Youngjournalist showsgreatpromise

A student placement at Indian Link leads to a media award

BYRAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

It1dianLink's NamitaGohilhas won the YoungJournalist of the Year Award a[ thisyear's Mulciculn1ral andIndigenous MediaAwards.Sheimpressedthe judgeswith her body of work including awide range of arcicles on communiry affairs andin-depth interviews.

The 21-year-oldcame [O IndianLinksix months ago asastudent intern. A newly qualifiedbutexperiencedjournalist,she graduatedin August di.is rear with aMedia andCorumunicacioos degree from UNSW. While there,shewon ascholarsl.ip co attendthe University of Pennsylvaniain the USwhereshe undertookjournalism smdies. At bod1universicies,Namitapublished e."Xtensivelyandbuiltup animpressive portfolio of workthatshowcases her obvious talent for wricing.

At IndianLink,Iani.itahas contributed significantlywith alist of well-received arcicles.Theseincludeher thoroughly researchedpieces on Australia's early Sikh heritage;environmental accivism; healthyearingtrendsin today's society; contemporaryandpostmodernart;youth activism andsocial entrepreneurship;andas ayoungwomanof ni.igrant background,the assimilacionandintegracionimoAustralian society of od1ers of her age andgender.

"It is so rewarding to knowthat other people have valuedthe workwli.ich I have produced,especially on topics which are so unique andcontrary tothe stereotypical Bollywoodor cricketmaterialin Indian media," Namitatold Tndia11Li11k.

Namita's workclearlydemonstrates an tmderstanding of the issueswell beyondher yea.rs, aswell as askilful way wid1words.

Nan.itahasimpressed alsowith her knack for picking up leads andfollowing th.rough stories which she understands will interest readersbod1withinthe Indiancommunity andinthe wider mainstream.

For example,herpiece onenvironmental activist RameshAggarwal ('Ashot at ending coal mining') brought her accolades not only from Indianfollowers of the man, but also Australiansupporters,many of whomhavefundedhis campaigns inlndia. The piece receivedmuch feedbackin print andwas widely sharedonsocial media; a requestwasalso received for reprinciog by anindustrymagazine.

Nan.ita's 'Acknowledging the Sikh footprint in Australia'was anextensively examinedpiece onthe li.istoryandlegacy of early Sikhsettlersin d1is country.It receivedwonderfulfeedback:one Australian hiscorian wrotein m acquaint us of her own work regarding the li.istoryof turbaned Indians from the late 1800s.

As ayoung personfilledwid1 aspirations herself,Narnitais parcicularl)'interested inscoriesthatseepeople follow through with their dreams andworkha.rdto achieve them. Her feamre on aPerth- based Indianorigin actor andmodel, which becao1e the cover smry 'Bikinis aswellas bindis', advocatedstronglyfor women of colourin the fieldof entertainment. amita's personal passion for heald1y eatingis also brought to playin her wricing, such asin her analysisof vege[arianism in the piece '\'Vhi.rled peas'.

Hermaiden attempt at bei11g an art cricic alsocameoffquitesuccessfullyas she incerpreted andanalysedthemeaning and quality of avisiting Indianartist's work at the Sydney Biennale 2016.

HerAustralian upbringing notwithstanding,Namicais very much incontact with her Indianroots, seeking out stories that will help her coumryof origin.Her piece on ultra-marathonrunner San1and1a Gash ('A stridefor India's youth') helped raisefunds for projects addressing educacional inequality.

These stories showoff this youngwriter's zest for Iife just asmuch asher versatile wricingstyle.

Talking abouther experience at Tndia11 Link,Namitasaid, "I learnt agreat deal about how anewspaper is put toged1erdeciding on which arcicles wiU go inand 011what pages,how the advercisingis distributedacross the pages andreconciled with the articles,andtbe depth of subediting andfinal revisionsmade for all the writtenwork.I also learnthow the material fromprintis thentransferredto ooli.ne mediums (website andsocial media) andd1e variations d1at arerequiredto be made foran online audience. It was an amazing experience! I thoroughly enjoyed working alongside KiraSpucys-Tahar and od1ers astheyalways valuedmyopinions andsuggestions. Ialso likedhaving die opportunity to do different d1ings aswell aswriting - watchingthe radio shows conductinginterview andmakinggifs for the Facebook page.

Namitalists her piece oo Perth model ChandrikaRavias oneshe parcicularly enjoyed. Itbecame acoverfeamre.

"Icouldsense theyoungwoman's desire to succeedin alucrative industry, especiallyasshe has beencaught amongst two conAiccing culmres. She was funco interview,hada great, dynani.icenergyand di.is meant that Iwas ableco get alot of informationand insight into her life and purpose," Namitarevealed. "I d1ink what I enjoyedd1emost was wricingabout ayoung womanwhich so many people who read mepaper canrelate to,includingmyselfsomeone unique, different and determined to achieve somed1inggreat. Chandrikais now onthepath forsuccess.It's inspiring. "

Among journalist role models thatinspire her, amitalists Caro Meldrum-Hanoa, Ma,"<Murch andSarah Ferguson. "Ihave much respect for anyone that is willing to go om,take risks anduncover horrors whichareofteninvisible inour world."

She devours news on adailybasis, especiallyfrom ABC,SBS,sometimes AlJazeera,the Independent and The Economist.

"I also sometimes watchnews segments onYouTube from sources like The Young Turks,wli.ich is supposedly non-partisan, but eventhenyou cansee aclear agendaso I trytomakesured1at I get myinformacion frommulciple sources.Istill readd1eweekly communitynewspapers ioprint."

Of course there ismuch about mainstreammediamat Namita finds disparaging.

"]basically find fear mongering and populist political stories really annoying such aswhyimmigracion,parcicularly Muslim immigration, should be banned since theyprovide no concrete justifications, just opinions. I am also reallysick of how celebrity andPRstoriesare becoming more andmoreintertwinedwith real news stories."

What is she workingon at d1emoment?

"I'm lookingat an invescigative report on the difficultiesfacedbyyoung diasporic lndian women io Australia, the UKand the US,especially in college. Things like alcoholism,druguse, andsexual exploration is somewhat shunnedin the commwiity andnotenough is being done to provide support to d1ese people."

Going forward, Namitais keen to use herawardas aplatform to take further opportunities inwricingandreporcing.

"I don't want towriteabout trivial issues inIndia.I want to writeaboutimportant dungs andcritiquestandardisedpractises, mentalicies andsocietal norms.

Iwant Indians tostart recognising our soldiers,the accivists who work relentlessly to campaignforsocial justice issues,the hardships facedby manyand the health problems Indians today face. I want to encouragemore dialogue about mese dungs. Ihope l canused1e award toget somegreaterleverageandactually be recognisedbyorganisacions who have the resources to allowme to pursue more i.ovescigacive typework."

Go forth andmake your mark,young arnita.At IndianLinkwe will be watch.i.og your career with great interest.