Celebrating honors for excellence in newsletters, collaboration and partnerships, pandemic coverage, audio digital storytelling and 17 more categories
WASHINGTON, Sept. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Online News Association (ONA) is honored to share the finalists for the 2021 Online Journalism Awards (OJAs). Winners will be announced on Oct. 15.
In 2021, the Online Journalism Awards feature 45 prizes across 21 categories. ONA’s Awards and Recognition Committee introduced two new categories and additional changes to reimagine or update existing ones based on community feedback and changes in the industry:
Topical Reporting: Pandemic Coverage: This new award honors a single story or a portfolio that focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic and addresses aspects such as science, public health, policy, lifestyle and economic impact.
Excellence in Social Justice Reporting: This new award honors journalism that highlights systemic inequities encountered by historically marginalized communities, including coverage of social movements, racial justice, migration, access to education, voting rights and more.
Student Journalism Award: This award reimagines recognition for student work with two subcategories: Student Portfolio and Student Team Portfolio.
Breaking News: This award has been streamlined with two subcategories for newsroom size: Small/Medium and Large. It previously included separate subcategories for Small, Medium and Large newsrooms.
Five honors come with a total of $40,000 in prize money, thanks to generous support from SmartNews, McKinsey Publishing, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications. These awards recognize general excellence, engaged journalism, immersive storytelling, public service and climate change reporting.
A diverse group of 114 digital media professionals representing 20 countries teamed up to screen 1,179 entries—the largest pool of entries the competition has seen since it was established in 1999. More than 60 judges deliberated to determine finalists and winners.
See the full list of 2021 Online Journalism Awards finalists for excellence in newsletters, collaboration and partnerships, pandemic coverage, audio digital storytelling and 17 more categories.
The Safe Streaming™ platform gives its employees the opportunity to recharge and recognize the impacts the pandemic has had during the past 18 months.
Kidoodle.TV
CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A Parent Media Co. Inc. (“APMC“), the creator of the successful and award-winning Kidoodle.TV® streaming platform for families, announces it has given its employees a full week of paid time off during its “One for Me!” Wellness Week, which is Aug. 23 to Sept. 3. Employees are encouraged to use the time off however they’d like and take the opportunity to recharge following a tumultuous 18 months stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Neil Gruninger, President and co-founder of Kidoodle.TV, said, “Our team has given it their all during the last 18 months — their time, their talents, and their mental energy. The effort they have put forth to ensure families have a safe streaming alternative has been exceptional, without their dedication and passion to keep kids safe, we would not have experienced the success we’ve seen through this pandemic. As such, we felt it was the proper time for a recharge to spend time with family, friends and reflect on what matters to us most.”
A recent global study of more than 2,700 employees found that 75 percent feel more socially isolated as a result of the pandemic, with 67 percent experiencing higher stress levels, 57 percent feeling more anxious, and 53 percent dealing with greater emotional exhaustion.
“One for Me!” is intended to give employees time to unplug from the day-to-day and take a week to rest and refuel. With the busiest time of the year around the corner, this gives them the opportunity to return to work as a better version of themselves, thanks to time away from their daily responsibilities. Since the pandemic began, the team has shown tremendous resilience in responding to the call and stepping up to position the company for success.
“I recently had a personal epiphany that to be my best self, not only for me, but for my family and our company, it was essential that I step back and reassess what was most important – my own health and well-being,” said Mike Lowe, CEO and co-founder of Kidoodle.TV. “During this personal time, I was able to reflect on my role as CEO and get clear on what matters most. This time to reflect is what I want and know our team needs in order to be the best versions of themselves.”
Following the announcement, employee Neil Legrandeur said, “One for Me! – It means a lot, truly. As a global community, we’ve all felt the pressures of COVID and a myriad of other pressures within our individual lives. To have an employer who gets that, who understands it and puts people first, in a meaningful way, that’s new.”
On the other side of the coin, these months have also brought about tremendous growth and success for Kidoodle.TV, with the size of the team more than quadrupling.
