The Asian Media Awards 2019 Finalists

The 2019 Asian Media Awards (AMA) finalists were announced at the MediaCom headquarters in London on September 16, 2019.

Partners, panel members and finalists attended the official announcement event, kickstarting the leadup to the awards ceremony.

It is the second year that the headquarters of one of the world’s leading media agencies has hosted the event.

Keynote speakers included Krishna Haveliwala, Associate Director at MediaCom, Faima Bakar, Journalist at Metro UK, Dr Annabelle Waller, Associate Dean International at the University of Salford and Yasmeen Khan, broadcaster and writer.

The 2019 shortlist recognises a broad range of work within the media industry including Journalism, TV, Radio, Print & Online, Marketing & PR and Live Productions.

Some of the most notable stories and investigations over 2018-19 have been honoured. Bloggers and broadcasters have also been recognised for their innovative work.

Media Manager Umbreen Ali explained: “It was wonderful to be at MediaCom and hear the inspiring words from our speakers who shared their insightful and personal experiences about working in the media.

“I would like to congratulate all the finalists and look forward to meeting everyone again in Manchester.”

Sanjay Shabi, one of the award’s panel members and Executive Director at MediaCom said:

“The Asian Media Awards continues to be the premier event for recognising and celebrating the many spheres of UK Asian practitioners in this sector.

“Increasingly, such Asian talent is not just serving and entertaining their communities in an exemplary manner but more than ever before, are receiving wider spread acclaim and notoriety amongst mainstream media circles.”

The event has seen many familiar winners in the past including the likes of Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Waris Hussein, Art Malik, Nina Wadia, Anita Rani and Faisal Islam.

The University of Salford is the premier sponsors of the event. Other partners include ITV, MediaCom, Manchester Evening News and Press Association Training.

Mosac and Woman’s Trust are the official Charity Partners for 2019.

The media event is also supported by Manchester Metropolitan University, Routes into Languages North West, AMT Lawyers, Hilton Manchester Deansgate, Supreme Dream Events, Payal Events and Cleartwo.

DESIblitz is also proud to be shortlisted for the ‘Best Website/Publication’ award.

Established in 2008 and winner of the Asian Media Awards for Best Website three times, the website has earned its publication status by growing tremendously with a large UK and international reach, especially in South Asia.

To reflect the diverse lifestyle content, the publication is organised in ten prime categories. Namely, Arts & Culture, Brit-Asian, Fashion, Film & TV, Food, Health & Beauty, Music & Dance, Sport, Trends and Taboo. These categories then have further subcategories giving the visitor more granular choices.

With its strapline, News, Gossip and Gupshup, the website is not only a lifestyle publication but also has expanded into providing two sister websites to its audience. Namely:

• DESIblitz Jobs – which provides jobs from employers looking to enhance diversity in the workplace
• DESIblitz Shop – which offers visitors Desi attire and products to purchase

Whilst being an established publication in British Asian media, its prime aim has always been to develop young British Asian writers, journalists and content creators, thus, to produce high-quality editorial content with the input of a diverse team.

With a talented team of writers and journalists both in the UK and in South Asia, the content of the publication is produced with context, richness and locality in mind.

The platform has created opportunities in an industry which is hard to ‘get into’ and aims to continue to do so and grow the team, across the UK and internationally.

Managing Director Indi Deol said:

“We are once again delighted to be a finalist in the Asian Media Awards.

“Over the last 12 months, we have had an exciting and productive period which includes us starting our new Asian-African heritage documentary titled From Africa to Britain: Real Stories – Real Histories.

“This project will document the personal stories and wider social changes experienced by several South Asian immigrants living in the Midlands, who came to the UK after leaving their homes in areas of Africa, including Uganda and Kenya, with a heavy focus on the 60s and 70s.

“We have also recently set up a new advisory board to assist us in achieving our key strategic goals over the next 3 years.

“On our board, we have key people who have a wealth of experience in business and are hugely successful in their fields of work.

“We will shortly be moving into new areas of British Asian life and working on our international strategy more closely as we continue to grow and improve our offering”

Lead Editor Faisal Shafi added:

“We are honoured to be shortlisted for the 2019 Asian Media Awards under a unique category.

“Editorially, 2019 has been a great adventure, as we consistently raise the bar to produce stimulating content.”

