Indian Express Group hosts 16th edition of Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism

The ceremony honoured journalists from both print and broadcast media who have demonstrated exceptional strength of character and integrity while reporting news under challenging or dangerous circumstances

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Indian Express Group hosts 16th edition of Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism

The Indian Express Group recently hosted the 16th edition of the Ramnath Goenka Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

The awards ceremony was held on March 22, 2023, in Delhi, with CJI DY Chandrachud as the Chief Guest.

The ceremony honoured 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, Chandrachud 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. “

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.” Lauding the CJI’s work, the CMD added, “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.”

Raj Kamal Jha, Editor-in-chief, The Indian Express, added, “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.” He further said, “Your vision for a free media and your notes of caution affirms 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 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 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 and 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

2019

Anand Choudhary

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 and Economic Journalism

2019

Sumant Banerji

Business Today

21

Broadcast

Ayushi Jindal

India Today TV

Print

Business and 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 and 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

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Indian Express Awards Indian Express Group Ramnath Goenka Ramnath Goenka Awards Excellence in Journalism
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