Kidoodle.TV not only cares about its viewers, but its employees who operate 24/7 to ensure the online, streaming videos on its platform are age-appropriate and safe. To learn more about Kidoodle.TV, visit www.kidoodle.tv.
About APMC and Kidoodle.TV®
Kidoodle.TV® is a family-focused Safe Streaming™ service committed to ensuring children have a safe alternative to stream their favorite TV shows and movies. Available in over 160 countries and territories on thousands of connected devices, Kidoodle.TV provides peace of mind with every show available on Kidoodle.TV strictly vetted by caring people committed to Safe and Free Streaming for Kids™. Kidoodle.TV is available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Fire TV, LG, Samsung, VIDAA-enabled Hisense TVs, Chromecast, Roku, Vizio SmartCast, Amazon, Jio, Xfinity X1, Connected TVs, HTML5 Web, and many other streaming media devices. Kidoodle.TV is owned and operated by A Parent Media Co. Inc., a family-based company. Kidoodle.TV is certified by the kidSAFE® Seal Program and is the proud recipient of the Mom’s Choice Award®, a Stevie® Award, platinum winner of the Best Mobile App Award, and Parents’ Picks Award – Best Elementary Products. Visit www.kidoodle.tv to learn more.
ROSEMONT, Ill., Sept. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Proteintech Group, an original manufacturer of antibodies, nanobodies and recombinant proteins, today announced that it has made a strategic investment in Active Motif, a life science tools company focused on bringing epigenetics into the translational and precision medicine segments. The companies did not disclose any financial details about the transaction.
Active Motif noted that it will use the funds to expand its R&D innovation engine as well as its commercial footprint.
“We have been in search of an ally that can add breadth and complement our current portfolio of products and services. Proteintech, as a strategic partner, provides the company with not only a cash infusion but also access to high-value antibodies and additional distribution channels,” stated Ted DeFrank, President and CEO of Active Motif.
“Active Motif is the leader in epigenetics, and we are excited to work with the best in the field,” said Jeff Lee, Proteintech’s Chief Operating Officer.
Since 2020, Proteintech has been working with Active Motif to sell their products under the Active Motif brand that Proteintech distributes throughout China, and there is mutual interest in growing the partnership throughout the Asia Pacific Region.
“Working more closely with Active Motif will enable us to serve our customers better through collaborations and the development of new products,” Dr. Jason Li, CEO, “This investment adds to Proteintech’s strategy to provide best in class antibody, nanobody and recombinant protein products for the greater benefit of research and discovery.”
ABOUT ACTIVE MOTIF
Active Motif, Inc. was founded in 1999 and continues to be the leader in providing epigenetic products and services to mechanistic, translational and clinical researchers. The company is committed to innovating and finding a better way to unlock the biological understanding associated with changes and modifications which happen inside the nucleus. Active Motif operates globally through its corporate headquarters in Carlsbad, California, and offices in Shanghai China, Tokyo Japan, and Waterloo, Belgium. Active Motif is focused on bringing the power of epigenetics more deeply into the precision medicine movement with an aim on impacting outcomes.
Proteintech, founded in 2001, is a leading manufacturer of antibodies, proteins and immunoassays. Proteintech has the largest proprietary portfolio of self-manufactured antibodies covering 2/3 of the human proteome. In addition, Proteintech produces cytokines, growth factors and other proteins that are human expressed, bioactive and cGMP-grade. With the recent acquisition of manufacturer ChromoTek, Proteintech now offers nanobodies, market leading recombinant reagents used in high-performance immunoprecipitation, super resolution imaging, and multiplex assays. Proteintech has global reach with sites in the USA, UK, Germany, China, Japan, Singapore and Australia. To learn more about Proteintech, please visit www.ptglab.com.
SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) will hold a Financial Analyst Briefing on September 13, 2021 during its premier customer event, Zoomtopia. The event will be hosted by members of the executive team and will cover Zoom’s business strategy, opportunities, and initiatives.
