Asian Media Awards spotlights key Asian figures in journalism & TV

Inspirational journalists and broadcasters gathered at the 12th Asian Media Awards at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate.

The awards celebrate achievements in a range of categories in TV, radio, stage, online and creative media.

The ceremony is supported by the University of Salford and took place at a packed Hilton Manchester Deansgate.

This year’s event was hosted by Diversity and Inclusion Reporter at Sky Sports News Miriam Walker-Khan.

As well as panel members and event partners, awards on the night were presented by NHS doctor and author Amir Khan, acclaimed actress Amy-Leigh Hickman, football referee Sunny Gill Singh, social media star and comedian Shabaz Ali, model Zaf Shabir and writer and actor Ameet Chana.

The night saw presenter, broadcaster and podcaster, Sangita Myska give an impassioned speech after being named the 2024 Media Personality of the Year.

Speaking on stage Sangita said: “I would like to thank my friends, family and fantastic colleagues. You have seen me through many years in this industry where it is still a challenge to be a woman and particularly a woman of colour.

Let us not underestimate how much further we have to go to break barriers.”

Sangita was presented the final and biggest honour of the night by stem cell transplant recipient Anie Hussain, who is working to create more awareness of the process within the Asian community. Anie was joined by AMA panel member Tommy Nagra.

In the journalist categories Deputy Political Editor at ITN ITV News, Anushka Asthana was named Manchester Metropolitan University Journalist of the Year. Anushka is a political journalist with more than 20 years of experience, bringing a unique perspective to Westminster reporting.

The Best Investigation award for 2024 went to Sudiksha: ‘Condemned to Die in Secret’ by Inderdeep Bains for The Daily Mail. Inderdeep aimed to highlight the case of Sudiksha Thirumalesh, a teenager who died while locked in a legal battle with the NHS.

The Outstanding Young Journalist award went to Data Journalist at Sky News Saywah Mahmood. 

Saywah has produced a range of impactful stories from across the world. Her work sees her uncovering compelling stories through forensic analysis.

She told the audience: “I would like to thank my mum and dad who deal with me being very obsessed with my work. I really like what I do, and I enjoy what I do. It is really nice to be recognised for my work.”

Boxing Reporter at BBC Sport, Kal Sajad won the Sports Journalist of the Year award. Kal has covered some major title fights in the past year.

The Regional Journalist of the Year award went to Sophia Seth of BBC South.

Disabled Scuba Diving Duo, a short series of reports on BBC North West by Mohammed Patel won the Report of the Year honour.  Mohammed, who is blind, pitched, produced, contributed to and edited this series about the plight of a disabled scuba diving duo, himself and a paraplegic athlete, Shaun.

Hollyoaks star Harvey Virdi was honoured with the Sophiya Haque Services to British Television, Film & Theatre award.

In a career spanning three decades Harvey has been a constant feature in the some of the UK’s most favourite films, dramas and soaps. She has appeared in a whole host of theatre productions.

Speaking on the changes she had seen in the past thirty years she said: “Change has been slow but creative people have always been chipping away. Often creating work rather than waiting for it to come their way. And now, it’s good to see strong South Asian characters on screen and stage.

Not just actors, but writers, directors and designers all contributing to sharing our stories. There are more and more talented South Asian creative’s entering the business and it’s a joyous thing.”

In theatre, the Best Stage Production went to Blue Mist, which follows the lives of three young men who meet in a shisha lounge and delve into everything from politics and religion to British identity and heritage.

Deaf actor, Nadia Nadarajah, won the Outstanding Stage Performance award for her role as Cleopatra for Antony and Cleopatra at The Globe. The bilingual production was performed in two languages: British Sign Language (BSL) and Spoken English.

The pioneering efforts of Dr Shani Dhanda who has been a driving force for diversity were recognised at the ceremony with the Diversity In Media award. The award was presented by Journalist Um-E-Aymen Babar.

As the only visibly disabled South Asian woman working on screen and behind the scenes, she has broken down barriers and amplified the voices of marginalised communities and beyond.

Shani Dhanda said: “This is my first time attending and I am honoured to be awarded. The reason I entered the media industry is because I wanted to be part of the change that I wanted to see in society.

I have only seen four disabled people of colour on my screen. I didn’t say South Asian because if I said South Asian it would probably be one and that does not include me.

I got sick and tired of being told we are underrepresented. We are not underrepresented; we are over excluded.”