The Bala Kailasam Memorial Award will go to Ravish Kumar, anchor and executive editor of NDTV. The award will be handed over at a presentation ceremony in the city on December 17.
Addressing media persons on Tuesday, Shylaja Chetlur, from the Cinema Rendezvous Trust, which initiated the awards in 2015, said Mr. Ravish Kumar would receive a citation and a cash prize.
“The awards are instituted for the innovative use of media towards social causes. We want to promote good media practices and carry forward Bala Kailasam’s vision,” she said.
The awards are given in the print media, world wide web, television and documentary categories. Mandakini Gahlot, a freelance journalist and Vidya Krishnan, Health and Science Editor, The Hindu, M. Rajashekhar from Scroll.in and Chandrasekhar Reddy, an independent producer and director who made the feature-length documentary Fireflies in the Abyss, are among the winners. A.S. Panneerselvan, Readers’ Editor of The Hindu, who was a part of the jury committee said that the awards were instituted keeping in mind Bala Kailasam’s concerns with regard to the media.
“Writing about natural resources, how to aptly write or depict issues of public interest and make them engaging, respecting the intelligence of the audience and a participatory, impactive structure were among the criteria the jury looked at, ” he said.
The awards will be presented by N. Ram, Chairman, Kasturi & Sons. He will also deliver the keynote address on ‘Media and its responsibilities’. On December 18, the documentary Fireflies in the Abyss will be screened at Spaces, followed by an interactive session with Mr. Chandrashekar Reddy.
