Colombo, January 16 (Sunday Observer/newsin.asia): Avani Dias, the young, multi-talented, Australia-based Sri Lankan, has made it big in multi-media Australian journalism. In a significant career advancement, 31 year-old Avani is to be the South Asia Correspondent of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) based in New Delhi. As such, she will be covering India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
That should not be difficult for Avani as journalism runs in her blood, as it were. Her mother, Muditha Dias, was a journalist who made a commendable contribution to Sri Lanka’s flagship English Language newspaper ‘The Sunday Observer.’ Her grandfather, S. Piyasena, was also a veteran journalist who shone in Lake House. He retired as the press secretary to President J.R. Jayewardene. And she is the niece of Sugeeswara Senadhira, a veteran reporter, editor and columnist, who is currently with the Sri Lankan Presidential Media Division.
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Born on November 15, 1991 in Wattle Grove, New South Wales, Avani did her degree at the University of Sydney. She is a Sri Lankan-Australian Journalist and radio presenter. “I started my career as a journalist at a young age. My mother is a journalist. My grandfather is a journalist, ” she said.
She began to contribute articles to the student newspaper of the Sydney University titled “Honi Soit.” In 2013 she was elected as one of the ten editors for the student newspaper. Before working at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, she worked at the independent radio station FBI Radio and the online newspaper ‘The New Daily’. Avani had written for ‘The New Daily’ from 2015 to 2017.
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Significantly, she established herself as a cross-media reporter for Triple J’s Youth Current affairs program Hack. Surprisingly, she is a multi-platform reporter for ABC news in Sydney.
She worked for the Darwin Newsroom across all platforms where she focused on indigenous affairs. Avani Dias is considered to be one of the luminaries in Australian journalism.
She has showcased her talents in different ways to the world. She has anchored the 7 pm TV news bulletin in Darwin.
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Awards
Avani has been nominated for various awards such as the Public Interest Awards at the New South Wales Premier’s Multicultural Communication Awards in 2019, Young Australian Journalist of the Year award and the Radio, Audio News and Current Affairs award at the Walkley Awards in 2919 and 2020. In addition, she has been awarded an ABC News cadetship in 2015. The ‘Daily Mail’ too carried a report on her career and her future aspirations.
Support from her parents
“My parents supported me to achieve my goals. They encouraged me to stay in the field of journalism. My whole family has been involved in journalism. Therefore, they allowed me to do what I wanted,” Avani recalled.
Journalists’ responsibilities
To my question about the current situation in the field of journalism, she said that the journalism in Sri Lanka is thriving. Many newspapers have also emerged in the country.
“Journalists should be responsible for ensuring the credibility and transparency of news. They should not hush up information from the public,” Avani stressed. “There is no doubt that we all want a sane media culture for a better society. The vital role played by journalists can never be underestimated because they educate the public about social issues and the impact of such issues on their lives,” she added. People like Avani can add new dimensions to the field of journalism.
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