Government
Text
The most vigorously contested category was text, which was divided into two sub-categories: “News/Features/Commentaries” and “Investigative”, with 89 and 30 entries vying for top honours respectively.
The Gold Award of “News/Features/Commentaries” was awarded to a series of reports for their comprehensive coverage of the monitoring of auto fuel price and domestic petroleum price. The reports applied a scientific, statistical approach to cross-analyse 5 oil companies’ price statistics in 2014-2016 with reference to scholarly research tracking the progressive changes of international “crude oil prices”, “import oil prices” and “average fuel retail prices of different major oil stations.” The effort was to present valuable analysis and compelling argument to readers, which not only manifested objective professionalism in news reporting, but also served as an exemplar of the media’s role to keep businesses in close monitoring.
The winning entries for “Investigative” category, demonstrating mastery of in-depth reporting, exercise extensive probe into the details of issues. This year’s Gold Award was awarded to a series of reports for their timely exploration of hidden safety hazards lurking in mini storage units in industrial buildings. Subsequent to last year’s fatal fire at a mini storage, the reporter went through information from the Land’s Registry, of the Home Affairs Bureau, examining public records of private buildings where mini storages operate. The series also compared the present floor plans of the industrial buildings against the legal building plans on record. The inquiry found that many of the sites had been modified with unauthorised construction, to accommodate mini storages in Hong Kong, underscoring fire hazards posed by these facilities.
Audio and Audio-visual
Purchasing property is a matter of serious concern among Hong Kong people. The Gold Award winner in the “Audio” category was awarded for its compelling examination into causes for concern of the first-hand property market, pinpointing the rationale for shoebox units, and their investment value. The coverage revealed that management fees of new properties have risen higher but with less transparency as well as an emerging concern over what’s been called “bizarre layout”, urging the authorities and consumers to reflect on this peculiar market environment and the possible actions to curb the unusual phenomena.
The Gold Award of “Audio-visual” covered two important consumer issues – product safety and environmental protection. The Gold Award winner in the “Short clips” category exposed the hidden danger of mobile phone chargers, demonstrating the need for a Government review of the existing regulatory regime over electronic products. For “Long clips”, the Gold Award winner applied tenacious exploration of the route of electronic waste imported from the US to Hong Kong. The report exposed the lethal environmental impact of electronic waste recycling yards. This report was also chosen for the Sustainable Consumption Award, for its diligent revelation of the serious environmental pollution problem.
Press Photo
The photo getting the Gold Award focused on “shoebox units”, providing poignant graphic evidence of some households that, in reality, are smaller than standard parking lots.
Campus
Entrants for the Campus category were as insightful and diversified as those in other categories. The Gold Award entry spoke out for the underprivileged, presenting a heartbreaking story of two cancer patients whose targeted therapy drugs were not covered by the Hospital Authority, leaving the patients helpless, especially in facing the financial burden of paying for costly medications, and the fact that funding threshold stipulated in the waiver application was high and the procedures, cumbersome.
Sustainable Consumption Awards
The Gold Award winner of “Sustainable Consumption Awards – Text” was a series of reports for their illuminating exploration of food waste in Hong Kong. The reporter revealed the difficulties facing the food waste recycling industry and its operators that stirred the society at large to ponder more scientific approaches to address food waste questions, spearheaded by Government action.
For “Sustainable Consumption Awards – Campus”, the Gold Award winner shed light on the difficulties of promoting the use of stainless steel straws. The issue was explored from different perspectives of manufacturers, retailers, consumers and green groups which inspired the business sector to collaborate with the Government to make it work.
CRRA, organised by the Consumer Council in association with the Hong Kong Journalists Association and the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association, have grown in scale and in recognition of excellence of journalistic professionalism.
An 11-member panel of distinguished judges was drawn from the participating professional organisations and the academia in journalism as well as the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Consumer Council was given the arduous task of adjudication.