Philippine Star gets 'hall of fame' award from Rotary Club

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Star on Thursday bagged this year's national newspaper of the year award from the Rotary Club of Manila (RCM).

With the award, the Philippine Star also became the first newspaper "hall of famer" after winning the prestigious title for three years. The Star was also awarded the title of "National Newspaper of the Year" in 2006 and again last year.

The Star, last year, also bagged one of 10 tourism awards in the print industry also given by the Rotary Club of Manila.

Thursday's award was recieved by Miguel Belmonte, Star President and Chief Excutive Officer,  in a ceremony held at the Manila Polo Club.

Joining the Star in the circle of awardees in this year's RCM Journalism Awards are Deo Macalma and Milky Rigonan of dzRH (broadcast journalists for radio); Miguel "Mike" Enriquez of GMA (broadcast journalist for televison),  ABS-CBN (television station of the year);  Star's Valeriano "Bobbit" Avila (opinion writer of the year); dzMM (radio station of the year); Mindanao Daily Tribune Davao (community newspaper of the year);  BusinessMirror (business newspaper of the year); and Star columnist Federico "Dick" Pascual (journalist of the year).

Also recieving special recognitions are media fora "Bulong Pulungan  Sofitel" and "Kapihan sa Manila" both of which started in 1986.

In recieving the award, Belmonte said since the Star won its first national newspaper of the year award in 2006, it has took on various forms to match the dramatic changes in journalism.

"The Star is no longer just a newspaper. It is also a website, a Facebook and Twitter acount, a mobile app, and I am proud to say that we recently became the first newspaper in the country to use augmented reality," he said.

Augmented reality, said Belmonte, enables readers of the Star to run videos and slideshows and be linked to websites straight out of the newspaper with the use of a mobile gadget.

Belmonte however said that despite these changes in  journalism, the Star remains the same as it continues to believe in the power of hope and inspiration.

"What we always take pride in saying is that since our paper was founded in July 1986, we have always managed to be fair - to strike a balance between the positive and the negative. Despite the gloom that tends to pervade day-to-day news, the Star continues to convey a message of hope and to provide a better perspective in our daily lives," he said.