In June, Reuters won a record four Society of Publishers in Asia Awards and four honorable mentions in what is described as Asia’s most distinguished journalism awards contest. Among our winners was a series of stories on the deeper agenda behind ‘Abenomics,’ by Leika Kihara, Taiga Uranaka, Linda Sieg, Yuko Yoshikawa, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Tomasz Janowski and Yuko Kubota. The Abenomics coverage won the top prize in the Explanatory category, where Reuters also received an honorable mention for the series “Breakout.” In a Reuters Best: Journalist Spotlight Q&A, correspondent Linda Sieg offers an inside look at the reporting behind the award-winning coverage.
Q. What made this winning series stand out?
A. I think what made the coverage in “The deeper agenda behind ‘Abenomics’” – the special report that I worked on as part of the series – outstanding was the depth and scope of the article, combined with telling and colorful anecdotes. The report reveals/shares the story of how Abe achieved the rare feat of staging a political comeback after resigning abruptly in 2007, and what his real priorities are in terms of policies. Although other media were also intensely focused on Abe, only Reuters examined his agenda in such comprehensive breadth and depth, tapping such an extensive range of influential sources.
Q. What types of reporting/sourcing were involved?
A. The special report that I worked on was reported by a team of three including myself, Tetsushi Kajimoto and Yuko Yoshikawa (who pulled together the Japanese language version), over the space of more than a month and included interviews with some two dozen allies and political insiders as well as experts.
Q. What was the hardest part about reporting this story?
A. While obtaining the interviews with such key political and economic advisers, politicians, etc. could have been difficult, the fact that team members already had excellent sources smoothed the path to access. So, the hardest part was probably composing the article in a way that both revealed something new for experts following Japanese politics and policies, and yet had appeal and impact for a wider audience interested in, but not specializing in, Japanese matters.
Q. What makes you passionate about journalism?
A. What makes me passionate about journalism is that there is always something new, always the challenge of cultivating new sources, digging out vital information that others don’t know, learning something new myself and explaining complex issues to a wide audience. My hope is that many people will read the articles and be better informed, sometimes entertained and generally intrigued. (The same goes for my specific beat – which includes coverage of Japanese politics, diplomacy, security policies, macro-economic policies and social phenomena.)
Q. What does winning a SOPA Award for this reporting mean to you and to Reuters?
A. Winning a SOPA award is great recognition for the reporters who worked on the package of stories (which also included stories on the BOJ and other aspects of “Abenomics” by Leika, Yuko Kubota, Tomasz and Taiga, as well as the “Deeper agenda” Special Report by myself, Yuko Yoshikawa and Tetsushi), and great recognition for Reuters as a whole for the efforts we are putting into in-depth reporting. One hopes that the result is to raise the profile of Reuters with clients, potential clients and other media.
To read the latest from Linda Sieg, click here.
