Celebrating excellence in Sri Lankan journalism

Events
By Editor_1
N. Thanujah of Virakesari (right) receiving her Scoop of the Year Award -SLPI

COLOMBO – Journalists representing Sri Lanka’s Sinhala, Tamil and English media were recognized for their work at the 27th Journalism Awards for Excellence 2025, held at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo on Tuesday (10), with Kamanthi Wickramasinghe of the Daily Mirror taking the top honour as Journalist of the Year.

Wickramasinghe received the prestigious Mervyn De Silva Journalist of the Year award, presented as a single award, at a ceremony celebrating achievements across a broad spectrum of journalism, from investigative reporting and public-interest stories to health, business, environmental and sports coverage.

Among the notable recognitions, Tharindu Jayawardena of Irida Divaina was named Investigative Journalist of the Year, with Nirmala Dushyanthi Kannangara of the Daily Mirror receiving merit recognition. N. Thanujah of Virakesari won Scoop of the Year, while K.A.M. Shabeer of the Sunday Observer was named Denzil Peiris Young Reporter of the Year.

The awards also highlighted the contribution of journalists covering specialised and often complex subjects. In health and medical reporting, the winners were Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Harshani Dilrukshi Dissanayake of Sathi Aga Aruna in Sinhala, Mohamed Hussain Fathima Husna of Thinakkural in Tamil and Disna Mangalika Mudalige of the Sunday Observer in English.

Sports reporting honours went to Rashnika Lasani Liyanage of Sathi Aga Aruna in Sinhala and Ehamparam Ravivarmah of Thamilan in Tamil. No award was made in the English category.

In business and finance journalism, Bhanuka Nimna Amarasinghe of Lankadeepa FT won in Sinhala, I. Robert Antony of Virakesari in Tamil and Madhusha Thavapalakumar of The Sunday Morning in English. R. Ramkumar of Virakesari received merit recognition in Tamil.

The importance of access to information and accountability journalism was reflected in the Prof. Kailasapathy Awards for Best News or Feature using the Right to Information (RTI). Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi of Ada won in Sinhala, while Sivalingam Sivakumaran of Virakesari took the Tamil award. Karuppaiya Prasanna Kumar of Thinakkural received merit recognition in Tamil. No award was made in English.

Columnists and feature writers were also recognised for their contribution to public debate and storytelling. The B.A. Siriwardena Columnist of the Year awards went to Shirley Anil De Silva of Lankadeepa in Sinhala and Sadeesh Krishnapillai of Virakesari in Tamil. Ameer Ali Mohamed Rifthi Ali of Vidivelli received merit recognition in the Tamil category.

The Upali Wijewardene Feature Writer of the Year awards were presented to H.M. Rekha Nilukshi of Anidda in Sinhala, Hassthani Radhakrishnan of Virakesari in Tamil and K.A.M. Shabeer in English.

The Subramaniam Chettiar Award for Reporting on Social Issues saw no overall winner, but joint merit awards were presented to H.M. Rekha Nilukshi of Anidda and Umar Lebbe Noorul Hutha of Thamilan.

In environmental journalism, Aruna Lakshman of Anidda won the Sinhala award and Kulandavel Subani of Thamilan the Tamil award. Pavani Akasha Premarathne of Ceylon Today received merit recognition in English, although no winner was selected in that category.

The awards also celebrated visual storytelling and newspaper design. The Sunday Times was named Best Designed Newspaper of the Year, with Silumina and Thinakkural receiving merit awards. Sawunthis Tharmathas of Virakesari Daily won Cartoonist of the Year. No award was made for Photojournalist of the Year.

Recognizing the wider contribution of journalism to democracy and public life, the Sepala Gunasena Award for Defending Press Freedom in Sri Lanka was presented to Chamara Sampath. Siri Ranasinghe received the D.R. Wijewardene Award for Earning the Recognition of Peers and the Public.

Online journalism featured prominently, reflecting the growing importance of digital platforms in reaching audiences and presenting stories in new formats. Virakesari won Best Video Storytelling in Tamil for its report on ragging at a South Eastern University, while its video on the drug mafia received merit recognition. In Sinhala, no winner was selected, but Aruna.lk received a merit award for its video on issues relating to Sri Lanka Railways. No award was made in English.

In the Best News Website categories, Aruna.lk won in Sinhala, with Lankadeepa.lk receiving merit recognition. Thamilan.lk took the Tamil award, while Thinakaran.lk and Tamilmirror.lk jointly received merit awards. In English, Dailynews.lk was named the winner, with Dailymirror.lk and FT.lk jointly receiving merit recognition.

A special tribute was paid to five veteran media professionals through the Lifetime Achievement Awards, recognizing their contributions to journalism over the years. The recipients were Chandra Fernando, Anura Bandara Rajaguru, W.K.G. Navarathna, Rohan Abeywardena and Asoka Gunathilaka.

The ceremony, which featured Right to Information Commission member and Attorney-at-Law Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena as Chief Guest, presented a total of 27 awards and 16 merit awards across the print and online media categories.

–ENCL

Editor_1
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