Washington, Nov. 3 (PTI): Several Indian-Americans have been nominated for the first ever national ethnic media awards for their contributions to American journalism.
Close to 600 ethnic journalists competed for recognition in 19 categories, ranging from 'Investigative Journalism' to 'Best Community Talk Show' and more than 50 judges from universities, mainstream media and community-based organisations came together via teleconference to judge the entries over one week.
The New America Media, America's first and largest association of ethnic media, has announced the awards.
"Hurricane Katrina and immigration rights dominated news in ethnic media over the last year. Each of these complex stories reflects ethnic media's unique role as an advocacy voice, as well as a vital source of news and information for their audiences," Sandip Roy, the awards coordinator, said in a statement here.
"This year's winners demonstrate ethnic media's role in building understanding between US's ethnic communities while serving their communities' information needs," a news release from San Fransisco said. The awards will be presented in Washington DC on November 14.
Rupali Ghosh of SAMAR Magazine have won in the International Affairs category and the runners up for Best Investigative/In Depth reporting in English was Viji Sundaram, India West for 'Women - Innocent Victims of AIDS".
Radhika Kumar of India Currents (San Jose, California) won the award in the category of women's issues, while Sujeet Rajan of The Indian Express (New York) featured in 'Honorable Mention in English' category for his piece on 'Living in America.'