Two Indian scribes among finalists for Osborn Elliott Prize

Two Indian journalists figure among the six outstanding pieces of reporting on Asia that have been selected as finalists for the prestigious Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia.

Annam Suresh of Fountain Ink has been selected by Asia Society for his reporting on violent abuse of boys and transgender kids in India while Rajesh Kumar Singh along with Rakteem Katakey and Tom Lasseter from Bloomberg News figure in the list of finalists for stories on industrial pollution in India.

Other finalists are Hannah Beech of TIME magazine for series on lingering catastrophe of Fukushima; The New York Times team coverage of China’s anticorruption campaign; The New York Times team coverage of the South Korean ferry disaster and Reuters team coverage of Hong Kong protests and the Chinese government’s response. In a statement, Asia Society said the winner will be announced next week.

The award comprising $10,000 cash prize will be presented at a luncheon programme on June 3 at Asia Society in New York.

Jury Chairman Marcus Brauchli, managing partner of North Base Media and former editor of The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, praised the quality and breadth of applications and praised the selected finalists.

“This year’s Oz Prize Jury reviewed an exceptionally strong and wide-ranging group of applicants from large and relatively well-resourced to smaller regional outlets,” Brauchli said.