Pinoy paper wins Aussie media award

MANILA, Philippines - Romeo Cayabyab, editor and publisher of the online publication The Filipino Australian, received an award for Coverage of Community Affairs in Australia at the inaugural New South Wales (NSW) Multicultural Media Awards at the State Parliament recently.

The Award is founded and chaired by the Honorable Shaoquett Moselmane, Member of the Legislative Council, NSW Parliament. Before announcing the winners in the Awards’ eight categories, Moselmane said that it is fitting to recognize multicultural and indigenous journalists who bring communities together and promote multiculturalism in Australia.

The guest of honor at the ceremony was Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr, who noted the cultural diversity in Australian society, referring to it as an “overlapping of cultures.” He spoke of migrant families from various countries who are now a part of Australia and who, at the same time, have enriched the fabric of Australian society through their cultural heritage. He said that multicultural media plays a key role in Australian democracy.

A panel of judges composed of 11 media practitioners and community leaders deliberated on 140 nominations.

Cayabyab, an accountant by profession, hails from Capas, Tarlac. He migrated to Australia in 1981 and resides in Minchinbury, New South Wales with his family. He is a self-taught encoder, programmer and web publisher.

In 1998, he co-founded emanila.comemanila.com   with multimedia specialist Rom Zamora. In 2000, emanila.comemanila.com   became the first recipient of the Technology Award under Australia’s National Multicultural Marketing Awards.

Cayabyab established The Filipino Australian in 2005 to provide online news services to the Filipino-Australian community.