Attendees of the Financial Analyst Briefing must first register for Zoomtopia at: https://www.zoomtopia.com/. Once registered, attendees will receive instructions for joining the Zoomtopia lobby from where they may search for and join the Financial Analyst Briefing track. The live video webinar will begin at 2pm ET/11am PT, and last for approximately two hours. Attendees must update their Zoom client to version to 5.7.6 or later in order to run Zoom Events and join the session smoothly.
Zoom is for you. We help you express ideas, connect to others, and build toward a future limited only by your imagination. Our frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and we have set the standard for innovation ever since. That is why we are an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for large enterprises, small businesses, and individuals alike. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom.
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ZUG, Switzerland, Sept. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Journalists and other readers should disregard the news release entitled “The Casper Association and Gitcoin Partner to Host the Casper Friendly Hackathon,” issued September 8, 2021 at 14:14 ET over GlobeNewswire. A new version of the release will be sent through the Casper Association.
Many people in Myanmar support the National Unity Government’s (NUG) declaration of war against the military junta despite the threat of added instability and inflation, sources in the country said Wednesday, a day after the shadow government leadership announced the move.
The call to arms and declaration of a state of emergency by NUG interim president Duwa Lashi La Tuesday prompted residents of the country’s biggest cities, Yangon and Mandalay, to rush to stock up on supplies, while reports of attacks by PDF and armed ethnic groups on government troops and military sites trickled in.
In a video address on social media Duwa Lashi La said the military had not only seized control of the country by force through a Feb. 1 coup d’état, but also violated the livelihoods and property of Myanmar’s 54 million citizens, necessitating its immediate overthrow.
In his address, the leader of the five-month-old NUG said peaceful resistance had failed to convince the junta of the need to hand power back to the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government and that the people of Myanmar would no longer accept oppression “with their heads bowed.”
He also urged People’s Defense Force (PDF) militias and armed ethnic groups to “target the military” and called on local administrators to cease their work, while asking the public to avoid travel and to store food and medicine for the duration of a state of emergency.
On Wednesday, citizens interviewed by RFA’s Myanmar Service said they supported the NUG declaration, which came weeks after it announced plans for a “D-Day” operation to purge the country of the junta through a popular uprising supported by a network of PDF groups formed to protect the public from the military. Several expressed a willingness to join in “the people’s revolution” citing the military’s oppression of innocent civilians since February.
“Almost every day during the past seven months, we have lived a life of fear and anxiety,” said a 35-year-old man in Myanmar’s largest city Yangon, who left his wife and son behind to help unseat the junta.
“Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and decided to join the fight. I don’t care if I must give up my life. I will take part in this battle in any role I can, whether as a runner or a combat soldier.”
A woman in the city said the price of a bag of rice had risen from 46,000 kyats (U.S. $28) to 50,000 kyats overnight following the NUG announcement, while a can of cooking oil rose from 20,000 kyats to 25,000 kyats within the same period.
However, she said that there is “nothing worse than life under military rule” and that she would willingly deal with inflation if it meant a return to democracy for Myanmar.
Even residents of the capital Naypyidaw, which is home to the military leadership, expressed support for the NUG declaration on Wednesday.
“This was a day that the whole community had been looking forward to—the day when we must all unite and fight,” said a man in Pyinmana, near the capital.
“I think the road is now open. I saw some elderly people in their 70s, 80s, talking so enthusiastically about this and we didn’t know whether to laugh or not. They are also trying to find ways to assist through whatever role they can play.”
A 40-year-old man from Monywa in Sagaing region told RFA that he welcomed the announcement and believes the only way forward is to create a new nation through struggle.
“Now the people are awakened. The PDF forces can now come together and carry out plans in a more organized way,” he said.
“If the NUG can continue to provide support for them, the people can begin fighting for a new nation and success will follow sooner or later.”
People’s Defense Force (PDF) militia members stand at attention in an undated photo. NUG Ministry of Defense
Scorched-earth operation
In the seven months since the coup, security forces have killed 1,054 civilians and arrested at least 6,324, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)—mostly during crackdowns on anti-junta protests.
