Back to bag the best news website category for the second time in three years, Manoramaonline.com has emerged the star of WAN-Ifra's South Asian Digital Media Awards competition.

Now the digital version of the Kerala-based Malayala Manorama newspaper will hope to reprise its 2016 performance, when it went on to win the global 'best news website' award.

One of the largest regional language news websites in India, it also took second place for its Manorama Mobile offering.

In its fourth year, the South Asian Digital Media Awards attracted more than 80 entries which were evaluated by an international jury.

BBC News, The Wire, NDTV Hop, Arre, Sangbad Pratidin, Prothom Alo, and The Hindu are also this year's winners. The competition recognises publishers which have adopted digital media and mobile strategies as part of their total product offering to meet the major changes in how people consume news today.

Trophies will be presented at the Digital Media India 2020 conference in Dehli on February 18, with 'gold' winners in each category going forward to the World Digital Media Awards, winners of which will be presented at WAN-Ifra's World News Media Congress in Zaragoza, Spain (June 17-19).

The award for 'best news startup' went to The Wire (English) run by Foundation for Independent Journalism. The Wire also bagged gold in the 'Best Use of Online Video' category for its web series Sadak Se Sansad, which covered stories from 55 Lok Sabha constituencies across India.
In two categories - best marketing campaign for a news brand and best native advertising/branded content campaign - the gold awards were shared by two contestants each. Sangbad Pratidin's Augmented Reality Face Filters during Durga Puja - 'Pujor Face' - fetched it the top position for the best marketing campaign. It also won the bronze medal in the same category with its 'MaaClicks' campaign. The Hindu's #UnderMyWatch campaign made it the other top scorer in the same category. The Hindu also emerged winner in the best paid content strategy with its 'The Hindu+' programme.
In the best native advertising category, Prothom Alo's 'Alor Poth' bagged gold while ABP's 'Shusthyotar Jonyo' took the top spot.

Winners in each category are as follows:

1. Best Data Visualisation
Gold - BBC News - How many promises did the Narendra Modi government keep?
Silver - The Federal - Chandrayaan 2 mission
Bronze - Prothom Alo - Prothom Alo - Election Portal

2. Best Digital News Startup
Gold - Foundation for Independent Journalism - The Wire English
Silver - The Federal
Bronze - ETV Bharat

3. Best Digital Project to Engage Younger/Millennial Audience
Gold - NDTV Convergence - NDTV Hop
Silver - Sangbad Pratidin - Pujor Face - Augmented Reality Face Filters during Durga Puja
Bronze - BBC News - BBC's Beyond Fake News Project

4. Best in Lifestyle, Sports, Entertainment Website or Mobile Services
Gold - Arre
Silver - The Hindu - Sportstar

5. Best in Social Media Engagement
Gold - M M Publications (Vanitha) - Ivide nalla vishesham campaign
Silver - BBC Media Action (India) - #FlushKeBaad: A social media initiative for public awareness on faecal sludge management
Bronze - The Daily Star - Bangladesh in World Cup

6. Best Marketing Campaign for News Brand
Gold - The Hindu - #UnderMyWatch
Gold - Sangbad Pratidin - Pujor Face - Augmented Reality Face Filters during Durga Puja
Silver - ABP - Santanan Dehi
Bronze - Sangbad Pratidin - MaaClicks

7. Best Native Advertising / Branded Content Campaign
Gold - Prothom Alo - Alor Poth
Gold - ABP - Shusthyotar Jonyo
Silver - Quintillion Media - The Bold Brunch
Bronze - Times Network Digital - Jan Nivesh

8. Best News Website or Mobile Service
Gold - Malayala Manorama - Manorama Online
Silver - Malayala Manorama - Manorama Mobile
Bronze - Quintillion Media - The Quint

9. Best Paid Content Strategy
Gold - The Hindu - The Hindu+
Silver - Quintype - BQ Blue
Bronze - Vikatan - Appappo

10. Best Use of Online Video
Gold - Foundation for Independent Journalism - The Wire - Sadak Se Sansad
Silver - BBC News - Ink of the Earth
Bronze - Quintillion Media - The Making of Lynchistan: Killing in the Name of the Cow
Bronze - BBC News - Hand in Hand: A story of faith and friendship at Kumbh
Bronze - Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing - Mathrubhumi.com fire and flame.