Tweet
When J Gopikrishnan, a little-known reporter from Kerala, joined The Pioneer three years ago, few would have expected that one day very soon he would share the platform with bigwigs from politics, sports, business and entertainment and those in the cause of public service at a national awards ceremony.
Wednesday was a proud day for Gopi, as also for The Pioneer, when he was given a Special Achievements Award by CNN-IBN news channel for “being the journalist who first brought the telecom scandal to light several years ago…much before the rest of the media picked it up”.
Gopi joined ranks with the likes of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, wrestler Sushil Kumar, business tycoon Kumar Mangalam Birla, filmmaker Shankar aka Shankar Shanmugam and agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan. Also awarded on the occasion were the Ladakh ecological development group, Shillong Chamber Choir and Indian women’s athletics relay team.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee gave away the awards at a glittering function, conducted by CNN-IBN editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai, on Wednesday evening.
While Nitish Kumar was feted as Politician of the Year for leading the NDA to its second term of power in Bihar, Sushil Kumar won the recognition for becoming the first Indian wrestler to win a world championship and following it up with a gold at the Commonwealth Games.
Birla emerged winner in the business category for being an “outstanding, no-nonsense entrepreneur” who has made a success out of most businesses he has entered into, including sunrise sectors.
Director Shankar won the award for being a filmmaker with an “unbeatable track record of 100 per cent hits in Tamil”, the latest being the costliest Indian film ever produced, Robot.
The Shillong Chamber Choir was selected for Special Achievements Award for putting the cultural and musical talent of the north-east on the national map. The Ladakh ecological development group also got a Special Achievements Award for building environment-friendly, flood and quake resistant housing involving community participation and local materials in Leh.
Receiving the award from Pranab Mukherjee, Gopi thanked The Pioneer’s editor-in-chief Chandan Mitra for being a source of inspiration and achievement. On his part, Mitra hailed Gopi as a “remarkable person who has retained his humility despite his astounding achievement”.
Gopi stumbled upon the first 2G scam story in early 2008 and never looked back. Over the next two years, he peeled off every layer of the entire scandal in a perfect example of investigative journalism. To his credit goes the fact that none of his stories were contradicted even when the targets of his attack were the high and mighty of the political and bureaucratic system. The fact that the CAG report on 2G scam was a replica of Gopi’s reportage is a testimony of the meticulous and professional way he went about unveiling one of the biggest scams to have taken place in independent India.
When Gopi joined The Pioneer, he was an unassuming reporter with little knowledge of Delhi’s corridors of power and its geography. He, however, made his mark within months of joining the newspaper in 2007. His expose on the vaccine scam forced the Government to order a CBI probe and subsequently order opening of three vaccine production units that had been closed down during the UPA regime by the then Health Minister Ramadoss.
Based in Kerala for better part of his journalistic career, Gopi has risen to the status of a trend-setter in investigative journalism due to his commitment, humility, integrity and hard work.
Wednesday was a proud day for Gopi, as also for The Pioneer, when he was given a Special Achievements Award by CNN-IBN news channel for “being the journalist who first brought the telecom scandal to light several years ago…much before the rest of the media picked it up”.
Gopi joined ranks with the likes of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, wrestler Sushil Kumar, business tycoon Kumar Mangalam Birla, filmmaker Shankar aka Shankar Shanmugam and agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan. Also awarded on the occasion were the Ladakh ecological development group, Shillong Chamber Choir and Indian women’s athletics relay team.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee gave away the awards at a glittering function, conducted by CNN-IBN editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai, on Wednesday evening.
While Nitish Kumar was feted as Politician of the Year for leading the NDA to its second term of power in Bihar, Sushil Kumar won the recognition for becoming the first Indian wrestler to win a world championship and following it up with a gold at the Commonwealth Games.
Birla emerged winner in the business category for being an “outstanding, no-nonsense entrepreneur” who has made a success out of most businesses he has entered into, including sunrise sectors.
Director Shankar won the award for being a filmmaker with an “unbeatable track record of 100 per cent hits in Tamil”, the latest being the costliest Indian film ever produced, Robot.
The Shillong Chamber Choir was selected for Special Achievements Award for putting the cultural and musical talent of the north-east on the national map. The Ladakh ecological development group also got a Special Achievements Award for building environment-friendly, flood and quake resistant housing involving community participation and local materials in Leh.
Receiving the award from Pranab Mukherjee, Gopi thanked The Pioneer’s editor-in-chief Chandan Mitra for being a source of inspiration and achievement. On his part, Mitra hailed Gopi as a “remarkable person who has retained his humility despite his astounding achievement”.
Gopi stumbled upon the first 2G scam story in early 2008 and never looked back. Over the next two years, he peeled off every layer of the entire scandal in a perfect example of investigative journalism. To his credit goes the fact that none of his stories were contradicted even when the targets of his attack were the high and mighty of the political and bureaucratic system. The fact that the CAG report on 2G scam was a replica of Gopi’s reportage is a testimony of the meticulous and professional way he went about unveiling one of the biggest scams to have taken place in independent India.
When Gopi joined The Pioneer, he was an unassuming reporter with little knowledge of Delhi’s corridors of power and its geography. He, however, made his mark within months of joining the newspaper in 2007. His expose on the vaccine scam forced the Government to order a CBI probe and subsequently order opening of three vaccine production units that had been closed down during the UPA regime by the then Health Minister Ramadoss.
Based in Kerala for better part of his journalistic career, Gopi has risen to the status of a trend-setter in investigative journalism due to his commitment, humility, integrity and hard work.
