Story that spotlights trash generated by blind boxes bags ST gold and silver at Asian Media Awards

SPH Media managing director Kuek Yu Chuang (centre, blue top) with SPH Media winners and attendees at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards at Conrad Singapore Orchard on Oct 26, 2026.

Published Oct 26, 2026, 11:10 PM

Updated Oct 26, 2026, 11:10 PM

SINGAPORE – There is a thrill in not knowing what you are going to get when opening a blind box.

But the unboxing experience hides an ugly truth.

Each blind box you collect could be contributing to trash exceeding the volume of a typical 12-storey HDB slab block – what was estimated to have been generated from almost $2.6 billion in revenue by blind-box maker Pop Mart in the first half of 2025.

A Straits Times interactive story that highlights this won gold for Best Climate Impact Story and silver for Best Climate Infographics at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards 2026, held at Conrad Singapore Orchard hotel on Oct 26.

All in, The Straits Times swept up five golds and seven silvers at the awards, which are organised by the World Association of News Publishers ( WAN-IFRA) .

The awards aim to recognise outstanding achievements in journalism, visual storytelling, audience engagement, business innovation and media leadership.

“This year’s winners demonstrate the creativity, dedication and impact of the region’s news media, from reporting that brings important issues to light to initiatives that connect with communities and build sustainable businesses,” said WAN-IFRA.

ST’s interactive story – titled The Thrill Lasts Seconds, The Trash Lasts Forever – features a virtual blind-box simulator where you attempt to get all seven Labubus in the Have A Seat collection.

It then calculates how much you have spent, and its environmental impact.

The Thrill Lasts Seconds, The Trash Lasts Forever – features a virtual blind-box simulator where you attempt to get all seven Labubus in the Have A Seat collection. PHOTO: ST DIGITAL GRAPHICS

The Thrill Lasts Seconds, The Trash Lasts Forever – features a virtual blind-box simulator where you attempt to get all seven Labubus in the Have A Seat collection.

PHOTO: ST DIGITAL GRAPHICS

Charlotte Tan, a digital graphics designer who worked on this story, was glad her team’s efforts were recognised.

She said: “We felt that the thrill consumers get from pulling a mystery item can drown out thoughts of its waste and the money spent, so we wanted to bring attention to that.

“There was a lot of thought put into the research, the interactivity and the visuals from a big picture to the smallest of details.”

Another ST visual story that bagged two awards looked at how noise affects homes – No Quiet At Home: The Reality Of Living With Singapore’s Traffic Noise.

Over a period of six months, ST recorded more than 100 hours of audio in 25 homes near airports, major roads, and MRT lines.

Over a period of six months, ST recorded more than 100 hours of audio in 25 homes near airports, major roads, and MRT lines. PHOTO: ST DIGITAL GRAPHICS

It found that many homes experienced noise levels that, if sustained daily, would exceed both the World Health Organisation (53dB) and Singapore’s National Environment Agency (57dB) safety thresholds.

The story also dove into why humans respond to sounds at the same volume differently. The difference lies in a sound’s roughness – how grating or buzzing a sound feels – and its sharpness – how piercing a sound is.

This story bagged a gold for Best Health News Story and a silver for Best Health Infographics at the awards.

Speaking on the idea behind the story, Shannon Teoh, a digital graphics designer who worked on the story said: “I feel honoured and excited that our team’s creative and technical momentum is getting more recognition in the industry.

“Within our team, I hope it can motivate us with ambition to continue setting a global benchmark for future projects.”

Under The Red Light: A Tale Of Two Sex Workers was also a standout at the awards, bagging ST a gold for Best General News Infographics.

It tells the story of Linh, a Vietnamese mother escaping abuse, and Dada, a Thai university graduate with an exit plan, who both see sex work in Singapore as a calculated risk – a means to support their families and build a future.

Intending to humanise sex workers, the story followed the lives of two sex workers in graphic novel form. PHOTO: ST ART

Intending to humanise sex workers, the story followed the lives of two sex workers in graphic novel form.

Assistant art editor Chng Choon Hiong, who led the artists on the project , wanted to build a visually compelling narrative that would work across print, social media and online.

He said: “I hope it brings more readers to the story and encourages them to approach the subject with more empathy.”

