Mahatir Pasha said he was ‘privileged’ to have been in the same room as so many inspiring people as he picked up Regional Journalist of the Year award.
The stars of radio, TV and broadcasting gathered at the 11th AMA ceremony at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate on Friday (27 October).
The awards, which are supported by the University of Salford, celebrated winners in a range of categories in journalism, stage, online and creative media and were hosted by Magic FM’s Neev Spencer.
Mahatir of ITV News London has been fronting a range of stories from the city and beyond. He has been described as ‘skilled in telling stories in an engaging way’ and determined to be at the forefront of bringing in news lines.
He said: “It is an honour a privilege to win this award. I was not expecting this at all.
“Particularly when I was pitted against some of the best journalists in regional media.
“There is often a lack of diversity in a lot of newsrooms and someone coming from a British Bangladeshi background, and I grew up not seeing people like me on the screens.
“To be here today and win an award like this and be given the opportunity to tell so many incredibly important stories has been an absolute honour.”
He broke the news that 81-year-old Helen Holland, a great grandmother had died after being hit by a police motorbike escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh.
He covered the Clapham stabbing which shook the UK’s LGBT+ community.
He visited the reopening of a mosque in South London’s Morden after it was tragically burned down in a fire in 2015.
He has also covered major sporting moments and on many occasions been crucial in setting the editorial agenda for ITV News London programmes as News Editor.
In addition to this he produces content for the Business and Economics team and regularly produces sit-downs with the Chancellor, the Prime Minister and the Governor of the Bank of England.
This year’s Asian Media Awards winners were announced at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate on Friday October 27.
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 & Lisa Aziz.
The University of Salford are Premier Partners to the Asian Media Awards.
Partners to the awards include ITV, EssenceMediaCom, Reach PLC & Women In Journalism.
The awards are also supported by Manchester Metropolitan University, AMT Lawyers, DKR Accountants, Opus Broadband, Hilton Manchester Deansgate, Fritz AV, Payal Events & Cleartwo.
