CNN International was recognized twice at the 2026 Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Awards during a gala dinner and ceremony held at the JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong on Thursday, June 18.
CNN International took the top award in the Excellence in Breaking News category for its coverage of the India-Pakistan war last year. According to the SOPA judges:
“As two of the world’s nuclear-armed powers, India and Pakistan, squared off against each other in May 2025, CNN was poised to tell viewers around the globe why they should care. A live blog kept pace with developments. Standalone features detailed how a truce was reached, as well as the fallout of uneasy calm in Kashmir that remains. Great graphics and historical context made the package easily accessible to anyone unfamiliar with the history of the disputed territory.”
CNN International also received an Honorable Mention in the Excellence in Reporting on Women’s Issues category for stories detailing the plight of elderly women in Japan prisons and the women from the Philippines trapped in scam centers. SOPA judges noted:
“An impressive package of stories that offers poignant and often surprising insights into the lives of women who are rarely covered in the media. The piece on the scam farms is an important story — very few pieces on this subject have covered the trade from a gender angle. Kudos to everyone involved. Deeply reported stories of the plight of women in Asia, from Filipina scam victims to elderly Japanese women preferring incarceration to the lonely world outside.”
The Society of Publishers in Asia was founded in Hong Kong in 1982 to encourage best practices in the publishing industry, set a high bar for journalistic standards and be a voice for press freedom and journalists’ rights in Asia Pacific.
As part of that mandate, SOPA established the annual SOPA Awards for Editorial Excellence in 1999 to recognize and reward great journalism. The annual awards are highly coveted and have become a highlight of the regional media calendar.
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