LOS ANGELES: The BBC won a prestigious Online News Association award for public service journalism on Saturday for its use of the chat application WhatsApp to distribute information about Ebola in stricken areas during the 2014 outbreak.

The group was honoured for its use of a new platform to distribute lifesaving information, such as how the disease was spread and where to get help, in English and French, in format that would reach readers wherever they were.

In developing the chat app service, the BBC had decided to use graphics, texts and audio clips to get their message across, avoiding such heavy files as video clips that would burn through a user’s data.