Straits Times editor Jaime Ho said: “Our audiences are always at the forefront of all we do, but such affirmation from our global counterparts are always welcome, and will always drive us to be even better.

“This year, I am particularly encouraged that so much of our public service journalism has been recognised. This is work that impacts our community directly, and we hope touches the lives of Singaporeans in a very direct way.”

In total, 47 awards were given out across 17 categories. Other SPH Media titles also won four awards.

The Straits Times’ honour roll

Best Climate Impact Story – The thrill lasts seconds, the trash lasts forever

Best Health News Story – No quiet at home: The reality of living with Singapore’s traffic noise

Best General News Infographics – Under the red light: A tale of two sex workers

Best Health Infographics – Seniors caring for seniors: What caregiving looks like in a super-aged society

Best Climate Photography – ‘Byte-size’ plants: Singapore Herbarium goes online

Best Community Service Project – Vaping: The Invisible Crisis

Best Climate Impact Story – Floods, storms upended their lives in Bangladesh; Singapore gives them chance to rebuild

Best Health News Story – Seniors caring for seniors: What caregiving looks like in a super-aged society

Best General News Infographics – 60 Singapore Objects

Best Health Infographics – No quiet at home: The reality of living with Singapore’s traffic noise

Best Climate Infographics – The thrill lasts seconds, the trash lasts forever

Best Lifestyle Photography – Paint Singapore red: Celebrating National Day with infrared photography

SPH Media’s honour roll

Best Revenue Diversification Project – The Car Expo 2026 (SPH Media)

Best Advertising Initiative – SG60: Past Present Future (Content Lab)

Best Young Audience Initiative – Barely Thriving (Thrive by The Business Times)

Best Business and Financial News Story – Cambodia scam scandal (The Business Times)

2026 年 10 月 26 日，新加坡报业控股媒体董事总经理郭宇庄（中，穿蓝色上衣者）与新加坡报业控股媒体获奖者和出席者在新加坡康莱德酒店举行的 WAN-IFRA 亚洲媒体奖颁奖典礼上合影。

发布于2026年10月26日晚上11:10

更新于2026年10月26日晚上11:10

新加坡——打开盲盒时，不知道会得到什么，这种感觉令人兴奋。

但开箱体验背后却隐藏着丑陋的真相。

你收集的每一个盲盒都可能造成超过一栋典型的 12 层组屋楼板体积的垃圾——据估计，盲盒制造商 Pop Mart 在 2025 年上半年近 26 亿美元的收入产生了如此巨大的垃圾。

《海峡时报》一篇重点报道此事的互动报道在 2026 年 WAN-IFRA 亚洲媒体奖颁奖典礼上荣获最佳气候影响报道金奖和最佳气候信息图表银奖。颁奖典礼于 10 月 26 日在新加坡康莱德乌节酒店举行。

总而言之，《海峡时报》在由世界新闻出版商协会（WAN-IFRA）组织的颁奖典礼上获得了五项金奖和七项银奖。

这些奖项旨在表彰在新闻报道、视觉叙事、受众互动、商业创新和媒体领导力方面取得的杰出成就。

“今年的获奖者展现了该地区新闻媒体的创造力、奉献精神和影响力，从揭露重要问题的报道到与社区建立联系和发展可持续业务的举措，”世界报业与新闻出版协会（WAN-IFRA）表示。

ST 的互动故事——名为《刺激转瞬即逝，垃圾永存》——包含一个虚拟盲盒模拟器，玩家可以在其中尝试获得“Have A Seat”系列中的所有七个 Labubus。

然后它会计算你花了多少钱，以及这对环境造成的影响。

《刺激转瞬即逝，垃圾永存》——游戏包含一个虚拟盲盒模拟器，玩家需要尝试收集“Have A Seat”系列中的全部七个Labubus玩偶。图片：ST DIGITAL GRAPHICS

刺激转瞬即逝，垃圾永存——游戏特色在于一个虚拟盲盒模拟器，玩家可以尝试收集“Have A Seat”系列中的所有七个Labubus玩偶。

照片：ST DIGITAL GRAPHICS

参与此报道的数字图形设计师夏洛特·谭很高兴她的团队的努力得到了认可。

她说：“我们觉得消费者从抽取神秘商品中获得的刺激感可能会让他们忽略由此造成的浪费和金钱损失，所以我们想引起人们对这一点的关注。

“从整体到最小的细节，我们在研究、互动性和视觉效果方面都投入了大量的心血。”

