Five aspiring Black and Asian journalists have been honoured as part of the annual George Viner Memorial Fund awards.
The Fund was set up in 1986 in honour of the late George Viner, one of the first English journalists to proactively target under-represented Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic, or BAME, students in journalism training. The bursary now provides financial assistance as well as mentoring to successful applicants.
The Fund is an important part of the National Union of Journalists’ commitment to diversity in the media. This year’s successful candidates were Tracey Murigi, Sangita Lal and Yetunde Yusuf – all studying an MA in Broadcast Journalism at Nottingham Trent, Cardiff and City universities, respectively. Also Rahul Vashisht who studied a NCTJ Multimedia Foundation Diploma at the Press Association, London and Anne-Marie Abbasah, who is studying the NCTJ Multimedia Diploma at News Associates, London.
The ceremony, which was attended by around 100 guests including Asian Voice’s Rani Singh and Dhiren Katwa, was held at the NUJ’s headquarters in London. Panel speakers included Fund Trustee Michelle Stanistreet, freelance writer and black feminist Reni Eddo-Lodge and Oxford University Student Union’s first East Asian President Seung Yoon Lee. To find out more about the awards visitwww.georgeviner.org.uk
