Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan journalists win investigative journalism prize

The final winners of the South Asian Inquirer investigative journalism award have been announced with three journalists two from Bangladesh and one from Sri Lanka - securing the prize of a visit to London.

The Thomson Foundation, MRDI Bangladesh and the Sri Lankan College of Journalism have announced that the winners of the 2013-14 South Asian Inquirer are:

Upendra Herath of Hiru TV, Sri Lanka, in the TV category

Mosaber Hussain of Prothom Alo, Bangladesh, in the Print category

Amin al Rasheed of ABC Radio, Bangladesh, in the radio category

The three were selected from more than 250 entries from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Courage' David Quin, the Thomson Foundation's deputy director of development, said: "All three are worthy winners, and as with last year our finalists have shown great courage and conviction in their work.

"The high number and quality of entries from across the region shows the deepening strength of investigative reporting in South Asia, the publics appetite for it and the scale of the issues that remain to be tackled."

Upendra Herath's story for Hiru TV focused in on murky land deals in Sri Lankas farming sector, Mosaber Hussain from Bangladesh daily Prothom Alo looked into the opaque business ownership of senior Bangladesh politicians, whilst Amin al Rasheed of ABC Radio Bangladesh uncovered corruption in housing projects, funded by the international community, following Cyclone Aila.

Project partners the Sri Lankan College of Journalism and MRDI Bangladesh have both seen how the South Asian Inquirer award, backed by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has helped to enthuse and encourage editors and journalists to engage in deeper investigative reporting, shining light into many shady areas.

Transparency With the competition accompanied by training sessions on how to cover transparency and public finance in both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, reporters get a firmer grip on how to deal with corruption issues in a balanced way.

MRDIs chief executive Hasibur Rahman, said: "The projects training component is a key part of reaching out to the media, giving journalists access and understanding of key sources of information from the state and civil society on public finance and transparency issues, and were delighted to be a part in that process.

The winners will be going on an all expenses paid study tour to London in June, where they will visit leading UK parliamentarians, editors, academics and British Asian community leaders to look at how regional transparency issues in South Asia are affecting the UK.

LINK:	http://www.thomsonfoundation.org/news-and-features/2014/05/09/banglade...
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