The Covid-19 epidemic halted life in 2020, affecting human lives and livelihoods in unimaginable ways. Winners of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards focused, among other things, on the impact of the pandemic on the lives of ordinary Indians through stories about overburdened health infrastructure, migrant exodus, plight of frontline workers, unemployment, rumours, and unreported deaths.
Aside from these, award-winning stories covered coverage of cybersecurity, climate change, athlete sexual harassment, and the aftermath of the Hathras gangrape case, among other topics.
The winners of 2020 and 2019 will be honoured during this year’s ceremony on Wednesday in New Delhi. The event’s chief guest will be Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud. Former President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu were among the previous prominent guests. While the 2019 award winners were announced earlier, they were unable to be honoured in person because to the epidemic. In total, 43 champions over the previous two years will be recognised.
The Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, established by the Ramnath Goenka Foundation, honour the founder of The Indian Express Group. Every year, the awards recognise and honour excellence in journalism and highlight noteworthy contributions and individuals. The categories range from print, digital, and broadcast media to investigative, political, and sports journalism, as well as books, feature writing, and regional language.
Justice B N Srikrishna (retired); Prof (Dr) C Raj Kumar, founding Vice-Chancellor and Dean, O P Jindal Global University; Dr S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner; and K G Suresh, Vice Chancellor, Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication comprised the jury for this edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards.
“The calibre of the stories this year was comparable to past years.” There were numerous stories, each one greater than the last. While I love it when journalists publish pieces on social concerns in a series, a single piece of reporting can only win the award if it is exceptional. Those who did not win this time should not give up hope and try again next year,” Quraishi added.
“I was honoured to serve on the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards panel this year.” I was impressed by The Indian Express’s commitment to ethical journalism and its attempts to maintain integrity. However, more crucially, The Indian Express’s ability to recognise journalists who have courageously exposed stories and spoken truth to power has been truly revolutionary,” Kumar remarked.
In response to the varied range of entries, he stated that the judges had a difficult decision to make. “There were stories of bravery and integrity, some from less-than-mainstream newspapers, which was unusual because we normally go towards mainstream publications.” These stories were not necessarily popular, but these journalists brought them to light,” Kumar explained.
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