THE FLAME, the official student publication of the Faculty of Arts and Letters (Artlets), became the first campus publication from Asia to win a regional top prize in the in-depth reporting category of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) 2024 Mark of Excellence Awards.
Its story “From Streets to Sheets: Motorcycle Drivers Turn to Sex Work Amid Hard Times” topped the in-depth entries for large universities in SPJ’s Region 11 division, as announced by the journalism organization on May 5.
Written by The Flame editor in chief Zoe Airabelle Aguinaldo, associate editor Joss Gabriel Oliveros, Jianzen Deananeas, and Ma. Alyanna Selda, the story delves into the experiences of motorcycle taxi drivers who resort to offering sexual services due to financial struggles.
The Artlets student publication is the only campus paper in Asia to bag first place at the regional level since the awards began in 2000.
In January, the same story was hailed as the best in-depth report in the 10th UST National Campus Journalism Awards organized by the Varsitarian.
Region 11 consists of academic institutions from the United States, such as Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Mariana Islands, which include the Philippines.
Stanford University in California was named a finalist in the same category, with entries titled “‘They ask for more every year with less and less people:’ Fighter pilots face burnout” and “Inside UG2 at Stanford: Surveillance, favoritism, intimidation.”
With its win, The Flame will advance to the national level, where it will compete with 11 other regional winners.
Professional journalists with at least three years of industry experience evaluated the entries for the SPJ awards.
They judged the works based on their accuracy, originality, significance, clarity, creativity, ethical standards, and effective use of available resources.
The SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards recognize student journalists in international colleges or universities who exemplify the highest standards of campus journalism.
