Sunday Times 2
Cheers to 20!
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It’s been 20 years since the launch of the Journalism Awards for Excellence programme by The Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka (TEGOSL) and as journalists from all three language media walked through a newspaper-lined canopy to the Ballroom of the Mount Lavinia Hotel on Tuesday for the much-anticipated annual awards, there was an air of celebration and nostalgia combined.
A short video took the audience through some of the highlights of past ceremonies, many spotting their younger selves even as this year’s winners were feted.
Chairperson of Upali Newspapers Ltd Lakmini Welgama, who herself has steered her Group through many challenges for over three testing decades, was the chief guest at the event which is now jointly organised by the Guild and the Sri Lanka Press Institute. Mrs Welgama was presented with a ‘Pen’ award as a memento by Siri Ranasinghe, President of The Editors’ Guild and a special anniversary souvenir edited by Sukumar Rockwood, convenor of the Awards programme.
Winning the coveted Mervyn de Silva Journalist of the Year award for 2018 was R. Ramkumar of Virakesari while Easwaran Rutnam of the Sunday Morning walked away with the Merit Award.
The Denzil Peiris Young Reporter of the Year Award went to Mandira Pabasarani Wijerathna of the Sunday Observer who will receive a scholarship from the Lakshman Kadirgamar Foundation to one of India’s leading journalism academies, MASCOM managed by the Malayala Manorama Group.
Five senior journalists were also honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards for long and distinguished service to journalism – the traditional start to the ceremony.
The newspapermen recognised for their dedicated service were Dudley Jansz, Tilakaratne Kuruvita Bandara, A. L. K. Perera, K. M. L. B. Senaratne and Gopalapillai Thiruketharanathan.
The Sunday Times News Desk team carried away a new award presented for the first time this year- ‘Best News/Feature using the Right to Information Law’.
The sponsors
The Journalism Awards for Excellence 2018 sponsors:
Platinum Sponsor: John Keells Holdings
Gold sponsor: Dialog Axiata
Silver sponsors: DFCC Bank, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, Lanka Orix Leasing Company, Bank of Ceylon, National Savings Bank and SriLankan Airlines.
Bronze sponsor: Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
Kent Awards and Trophies, Vogue Jewellers and Mount Lavinia Hotel (the host hotel) were the other main sponsors.
Pix by Indika Handuwala and Priyantha Wickramaarachchi. Please see our website the sundaytimes.lk for more pictures