The junta says it had to unseat Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD government because the party engineered a landslide victory in Myanmar’s November 2020 election through widespread voter fraud. It has yet to present evidence of its claims and public unrest is at an all-time high.
Junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun dismissed Tuesday’s announcement, calling it an “empty statement” and suggesting that recent arrests of PDF troops and other “terrorists” would render it moot.
Government troops have been carrying out what residents on Wednesday said was a “scorched-earth” clearance operation since Sept. 3 in Sagaing region’s Kalay township, which has been the scene of some of the most frequent and deadly clashes between the military and PDF forces since the February coup.
At least eight people have been killed in the fighting over the past six days, while 16 people were arrested and thousands of villagers have fled their homes to safety, sources told RFA.
A resident of Kalay’s Yeshin village, who declined to be named, said the bodies of the eight were discovered with gunshot wounds along a local road on Monday and have since been cremated. Among them were three PDF members, two men who were interrogated and killed after returning to the area to feed their livestock, and others who may have been workers from elsewhere that came to harvest the local sesame fields, he said.
A representative of the Kalay PDF told RFA that his group had carried out bombings near the military Tactical Command headquarters and main police station in Kalay on Tuesday, while clashes between the militia and the military in Kalay’s Doe New and Kyauk Phu villages had left at least a dozen government troops dead and 10 critically injured since Sept. 3.
RFA was unable to independently verify the number of casualties.
Residents flee fighting in Sagaing region’s Kalay township, in an undated photo. Citizen journalist
Villagers at risk
Meanwhile, sources told RFA that more than 10,000 people have fled more than a dozen villages in Kalay township since February, and as the military’s presence has grown in the area, it has become increasingly harder for the displaced to get food and medicine.
“It’s real hell, whether you are living in the village or in the jungle,” said a resident of Yeshin village.
“People lack access to clean water and suffer from mosquitoes. The elderly and children have it the worst.”
Sources said that soldiers regularly burn homes when raiding villages or loot them. Troops arrested at least 13 villagers in Kalay’s Tinthar village on Monday and another three the following day, said one resident.
“The military has said they would teach us a lesson and people from all villages in the area are fleeing their homes,” the Tinthar villager said.
A resident of Kalay said security is now very tight in the town, with security forces in civilian clothing stationed at police stations, banks, and office buildings.
“They seem to be gathering intelligence and we feel really insecure,” the resident said.
Sources told RFA that soldiers in Kalay have killed more than 50 people and arrested around 100 in the township.
Chin state clashes
Fighting also broke out between the military and a local militia in Chin state following the NUG announcement when members of the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) attacked government troop positions in Hakha township at around 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday, sources said.
Following the clash, the military launched a mortar attack in the area, wounding a resident and damaging six homes, according to the wounded man’s son, who said he heard around two dozen explosions during the salvo.
On Wednesday, troops were stationed in front of the Marlar Temple and Commercial Bank in Hakha and the atmosphere was tense, he said.
A spokesman for the CDF in Hakha told RFA that his group had suffered no casualties during the Tuesday attack, or during an earlier skirmish on Monday, but said that the driver of a military vehicle was killed in the latter engagement and three other troops were believed “seriously injured.” A civilian was injured by a stray bullet fired by the CDF, he added.
A shootout also occurred on Tuesday evening between the military and the CDF near Kanpetlet Police Station in Chin state, the militia said, although details of the fighting were not immediately clear.
A spokesman for the CDF noted that his group had vowed to follow the NUG declaration and launch a joint uprising against the military and suggested that fighting would escalate in the weeks to come.
“Even before D-Day, we had been hitting them at every opportunity,” he said.
“Now that D-Day has been announced, we have plans for more attacks everywhere. It will be even more severe. I’d like to urge police personnel and soldiers to join hands with the people as soon as possible.”
Calls to military spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun seeking comment on the situations in Sagaing region and Chin state went unanswered on Wednesday.
Reported by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
