Investor News

Ford Group Philippines President Rick Baker expresses Ford’s commitment to recognizing excellence in automotive journalism through his HFA keynote address

Ford also marks 100th anniversary of first Model T

July 11, 2008, Makati City. The Henry Ford Awards (HFA), the country’s premier award-giving body for excellence in automotive journalism, has kicked off this year’s search for outstanding works in the field. The launch coincides with the 100th year anniversary of the car credited with "putting the world on wheels," the Model T. Henry Ford's iconic vehicle, which officially brought the world into the age of the "horseless carriage," is also responsible for hundreds of innovations that jumpstarted the automotive industry.

Now on its eighth year, the HFA has been unparalleled in recognizing great works and talents in the automotive beat--from photographs, product review stories to motoring columns. Truly the first of its kind, the HFA boasts of 30 journalists who form part of its Hall of Fame in its long established history.

“Ford recognizes the invaluable support given by the local Media in enabling it to communicate its brand messages to its target consumers. This year, we want to push the envelope even further by encouraging young talents who, in due time, will become the trailblazers in the automotive journalism industry,” said Ford Group Philippines President Rick Baker.

“This forward-looking mindset has been encouraged at Ford ever since the Ford Model T was built 100 years ago. Even at the time, Henry Ford already experimented using ethanol for Model T. To this day, this pioneering car remains an inspiration for innovation and sustainability at Ford, prompting us to sustain our advocacy on the Flexi-fuel Vehicle Program,” expressed Baker.

A New Breed of Journalists

For this year’s HFA, a new category has been added to honor student journalists, paving the way for the next generation of writers, photographers, and broadcasters covering the automotive sector. Also, a number of the HFA Hall-of-Fame awardees are set to mentor college student writers through writing clinics.

Eligible to join are college students who are not associated, affiliated or employed with any mainstream media, on either full-time or part-time basis. This category is not exclusive to journalism students and the story should have been published in their college or university publication within the period of October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008. Entrants should be enrolled during the same period and should submit proof of education, an endorsement letter from the college dean and a copy of the entire college or university publication in which the submitted story was published.

The HFA has continually recognized the different facets of automotive writing through its nine regular categories:

• Published Photograph for Newspaper
• Published Photograph for Magazine
• Automotive Test Drive/Automotive Event Story
• Automotive Online Feature Story
• Motoring Column Issue
• Environment and Conservation Feature Story
• Safety Feature Story
• Motorsports Feature Story
• Automotive Television Feature

The special categories include the in-depth Automotive Industry feature; the Ford and Mazda feature stories; and the best broadsheet motoring section, which is judged based on overall look, content, relevance, and consistency.

Entries may be nominated by editors, publishers, TV producers and fellow journalists, or entered by the participating journalists themselves.

Cash prizes are as follows: P40, 000.00 for winners of the HFA regular categories; P50,000 and a trophy for the winners of the HFA Special Categories; and a cash prize of P20,000.000 and trophy for the Student’s Category: Automotive Feature Story .

The deadline for submission of entries is October 1, 2008, no later than 5 pm. Secretariat contact: Ogilvy PR/Manila, Tel: 885-0001 loc 165. For more information and to download entry forms, log on to www.ford.com.ph.

he Henry Ford Awards is the premier competition aimed at nurturing talent among the automotive media in the Philippines. It is aimed at encouraging quality and substantive reporting about the country’s automotive industry. The awards program is part of the commitment of Ford Motor Company Philippines to give due recognition to journalists who have supported the automotive industry by providing consumers with accurate news reports and information.