Five senior journalists are to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Journalism Awards for Excellence 2025, the 27th edition of the event, on 10 November at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo.

Asoka Goonetilleke, Anura Bandara Rajaguru, Chandra Fernando, Rohan Sarath Abeywardena, and Ariyaratne Ganegoda are among the veterans whose achievements will be celebrated at the event organised jointly by The Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka (TEGOSL) and the Sri Lanka Press Institute.

Asoka Goonetilleke

Goonetilleke commenced his journalistic career at Lake House in 1976, and after serving on the central news desk and in the foreign news desk, he left in 1982. During this period, he also served on staff of the Observer, as a feature writer on the Yovun Janatha, and as an editorial news reporter at the Janatha newspaper. He joined Upali Newspapers Ltd. (UNL) in 1982 as the Sports Editor of the Divaina and rose to the position of Associate Editor by the time he left in 2013.

He has contributed articles to the FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) football magazines, the Dawn (Bangladesh), and Calcutta Times (India). He has translated several books to Sinhala from English, among them ‘An Adventurous Voyage to the Sea’ (‘Mahamuhuda Meda – Maranaya Abhiyasa’) and ‘The Black Dragon’ (‘Kalu Makara’). He has also translated ‘What Makes the Buddha Great’ and ‘Impermanence in Plain English,’ both written by Ven. Henepola Gunaratana Thera.

He has also been a lecturer and served on the National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, in the Ministry of Sports School of Sports Sciences as a National Course Director for Sri Lanka, and on the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He has also worked at the Department of Government Information.

Goonetilleke has received several awards, among them Sports Journalist of the Year 2000 (TEGOSL), Olympic Award for Excellence in Sports Journalism 2024 (IOC), Presidential Award 2015 for the most outstanding sports publication, Kreeda Sahithya Vedi (2020 Sabuddhi Sports Literary Awards), and an award at the 2022 Sabuddhi Sports Literary Awards.

Anura Bandara Rajaguru 

Rajaguru, a past student at Ananda College, Colombo, commenced his journalistic career at Lake House in 1980, working for the Janatha and Yovun Janatha newspapers, and subsequently joined the editorial teams of Silumina and Kreeda, after which he joined the central news desk before moving to the Navayugaya and Sarasaviya, culminating in over four decades of work. 

Alongside his journalistic career, he built a parallel career in broadcasting, television, and writing, and obtained a diploma in journalism from the University of Colombo.

The year 1994 was a watershed in his career in journalism. While at Lake House, he became the Deputy Editor of a new evening Sinhala-language newspaper – Kolamba Puwath – and later Associate Editor of the newspaper. He was later appointed Editor of Sarasaviya while serving as Managing Editor of periodical publications.

Rajaguru left Lake House in 2008 having served as Associate Editor of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.’s (ANCL) Training and Research Department. He also worked as a relief announcer at the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). 

His contributions to creative writing earned him the Wimalasiri Perera Memorial Award for Creative Writing. He also completed a UNESCO course on writing for children.

Chandra Fernando

Fernando has over 45 years of experience in the media industry. She began her career in journalism in 1977, joining the Chinthamani and Thinapathi newspapers published by the Davasa Group as an Assistant Editor.

After working under the leadership of S.T. Sivanayagam, she joined Sudamani, a newspaper launched by the Gunasena family, where she served as an Assistant Editor. She subsequently served for a brief period as the person in charge of the Thinaththanthi newspaper published during that era.

Fernando joined the Virakesari weekly edition as an Assistant Editor in 1997, during the period when Chandrika Subramaniam was in charge of the Virakesari weekly edition. She later worked as an Assistant Editor at Sudar Oli for a period before rejoining Virakesari. During this time, she also served as Deputy Editor of Tamil Times, the international edition of Express Newspapers (Ceylon) Ltd. She subsequently returned to Virakesari, where she continued her distinguished career until retirement.

Fernando has held several key editorial positions, including Editor-in-Chief, Assistant Editor, and Deputy Editor. Her extensive experience and dedicated service have made her a notable figure in the field of journalism.

Rohan Abeywardena

Abeywardena entered the journalism scene in 1980 with the now defunct Sun newspaper of the Independent Newspapers Group as a trainee journalist (Sub-Editor). Having received a good grounding there, he soon crossed over to the newly launched UNL in November 1981 when it launched its first daily English publication, The Island, where he quickly rose from Sub-Editor through the ranks of Shipping Page Editor, Business Page Editor, Deputy News Editor, News Editor, Associate Editor, and Consultant Editor.

In the run-up to and after the signing of the Indo-Lanka Accord in July 1987, he manned the position of News Editor at The Island, Sunday Island, and The Sunday Times (twice). Abeywardena also had some memorable attachments with the Daily Mirror as Deputy News Editor at its launch and as Associate Editor of the now defunct The Nation between 2003 and 2010. He also served as the Editor of the Weekend Standard when Tiran Alles launched the newspaper in 2006. 

While he was never concerned about hogging the limelight with his byline, he ensured that journalists serving under him received as much exposure as possible. Until his retirement in 2011, he was always in the thick of the news while keeping his reporters on their toes in the interests of the country, regardless of personal consequences. Since retirement, he has continued to serve The Island online.

Ariyaratne Ganegoda

Ganegoda was born in 1944 and was educated at Kotahena Central College and Sri Lanka Vidyalaya. He entered the field of journalism around mid-1966. 

During his journalism career, he worked for Aththa (1966–1990), Dinamina (1990–2005), Lankadeepa (2006–2011), and Mawbima (2018–2020). Since 2020, he has been contributing articles to Lake House newspapers as the regional correspondent for Colombo Central. He has also contributed articles to the Silumina, Observer, and Thinakaran. Among other roles, he served as the Deputy News Editor of the Dinamina. 

Having covered major political parties, the Colombo Municipal Council, and the Western Provincial Council for a lengthy period, he is also a member of the Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association. Senior journalists Sirilal Kodikara, B.A. Siriwardena, Ariyawansha Pathiraja, and Bennett Rupasinghe are among his contemporaries.