The Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, instituted by the Ramnath Goenka Foundation, was held Wednesday in the presence of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, who was the chief guest at the event. A total of 43 winners from 2019 and 2020 — who could not be honoured earlier owing to the pandemic — were felicitated this year in New Delhi.
The awards, every year, celebrate the legacy of the founder of The Indian Express Group, acknowledging and honouring the excellence in journalism. The prize-winning stories revolved around the pandemic, including, overburdened health infrastructure, migrant exodus, plight of frontline workers, unemployment, rumours, and unreported deaths. Other stories ranged from the aftermath of the Hathras gangrape case, cybersecurity, climate change, to sexual harassment of athletes, among others.
The CJI, in his speech, applauded the profession of journalism, and said, “I am tremendously impressed by the depth and breadth of the reportage that journalists in our country engage in. To those journalists who have not won today – you are no less a winner in the game of life for yours is a noble profession.”
He went on to reflect on the professions of both law and journalism in his speech, and said, “journalists and lawyers (or judges, as in my case) share some things in common. Of course, persons of both professions are fierce believers of the aphorism that the pen is mightier than the sword. But, they also share the occupational hazard of being disliked by virtue of their professions – no easy cross to bear. But members of both professions keep at their daily tasks and hope that one day, the reputations of their professions will receive a makeover.”
Here’s the full list of winners of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards:
