By Our Staff
The Indian Express Group hosted the 16th edition of the Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism on March 22, 2023, in Delhi, with Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, the Chief Justice of India, as the Chief Guest. The ceremony honored journalists from both print and broadcast media who have demonstrated exceptional strength of character and integrity while reporting news under challenging or dangerous circumstances.
Addressing the audience in his speech, the chief guest of the evening, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Chief Justice of India, said: “The media is the fourth pillar in the conception of the State, and thus an integral component of democracy. A functional and healthy democracy must encourage the development of journalism as an institution that can ask difficult questions to the establishment – or as it is commonly known, ‘speak truth to power.’ The vibrancy of any democracy is compromised when the press is prevented from doing exactly this. The press must remain free if a country is to remain a democracy. India has a great legacy of newspapers which have acted as catalysts of social and political change. Many journalists, both in our country as well as across the world, work in difficult and unfriendly conditions. But they are relentless in the face of adversity and opposition. It is precisely this quality which must not be lost. As citizens, we may not agree with the approach that a journalist has adopted or the conclusions that they reach. I, too, find myself disagreeing with many journalists. After all, who amongst us agrees with all other people? But disagreement must not distort into hatred and hatred must not be permitted to evolve into violence.”
Adding to this, Viveck Goenka, CMD, Indian Express group, said: “An independent judiciary and an independent press are — and will remain — inalienable parts of our democracy. Do what is right irrespective of who is before you, who it’s affecting, and, in this case, who you are challenging” and lauding the CJI’s work, the CMD said “his innovative initiatives to open up court hearings; his use of technology to increase public access to the bench; his moves to bring transparency into the court’s decision-making; his thoughtful, nuanced reflections on the role of the court and its limitations; his acknowledgements of differences. All these are enduring reforms that, I am sure, will strengthen the judiciary and deepen public trust in it.”
As a thank you note, Raj Kamal Jha, Editor-in-chief, The Indian Express, adds “The evening was a “very special story”. 37 pieces of powerful reporting from 27 newsrooms, two books that enriched our understanding of what shaped India and a wonderful applause that cuts across party lines.” Thanking the Chief Justice, he said “Your vision for a free media and your notes of caution affirm our faith that the Supreme Court will remain to borrow a metaphor you used in your recent speech, the north star. For journalists and journalism, year after year, case after case, the star light has illuminated the road ahead. From scrapping the ban of a publication, Romesh Thapar 1950 to protecting the media from executive interference in Indian Express 1984, to extending free speech online, Shreya Singhal 2015 to ensuring journalists personal liberty in Arnab Goswami 2020, the court has kept pushing back at the state to expand our freedoms. That’s why when the lights dim, when a reporter is arrested under a law meant for terrorists, when another is arrested for asking a question, when a university teacher is picked up for sharing a cartoon, a college student for a speech, a film star for a comment, or when a rejoinder to a story comes in the form of a police FIR, we turn to the north star for its guiding light. More so as Chairman Mr Viveck Goenka said a free media and an independent court are kindred spirits. The health of one has serious implications for the health of the other. Both secure an invaluable space. The work we celebrate this evening comes from that space. “Thank you to the winners, we know that an abusive social-media post is more fun to read, summoning righteous rage, needs no effort, being afraid is very easy, but its reporting like yours with fairness and accuracy, with a rigour for detail and a respect for the contrary that best makes the case for journalism.”
The jury for the 2019 awards included Justice B.N. Srikrishna, jurist and former judge of the Supreme Court of India; Tom Goldstein, professor and dean of the Jindal School of Journalism and Communications at O.P. Jindal Global University; Dr. SY Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commission of India; and Pamela Philipose, journalist and senior fellow at the Indian Council for Social Science Research. The jury for the 2020 awards included Justice B.N. Srikrishna, jurist and former judge of the Supreme Court of India; Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, founding dean of Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) and director of the International Institute for Higher Education Research & Capacity Building (IIHEd); Dr. SY Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commission of India; and K.G. Suresh, Vice Chancellor of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, Bhopal.
The winners for both 2019 and 2020 were felicitated at this year’s ceremony, as the winners for 2019 were announced digitally due to the pandemic.
The winners of the 15th & 16th Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism which were felicitate during the event are:
S.No | Media | Award Categories | Year | Name | Publication
1) Print | Hindi | Anand Choudhary | 2019 | Dainik Bhaskar
2) Broadcast | – | Sushil Kumar Mohapatra | – | NDTV India
3) Print | Hindi | 2020 | Jyoti Yadav | The Print
4) Print | – | – | Bismee Taskin | The Print
5) Broadcast | – | – | Ashutosh Mishra | Aaj Tak
6) Print | Regional Languages | 2019 | Aniket Vasant Sathe | Loksatta
7) Broadcast | – | – | Sunil Baby | Media | One TV
8) Print | Regional Languages | 2020 | Sreelakshmi M | Mathrubhumi.Com
Rose Maria Vincent Mathrubhumi.Com
Shabitha Mk Mathrubhumi.Com
9) Broadcast | Shrikant Bangale | BBC News | Marathi
10) Print | Uncovering India Invisible | 2019 | Shiv Sahay Singh | The Hindu
Broadcast Tridip K Mandal The Quint
Print Uncovering India Invisible 2020 Team Thomson Reuters
11) Broadcast | Sanjay Nandan | ABP News
12) Print | Reporting on Politics and Government | 2019 | Dheeraj Mishra | The Wire
Broadcast Seemi Pasha The Wire
13) Broadcast | Reporting on Politics and Government | 2020 | Bipasha Mukherjea | India Today TV
14) Print | Environment, Sciences and Technology Reporting | 2019 | Team PARI People’s Archive Of Rural India
15) Broadcast | Team Scroll.in Scroll.in
16) Print Environment, Sciences and Technology Reporting 2020 Manish Mishra Amar Ujala
17) Broadcast Faye D’Souza Freemedia Interactive
Arun Rengaswamy Freemedia Interactive
19) Print Business & Economic Journalism 2019 Sumant Banerji Business Today
21) Broadcast Ayushi Jindal India Today TV
Print Business & Economic Journalism 2020 Omkar Khandekar HT Mint
23) Print Investigative Reporting 2019 Kaunain Sheriff M The Indian Express
25) Broadcast S. Mahesh Kumar Manorama News
Print Investigative Reporting 2020 Tanushree Pandey India Today
27) Broadcast Milan Sharma India Today TV
29) Print Foreign Correspondent 2020 Joanna Slater The Washington Post
Print Sports Journalism 2019 Nihal Koshie The Indian Express
31) Broadcast Team NewsX NewsX
33) Print Sports Journalism 2020 Mihir Vasavda The Indian Express
Broadcast Ajay Singh NDTV India
35) Print Reporting on Art, Culture & Entertainment 2020 Tora Agarwala indianexpress.com
37) Print Civic Journalism 2019 Chaitanya Marpakwar Mumbai Mirror
Print Civic Journalism 2020 Shaikh Atikh Rashid The Indian Express
39) Print Photo Journalism 2019 Zishaan A Latif The Caravan
41) Print Photo Journalism 2020 Tarun Rawat The Times of India
Print Books 2019 Arun Mohan Sukumar Penguin Random House India
43) Print Books 2020 Tripurdaman Singh Penguin Random House India
