The 23rd edition of the annual Journalism Awards for Excellence programme culminating with the ‘Awards Night’ will be held in the Empire Ballroom of the Mount Lavinia Hotel on Tuesday, December 13.

The programme is organised by The Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka in partnership with the Sri Lanka Press Institute and its affiliated unions, the Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka, Free Media Movement and the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association.

The annual programme is to recognise professionalism in journalism and reward those who have excelled.This year 34 journalists will receive the ‘Pen Trophy’ Award and 17 others will receive Certificates of Merit along with five Lifetime Achievement Awardees namely: Daya Lankapura, A. D. Ranjith Kumara, P. Manikavasagam, Chitra Weerarathna and P. B. Elangasinha. (There profile appears below).

A young reporter will awarded the Lakshman Kadirgamar scholarship to study in the leading Indian college of Journalism, MASCOM in Kerala, India. The scholar will be flown courtesy SriLankan Airlines.

Chief Editor Manik de Silva of the Sunday Island will be the Chief Guest at the event this year.The main sponsors of the event are John Keells Holdings, Dialog, LOLC, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation and Olu bottled water. Other sponsors are: Sri Lanka Cricket and Insee Cement.

The Mount Lavinia Hotel is the host-hotel.A total of 251 applications from nine newspaper publishing groups was received by the distinguished eight-member independent Panel of Judges this year, said Journalism Awards for Excellence Convener Sukumar Rockwood.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

This year the Life Time Achievement Award will be presented to the following senior journalists who have served the profession.

Daya Lankapura

Daya Lankapura, has served in the media field for over 55 years. He began his journalistic career at the Aththa newspaper as a reporter in 1966 while studying at the Colombo University. He joined the Daily Divana editorial staff of the Upali Newspapers Limited at its inception and served as its parliamentary and political reporter. Subsequently, he joined Lake House briefly as the deputy editor for the Dinamina in 1994 and later associate editor, Silumina and editor of Janatha from May 1994 to May 2004. He later accepted the post of news editor, Sunday Rivira. He also served as Night Editor, Lakbima, News Editor, Irudina, News Editor and Editorial Advisor to Divaina. During this period he was editor of the Information Department’s web site,news.lkuntil July 2020. He has followed journalism courses in the Western Ontario University in Canada, Bradford University, Britain and the Media Training Institute in South Korea. He is currently a visiting lecturer at the mass media section of the Sri Pali Campus of the University of Colombo.

A .D. Ranjith Kumara

A. D. Ranjith Kumara, held the post of Editor in the weekly newspapers of Sarasaviya and Sarasi. He has been associated with journalism for five decades especially in the field of Cinema. He is a past student of Carey College and Ananda College, Colombo. Some of the books he wrote include: Kosgashandiya, Gamini Hela Cinemawe Sakvithi, Rukmani Devi Yugayaka Swarna Geethaya, Sinhala Cinemawe Ridi Rekava and Nova Paraniya Lipi Saranaiya. He has also served as a member on the Advisory Board of the State Literary Awards, Chief Organiser of the Sarasaviya Film Festival and the Sumathi Telefilm Festival. At Sumathi Group of Companies, he held the post of Working Director. He has also received the Ranapala Bodinagoda Cinema Literary Memorial Award, Cyril C. Perera Memorial Award. OCIC Award and the Sumathipala Memorial Award. He is a historian who researchers cinema. In 2017, he received the Presidential Award for Cinema Literature by the National Film Corporation.

Ponniah Manikavasagam

Ponniah Manikavasagam known as P. Manikavasagam is a veteran journalist who worked amidst trying conditions for Virakesari for over four decades. His reporting on the conflict from the conflict zone was trues and accurate thereby earning the respect from both the local and foreign media. He was stringer for the BBC for 25 years until the BBC Tamil Radio Service was suspended in 2016 and Reuters for 10 years. He also had filed stories as a Sri Lanka Correspondent for Asia Calling of Indonesia and American Free Speech Radio News both web radios for several years. He has also won the Northeastern Provincial Governor’s Award for journalism, the Kalabooshana Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

Chitra Weerarathna The Island

journalist Chitra Weerarathna had her primary and secondary education at Visakha Vidyalaya, Bambalapitiya, she earned a degree in natural sciences from the Colombo University before Chitra, as she is popularly known among scribes, cut her teeth in journalism at the now defunct Sun newspaper of the Independent Newspapers Group. She joined The Island in the early 90s and quickly carved a niche in the court rounds and no court was too small or too big for her, for the subject was literally in her blood being a daughter of the late Supreme Court Justice T. A. De S. Wijesundera. Besides, two of her sisters too had followed in their father’s footsteps. Chitra’s late husband, Dr. Susil Weerarathna was a lecturer in Chemical Engineering at the Moratuwa University.

P. B. Elangasinha

P. B. Elangasinha is an old boy of Dharmaraja College, Kandy. He joined Janatha Editorial of The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd (Lake House) as a trainee reporter in 1965. He moved to the Silumina Editorial in 1970 and assumed duties as a Sub-Editor under S. Subasinghe, Editor of Silumina. He became the Deputy Editor of Silumina in 1985. He then moved over to the Wijeya Group and joined Irida. Lankadeepa Editorial in January 1995 and is at present its Deputy Editor.