“Congratulating all the finalists, we are excited about what lies ahead.”

The Complete Shortlist for the Asian Media Awards 2019

Journalism

MMU & Routes into Languages Journalist of the Year
Shekhar Bhatia – Senior Global Reporter, Mail Online
Rukshana Choudhury – Broadcast Journalist, AP & Europe Editor, The Muslim Vibe
Roohi Hasan – Senior Producer, ITN
Yasminara Khan – Journalist, BBC Newsnight
Gaggan Sabherwal – Reporter, BBC World Service
Anisa Subedar – Senior Journalist, BBC Stories & BBC Trending
Rajini Vaidyanathan – South Asia Correspondent, BBC News

Best Investigation
Hometown – Mobeen Azhar for BBC 3 (Executive Producer Jeremy Lee; Director Richard Wyllie; Director Jonathan Low (7 Wonder Productions)
Hate Speech Exposed – Tom Sheldrick for ITV Tyne Tees
Dispatches: Homeless and Working – Datshiane Navanayagam for Channel 4 (Director Charles Young; Executive Producer Neil Grant; Producer Charles Young)
Rising Silence – Leesa Gazi (Produced by Komola Collective, Openvizor and Making Herstory; Cinematography by Shahadat Hossain; Music Direction by Sohini Alam and Oliver Weeks)
The Murder of Rakbar Khan – India’s Cow Vigilantes – James Clayton for BBC Newsnight/ BBC Our World
Women and the Far Right – Katie Razzall for BBC Newsnight (Producer: Yasminara Khan)

Sports Journalist of the Year
Arif Ahmed – Sports & News Reporter, ITV Calendar
Dharmesh Sheth – Reporter & Presenter, Sky Sports News
Nikesh Rughani – BBC Sport & BBC Asian Network
Kal Sajad – Multi-platform Journalist, BBC Sport

Regional Journalist of the Year
Audrey Dias – BBC Midlands Today
Pamela Gupta – Radio Journalist, BBC Derby
Ashna Hurynag – ITV News Shared Content Unit, ITV West Country
Rajiv Popat – ITV Central
Nitya Rajan – ITV Central

Outstanding Young Journalist
Mojo Abidi – ITV Central
Charanpreet Khaira – Production Journalist, ITV West Country
Miriam Walker Khan – Assistant Producer, BBC Sport TV News & Freelance Reporter, BBC London
Ravneet Nandra – Production Journalist, ITV News Meridian
Pria Rai – Journalist, BBC Asian Network
Inzamam Rashid – Correspondent, Sky News

TV Report of the Year
Britain’s Yellow-Vest Activists by Katie Razzall and Yasminara Khan for BBC Newsnight
LGBT Row Series by Balvinder Sidhu for ITV Central
Muslims in Britain: Unheard Voices by Assed Baig for TRT World
Pride and Prejudice by Matt Price for ITV Regional News/ ITV Meridian
What if I Dated A Black, Muslim or White Boy? – Video Journalist: Ashni Lakhani; Video Journalist: Sara Al Wajih; Edited By Elise Wicker; Series Director: Cebo Luthuli; Executive Producer: Ravin Sampat. BBC Stories

Radio

Radio Station of the Year
BBC Asian Network
Panjab Radio
Sunrise Radio

Regional Radio Station of the Year
Asian Star Radio 101.6FM
Sabras Radio
Unity 101 Community Radio

Best Radio Show
Asian Beats – BBC Radio 1
Mobeen Azhar’s Late Night Discussion – BBC Asian Network
Ruby Raza – Lyca Radio
Yasser Ranjha – BBC Asian Network
Bobby Friction – BBC Asian Network
The Big Debate – BBC Asian Network

Radio Presenter of the Year
Anushka Arora
Harpz Kaur
Noreen Khan
Raj Baddhan
Raj Ghai
Sunny and Shay

Rising Star In Radio Award
Qasa Alom
Aaron Paul
Amrit Matharu
DJ Haashim
Jasmine Takhar

