Meet the Young Journalists Inspired at the Asian Media Awards

Meet the Young Journalists Inspired at the Asian Media Awards
2022
0
0

Ahead of the 10th Asian Media Awards ceremony we hear from some of our previous Outstanding Young Journalist winners.

The University of Salford Outstanding Young Journalist category was first introduced in 2014. During that time the category has showcased the work of some of the future stars of journalism and broadcasting.

Ravneet Nandra was named Outstanding Young Journalist in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic.

The awards were held digitally with winners announced via social media channels.

Ravneet said: “I would say you have to try to be an all-rounder. So be passionate in your producing as well as your reporting if that is what you want to go into.

“What I enjoy most about my job is that every day is completely different. One day I can be producing the 6 o’clock programme and another day I filming some content. I get to be creative on any shift I am on.”

Ravneet had been a finalist in the category twice before.

She added: “Growing up I always knew I wanted to be a journalist but they weren’t many people who looked like me on TV or having their by-lines on articles so it is great to see Asian Media Awards happening every year. It is great to have an opportunity to network with people I would not have an opportunity to unless there was an Asian Media Awards.”

Inzamam Rashid who has gone on to become of the familiar face on Sky News won the award a year earlier in 2019.

He said: “To get to this point you have to put in a lot of hours.

“You have to be prepared to put the hard work in and make sure you network as much as possible. The Asian Media Awards is a brilliant place to do that.

“You have to be prepared for some knockdowns every now and then. When you do get knocked down it is about picking yourself up, working harder and learning from any mistakes you may have made. And to always have a focus.”

He added: “The Asian Media Awards has been a real constant in the years I have been a journalist. It means I have been able to showcase some of my best work.”

Whilst accepting his Media Personality of the Year Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy told the audience the Outstanding Young Journalist was the ‘most important’ honour on the night.

And it has certainly proved to be the case with many of the finalists going to make a huge impact in their field in a very short time.

‘You have to persevere’

In 2017, Shehab Khan, then with the Independent Newspaper was named Outstanding Young Journalist. He is now Political Reporter with ITV.

He said: “The AMA’s was great opportunity to meet people within the industry and how different aspects of the media work.

“It was fantastic to see people’s work and getting a feel what other people are doing.”

He urged anyone else going into journalism to ‘persevere’.

“It can be difficult to start but when you do get your foot through the door things do become easier.

“You learn a lot as you go along.”

He added: “Working here in Westminster is fantastic and you get to on the front-line of some of the biggest stories. We get to hold people to account, you get to chase the stories that matter to us and ultimately change people’s lives.”

‘Remember that your voice counts’

In 2021, as the awards returned to a live event for the first time and during what was again one of the most hotly contested categories the award went to the multi-talented Jeevan Ravindran.

Jeevan’s rise through her profession was unique in so many ways and she was commended for her ground-breaking work in both journalism and broadcasting.

She said: “What I remember the most about the AMA’s was the energy in the room. It was so incredible.

“I think to anyone else trying to forge a similar career I would say always remember that your voice and what you have to say is important even though a lot of the time you will made to feel it is not.

“Especially if you are a journalist. You keep being knocked down when you are trying to tell these stories. It is really important to you and really important to your community. It is important to remember that somewhere out there is someone out there looking for the content you are producing.”

The University of Salford is premier sponsor of the Asian Media Awards and also sponsors the AMA Outstanding Young Journalist Award.

Award judge Paul Broster, a journalist and Associate Dean in the University’s School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology, said: “The submissions, over many years now, have demonstrated a real of depth of high quality journalism, with young journalists making a difference and standing up for people in all corners of the world.

“Good journalism has never been more important in a world of digital disinformation and supporting the next generation of journalists is crucial.”

This year’s Asian Media Awards return to the Hilton Manchester Deansgate on Friday October 28.

Previous recipients of an Asian Media Award include Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Waris Hussein, Art Malik, Mehdi Hasan, Nina Wadia, Anita Rani, Shobna Gulati, Faisal Islam & Adil Ray.

The University of Salford are Premier Partners to the Asian Media Awards.

Partners to the awards include ITV, MediaCom, Reach PLC, Manchester Evening News & TheBusinessDesk.com.

The awards are also supported by Manchester Metropolitan University, AMT Lawyers, DKR Accountants, 6G Internet, Hilton Manchester Deansgate, Fritz AV, Payal Events & Cleartwo.

Related Posts