《海峡时报》另一篇获得两项大奖的视觉报道探讨了噪音对家庭的影响——《家中没有安静：新加坡交通噪音的真实生活》。

在六个月的时间里，《海峡时报》在机场、主要道路和地铁线路附近的 25 户人家中录制了超过 100 小时的音频。

在六个月的时间里，ST公司在机场、主要道路和地铁线路附近的25户人家中录制了超过100小时的音频。图片：ST DIGITAL GRAPHICS

调查发现，许多家庭的噪音水平如果每天持续下去，将超过世界卫生组织（53分贝）和新加坡国家环境局（57分贝）的安全阈值。

文章还深入探讨了为什么人类对相同音量的声音会有不同的反应。这种差异在于声音的粗糙度——声音听起来是否刺耳或嗡嗡作响——以及声音的尖锐度——声音的穿透力。

这篇报道在颁奖典礼上获得了最佳健康新闻报道金奖和最佳健康信息图表银奖。

谈到故事背后的理念，参与故事创作的数字图形设计师 Shannon Teoh 说：“我感到荣幸和兴奋，我们团队的创意和技术实力正在获得业界的更多认可。

“我希望这能激励我们团队，让我们更有雄心壮志，继续为未来的项目树立全球标杆。”

《红灯下：两个性工作者的故事》也在颁奖典礼上脱颖而出，为《海峡时报》赢得了最佳综合新闻信息图表金奖。

它讲述了越南母亲玲逃离虐待，以及泰国大学毕业生达达制定了出路的故事。两人都将在新加坡从事性工作视为一种经过深思熟虑的冒险——一种养家糊口、建设未来的手段。

为了展现性工作者的人性一面，这部图像小说以两位性工作者的生活为主题。图片：ST ART

该故事旨在展现性工作者的人性一面，以图画小说的形式讲述了两位性工作者的生活。

负责该项目的助理美术编辑 Chng Choon Hiong 带领艺术家们，希望打造一个视觉上引人入胜的叙事，使其能够在印刷品、社交媒体和网络上发挥作用。

他说：“我希望这能吸引更多读者关注这个故事，并鼓励他们以更富同理心的态度看待这个主题。”

《海峡时报》编辑 Jaime Ho 表示：“我们的读者始终是我们一切工作的重中之重，但我们始终欢迎来自全球同行的这种肯定，并将始终激励我们做得更好。”

“今年，我尤其感到鼓舞的是，我们大量的公共服务新闻报道获得了认可。这些工作直接影响着我们的社区，我们希望它们能以非常直接的方式触动新加坡人的生活。”

本次共颁发了17个类别的47个奖项。新加坡报业控股旗下其他刊物也获得了4个奖项。

《海峡时报》荣誉榜

最佳气候影响故事——刺激转瞬即逝，垃圾却永存

最佳健康新闻报道——家中不再安静：新加坡交通噪音带来的真实生活

最佳综合新闻信息图——红灯下：两位性工作者的故事

最佳健康信息图——老年人照顾老年人：在超老龄化社会中，照护工作是什么样的

最佳气候摄影——“字节大小”的植物：新加坡植物标本馆上线

最佳社区服务项目——电子烟：隐形危机

最佳气候影响故事——洪水和风暴颠覆了孟加拉国人民的生活；新加坡为他们提供重建的机会

最佳健康新闻报道——老年人照顾老年人：在超老龄化社会中，照护工作是什么样的

最佳综合新闻信息图——60个新加坡地标

最佳健康信息图——家中不再安静：新加坡交通噪音的真实写照

最佳气候信息图——刺激转瞬即逝，垃圾却永存

最佳生活方式摄影——用红外摄影庆祝新加坡国庆日：让新加坡染成红色

新加坡报业控股媒体荣誉榜

最佳收入多元化项目——2026年汽车博览会（SPH Media）

最佳广告创意 – SG60：过去、现在、未来（内容实验室）

最佳青年观众计划——勉强生存（Thrive by The Business Times）

最佳商业和财经新闻报道——柬埔寨诈骗丑闻（《商业时报》）