SINGAPORE \u2013 There is a thrill in not knowing what you are going to get when opening a blind box.<\/p>\n
But the unboxing experience hides an ugly truth.<\/p>\n
Each blind box you collect could be contributing to trash exceeding the volume of a typical 12-storey HDB slab block \u2013 what was estimated to have been generated from almost $2.6 billion in revenue by blind-box maker Pop Mart<\/span><\/a> in the first half of 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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).\u00a0<\/p>\n The awards aim to recognise outstanding achievements in journalism, visual storytelling, audience engagement, business innovation and media leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year\u2019s winners demonstrate the creativity, dedication and impact of the region\u2019s news media, from reporting that brings important issues to light to initiatives that connect with communities and build sustainable businesses,\u201d said WAN-IFRA.<\/p>\n ST\u2019s interactive story \u2013 titled The Thrill Lasts Seconds, The Trash Lasts Forever<\/span><\/a> \u2013\u00a0features a virtual blind-box simulator where you attempt to get all seven Labubus in the Have A Seat collection.<\/p>\n It then calculates how much you have spent, and <\/b>its environmental impact.<\/p>\n The Thrill Lasts Seconds, The Trash Lasts Forever \u2013 features a virtual blind-box simulator where you attempt to get all seven Labubus in the Have A Seat collection.<\/p>\n PHOTO: ST DIGITAL GRAPHICS<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Charlotte Tan, a digital graphics designer who <\/b>worked on this story, was glad her team\u2019s efforts were recognised.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cWe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a lot of thought put into the research, the interactivity and the visuals from a big picture to the smallest of details.\u201d<\/p>\n Another ST visual story that bagged two awards looked at how noise affects homes \u2013 No Quiet At Home: The Reality Of Living With Singapore\u2019s Traffic Noise<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n Over a period of six months, ST recorded more than 100 hours of audio in 25 homes near airports, major roads, and MRT lines.<\/p>\n It found that many homes experienced noise levels that, if sustained daily, would exceed both the World Health Organisation (53dB) and Singapore\u2019s National Environment Agency (57dB) safety thresholds.<\/p>\n Over a period of six months, ST recorded more than 100 hours of audio in 25 homes near airports, major roads, and MRT lines.<\/p>\n PHOTO: ST DIGITAL GRAPHICS<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The story also dove into why humans respond to sounds at the same volume differently. The difference lies in a sound\u2019s roughness \u2013 how grating or buzzing a sound feels \u2013 and its sharpness \u2013 how piercing a sound is.<\/p>\n This story bagged a gold for Best Health News Story and a silver for Best Health Infographics at the awards.<\/p>\n On the idea behind the story, Shannon Teoh, a digital graphics designer who worked on it said: \u201cI feel honoured and excited that our team\u2019s creative and technical momentum is getting more recognition in the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWithin our team, I hope it can motivate us to continue setting a global benchmark for future projects.\u201d<\/p>\n Under The Red Light: A Tale Of Two Sex Workers<\/span><\/a> was also a standout at the awards, bagging ST a gold for Best General News Infographics.<\/p>\n 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 \u2013 a means to support their families and build a future.<\/p>\n Intending to humanise sex workers, the story followed the lives of two sex workers in graphic novel form.<\/p>\n PHOTO: ST ART<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n 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.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI hope it brings more readers to the story and encourages them to approach the subject with more empathy.\u201d<\/p>\n Straits Times editor Jaime Ho said: \u201cOur 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n In total, 47 awards were given out across 17 categories. Other SPH Media titles also won four awards.<\/p>\n (From left) The Straits Times senior audience growth specialist Ashton Boey; assistant features editor Vera Ang; assistant ST Now editor Gabrielle Andres; associate editor Jeremy Au Yong; assistant art editor Chng Choon Hiong; digital infographics designer Shannon Teoh; and senior executive photojournalist OngWee Jin with their awards at the Wan-Ifra Asian Media Awards on Oct 26.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Best Climate Impact Story \u2013 The thrill lasts seconds, the trash lasts forever<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best Health News Story \u2013 No quiet at home: The reality of living with Singapore\u2019s traffic noise<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best General News Infographics \u2013 Under the red light: A tale of two sex workers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best Health Infographics \u2013 Seniors caring for seniors: What caregiving looks like in a super-aged society<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best Climate Photography \u2013 \u2018Byte-size\u2019 plants: Singapore Herbarium goes online<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n Best Community Service Project \u2013 Vaping: The Invisible Crisis<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best Climate Impact Story \u2013 Floods, storms upended their lives in Bangladesh; Singapore gives them chance to rebuild<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best Health News Story \u2013 Seniors caring for seniors: What caregiving looks like in a super-aged society<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best General News Infographics \u2013 60 Singapore Objects<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best Health Infographics \u2013 No quiet at home: The reality of living with Singapore\u2019s traffic noise<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best Climate Infographics \u2013 The thrill lasts seconds, the trash lasts forever<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best Lifestyle Photography \u2013 Paint Singapore red: Celebrating National Day with infrared photography<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n Best Revenue Diversification Project \u2013 The Car Expo 2026 (SPH Media)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best Advertising Initiative \u2013 SG60: Past Present Future (Content Lab)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n Best Young Audience Initiative \u2013 Barely Thriving (Thrive by The Business Times)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Best Business and Financial News Story \u2013 Cambodia scam scandal (The Business Times)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 There is a thrill in not knowing what you are going to get when opening a blind box. But the unboxing experience hides…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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The Straits Times\u2019 honour roll<\/h2>\n
Gold:<\/h3>\n
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Silver:<\/h3>\n
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SPH Media\u2019s honour roll<\/h2>\n
Gold:<\/h3>\n
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Silver:<\/h3>\n
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