WASHINGTON— Radio Free Asia's (RFA) online brands BenarNews and 歪脑 | WHYNOT, as well as its Burmese and Mandarin Services took home 22 awards including three gold and 11 silver medals at the 44th Telly Awards, an annual competition that honors visual content and animation. RFA global Mandarin brand 歪脑 | WHYNOT took home 16 medals, while BenarNews won three, RFA Burmese won two, and RFA Mandarin won one.
"These winning projects utilize video and other creative means to bring to light online abuse on Chinese social media, the lives of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and Hong Kong's transformation, among other sensitive topics barred from local media available to our audiences," RFA Executive Editor Min Mitchell said. "We couldn't be prouder of 歪脑 | WHYNOT, BenarNews, RFA Burmese and RFA Mandarin."
RFA's winning projects follow:
- Gold-winners include 歪脑 | WHYNOT's Lives in Kinmen, the Ultimate Frontline of the China-Taiwan War (which also won two bronze medals), Surviving Online Abuse (which also won one silver and two bronze medals) and Two Years of WHYNOT (which won an additional silver medal).
- Silver-winners include RFA Burmese's Myanmar Street Typist, RFA Mandarin's Tibetan singer in exile finds vanishing roots, and 歪脑 | WHYNOT's Art Behind the Wall and Saving the Memories of Hong Kong with Tattoos (which also won a bronze medal).
- Additionally, 歪脑 | WHYNOT's One year after Apple Daily shutdown: what happened to journalists in Hong Kong? and BenarNews's Memories of Home each won two silver medals and one bronze medal, while RFA Burmese's Under the Gun in Myanmar won a bronze medal.
These awards mark the third instance 歪脑 | WHYNOT and RFA Mandarin have won this year, having earned honors at the New York Festivals, Human Rights Press Awards and Gracies. Founded in 1979, the Telly Awards annual competition showcases the best work in video and television across all screens.