Nun’s battle, e-waste fraud: NL and TNM stories recognised at Media Foundation awards

As the first quarter of 2026 wraps up, journalists are already chasing the year’s next big story. But today in Delhi, the 2025 Journalism Awards by The Media Foundation gave us a reason to look back. 

Reports by Newslaundry and The News Minute picked up honours in two major categories, a reminder that good journalism has a longer memory than the news cycle. 

Nidhi Suresh won the Kamla Manekar Award for Journalism on Gender 2025.

The award was for a series of stories that included her conversations with ‘Pulsar’ Suni – convicted of abducting and raping a leading Malayalam actor in 2017 – and her ground report revealing the systemic efforts to silence Sister Ranit, the first nun in India to file a rape case against a bishop. It also included the story of Bindhu Ammini, who was compelled to leave Kerala after entering the Sabarimala temple, and a detailed profile of star cricketer Deepti Sharma.

Ekta Sonawane (Queerbeat) and Tejas Vaidya (BBC Gujarati) received special mentions in this category.

Meanwhile, Shivnarayan Rajpurohit, Special Correspondent at Newslaundry, found a special mention when the Vishwa Nath-Delhi Press Award for Fearless Journalism 2025 was announced. 

It was for his three-part investigative series on India’s e-waste underworld. The series flagged glaring gaps in the e-waste recycling sector and regulatory efforts. Plants with questionable recycling activities earned crores in carbon credits – or Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) certificates – to possibly help electronics firms meet statutory obligations. 

The Wire’s Sukanya Shantha was named the winner in this category for her series on the disproportionate number of guilty pleas in NIA cases.

This is the kind of journalism that takes time, resources, and the freedom to follow a story wherever it leads.

That freedom exists because our subscribers choose to protect it. If you believe independent reporting matters, subscribe to Newslaundry and The News Minute today.