TV

Best TV Programme/Show (Factual)
Mim Shaikh: Finding Dad – Lightbox for BBC Three
My Life: Blood Sugar Brothers – Shooter and Co-Director, Billy Arthur; Producer Director, Sunny Singh Kang; Executive Producer, Cat Lewis; Editor, Nicolas Djurdjevic; Researcher, Michael Carr. NINE Lives Media for CBBC
The Curry House Kid – Presented by Akram Khan for Channel 4; Filmed, Produced and Directed by Nick Poyntz (Swan Films)
The Massacre that Shook the Empire – Presented by Satnam Sangera for Channel 4. A Sugar Films production; Producer Chris Durlacher; Executive producer Narinder Minhas
Young, British and Muslim – ITV News

Best TV Programme/Show (Entertainment)
Ackley Bridge – Channel 4
Desi Beat – Colors TV UK
Man Like Mobeen – BBC Three
Muzlamic – Aatif Nawaz and Ali Shahalom for BBC Three
The Tez O’Clock Show – Channel 4

Best TV Character
Guz Khan as Mobeen in Man Like Mobeen
Haiesha Mistry as Yasmine Maalik in Hollyoaks
Sunetra Sarker as Kaneez Paracha in Ackley Bridge
Shelley King as Yasmeen Nazir in Coronation Street

TV Channel of the Year
Colors TV UK
Hum TV Europe
Sony Entertainment Television Asia
Star Plus

Print & Online

Best Website/Publication
Asian Women MEAN Business
BizAsiaLive.com
DESIblitz.com
QueerAsia.com

Best Blog
Binny’s Food and Travel Diaries
Grewal Twins
Mita Mistry
The Punjabi League
Vogue Wonders – Arooj Aftab

Best Video Channel
Winner to be announced at AMA ceremony on October 24, 2019

Marketing & PR

Media Agency of the Year
Curzon PR
Ethnic Reach
Media House
Mediahive

Creative Media Award
Asian Women and Cars: The Road to Independence – Dawinder Bansal
#BharatkeSaath – Ethnic Reach for The Bharat Army
#FastforaDay Campaign – Mediahive for Barnardo’s
‘Saving Lives Isn’t Easy’ – Islamic Relief

Live Productions

Best Stage Production
Dishoom! – Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, Directed by Pravesh Kumar. Featuring Elijah Baker; Seema Bowrie; Georgia Burnell; Omar Ibrahim; Gurkiran Kaur; Bilal Khan; James Mace (Rifco Theatre Company/Watford Palace Theatre/Oldham Coliseum)
Does My Bomb Look Big In This? – Tamasha and Nyla Levy; Written by Nyla Levy; Directed by Mingyu Lin. Featuring: Halema Hussain (Aisha), Nyla Levy (Yasmin), Eleanor Williams (Morgan/Actor 3) (Tamasha Theatre)
Memoirs of an Asian Football Casual – Adapted for the stage by Dougal Irvine from the book by Riaz Khan; Directed By Nikolai Foster; Featuring, Jay Varsani And  Hareet Deol. (Curve Theatre)
Mrs Kapoor’s Daughter’s Wedding – Archana Kumar; Co-produced by Hiten Kumar; Choreographed by Archana Kumar, Anjali Janani and Rupal Thakrar. Featuring: Parle Patel, Darshan Varsani, Shahid Abbas Khan, Drupti Vaja, Rhythm n Bass, Bhavna Patel, Raj Kumar Patel and AK Bollywood Dance
The Rite of Spring – Seeta Patel; Costume Design: Jason & Anshu (India). Lighting design: Warren Letton; Produced by Sarah Shead Spin-Art.
Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner – Jasmine Lee-Jones; Directed by Milli Bhatia; Featuring Tia Bannon and Danielle Vitalis (Royal Court Theatre)

Best Live Event
Aashni + Co Wedding Show
Abida Parveen and Nahid Siddiqui
Jallianwala Bagh 1919: Punjab under Siege
Muslim Lifestyle Expo
The London Mela

Special Awards

AMA Best Newcomer

Media Personality of the Year

The Sophiya Haque Services to British Television & Film Award

Outstanding Contribution to Media Award

All winners are to be announced at the AMA ceremony on October 24, 2019

With an array of outstanding nominees, the seventh Asian Media Awards looks set to be a success, celebrating the ongoing efforts of British Asians in the media industry.

The winners will be announced on October 24, 2019, at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate.

Good luck to all the Asian Media Awards 2019 finalists!