President Murmu presents Ramnath Goenka journalism awards

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A ground report from Israel and the West Bank as bombs dropped and residents hunkered down; an investigation into medical colleges across Madhya Pradesh that didn’t hold exams for years; the reality of an award-winning athlete’s village that lacked basic civic amenities and the fight of champion wrestlers for justice.

These are some of the stories that have won the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards 2023, the nation’s most prestigious journalism honour. The winners will receive the awards from President of India Droupadi Murmu who will be Chief Guest at the ceremony in New Delhi Wednesday.

Instituted by the Ramnath Goenka Foundation, the awards acknowledge and honour the best of journalism showcasing 20 outstanding contributions from print, digital and broadcast journalists across 13 categories, including investigative journalism, sports, politics and government, books, feature writing and regional languages.

The jury for the 19th edition of the excellence awards include: Justice B N Srikrishna, former judge at the Supreme Court of India; Prof C Raj Kumar, founding Vice Chancellor, OP Jindal Global University; Prof K G Suresh, former Vice Chancellor, Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism & Communication and former Director General, Indian Institute of Mass Communication; Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Co Founder & Director, EkStep; and Dr S Y Quraishi, former Chief Election Commissioner.

“It was difficult to choose the best stories. We try to make sure we are evaluating stories from as many regions and languages as possible. Young journalists should follow these awards to know what makes a good story,” said Quraishi.

The journalists who won faced many challenges in the pursuit of their stories. Suresh said, “There’s a perception that journalism is dead but the Ramnath Goenka awards repeatedly remind us that journalism is vibrant, alive and kicking. I’ve been on the jury for the last few years and am always pleased to see more stories coming from regional media outlets, not just national media outlets.”

“The younger generation is very promising. Their rigour is admirable. These stories involve ground reporting in which they have to go beyond the call of duty. They take risks, expose the mafia, take on the powers that be. That is the essence of journalism,” he said.

In these polarised times, says Suresh, there is a ray of hope for future journalists. “These stories should be printed and distributed in all media schools so students see that they are missing out on real stories happening on the ground level.”

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