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Silicon Valley scribe Krishna Kumar bags award
Journalist and technology expert Krishna Kumar has won the prestigious SAJA Journalism Award 2005 for one of the best news story about South Asians in North America.
Journalist and technology expert Krishna Kumar has won the prestigious SAJA Journalism Award 2005 for one of the best news story about South Asians in North America.
The recipients of the awards, instituted to recognize excellence in reporting from South Asia, were selected out of more than 375 entries from over 100 media outlets during 2004. Instituted by SAJA Group, Inc. and the South Asian Journalists Association, these awards also highlight outstanding reporting in US and Canada.
Krishna Kumar, who works as Chief of Bureau (West Coast) of Mantram Magazine and South Asia World television channel, was chosen for his article that recounted the growth of Tuly Singh Johl, who landed in the United States penniless in 1904 and went on to create a 'Empire' in Yuba City, California.
He would receive the award from veteran journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of Business Week Stephen B. Shepherd and founding Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at City University in New York.
The Awards ceremony is part of the SAJA's international convention, which is scheduled to take place during June 16-19 and is expected to draw over 1,000 journalists and guests from the US, Canada, Europe and South Asia.
Sandeep Junnarkar, chair of the SAJA awards committee, describes the awards as crucial as they recognize "the role the reportage plays in fostering a greater understanding of the tumultuous changes shaping countries that are part of the Indian subcontinent and highlight the outstanding quality and breadth of work produced by South Asian journalists in North America."
Prior to joining Mantram, Krishna Kumar worked as the Editor of India Post in California. Prior to his immigration to the US in 2000, Kumar served with Press Trust of India, the sixth largest Wire Agency in the world, where he did stories that exploded the myth of the Y2K bug.
Besides his active career in journalism, Kumar is also an expert on technology and believes in de-mystifying it for the man on the street by getting rid of tech jargon and explaining the intricacies in everyday language. He has also co-edited the 10th Anniversary special edition publication of TiE ? a non-profit organization bolstering entrepreneurship across the world.
Besides the award ceremony, the four-day convention would also see more than 45 high power panels and workshops, says Vikas Bajaj, SAJA vice-president and Convention Chair. "We are also introducing a host of programmes and initiatives including a student-staffed blog and salon sessions with some of SAJA's senior-most members, he adds.
Krishna Kumar has an MA in Journalism from Madurai Kamaraj Univestity and is the first rank holder in PG Diploma. He is married to Sajitha Kanakathidathil, an MS student at San Jose State University.
