Reminiscing old newspaper days

Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera (third from left) and Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Chairman Krishantha Cooray (left) all smiles at the ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the company’s flagship publication, the Daily News, as ANCL Editorial Director Chandrasiri Seneviratne and Editor Lalith Alahakoon look on. Former Editors of Daily News as well as Editors of several national English and Sinhala dailies Lankadeepa, Daily Mirror, The Island, Sunday Island and Daily FT also attended the ceremony as a gesture of goodwill and in recognition of the ANCL’s milestone in print media. ANCL was founded by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s grandfather D.R. Wijewardene and later nationalised in 1973. Since then, it remains under State control

With the Daily News celebrating its centenary, my mind goes back to the days when as a kid the first paper I saw (not read) was the ‘Ceylon Daily News’. It was the only daily newspaper that was bought by my father, who was the headmaster of Hanwella Bilingual School where prominence was given to teaching in English. My mother did not know English and she was quite happy reading only the Sinhala weekly, the ‘Silumina’.

As I grew up I began to turn the pages of the Daily News and glance through pictures.  Later I started cutting pictures that interested me and pasting on a scrap book. Gradually I began to read the paper.

As we moved up to higher classes at Ananda, we had to be abreast with news around the world and we got into the habit of reading the papers in the College library.

In the early 1950s, looking for a job while waiting for results of the HSC (Higher School Certificate)/University Entrance examination, I responded to an advertisement in the Daily News to join as a trainee journalist in a Sinhala newspaper. I got selected and joined the Dinamina.

The training began with translating news stories written by Daily News reporters which the Dinamina News Editor, Charlie Gunawardena (he later became News Editor of Daily News and eventually joined the Foreign Affairs Ministry and eventually was Director of Information at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London) felt would be of interest to Sinhalese readers. Daily News reporters gave carbon copies of their news stories. We also translated world news sent by the Reuters News Agency which came over the ticker.

It was the era when Dinamina, which had enjoyed a monopoly for several decades, was facing tough competition from the Lankadeepa, the Times of Ceylon group Sinhala daily. The management realised the need for a restructuring. 

While veteran journalist Piyasena Nissanka remained Chief Editor, M.A. de Silva (contemporary of Managing Director Esmond Wickremasinghe in the Colombo University) was moved from the Daily News as Managing Editor. D.F. Kariyakarawana joined as Chief Sub-Editor from the Lankadeepa. Sisil Ilangakoon, a university product, was Features Editor.

Within a few months I moved out to join the university. After spending three years at Peradeniya I was back on the Dinamina immediately after I sat my final exam. By then a separate news desk had been set up and outstation correspondents were appointed exclusively to work for the Dinamina. Heading the news desk was Pujitha Wijetunga, one of the best news reporters I had come across. He was the only one from the Dinamina to do his rounds wearing a tie and coat. 

Being housed in the right wing of Lake House, the Daily News and Dinamina staffs were next to each other. A close relationship was built up particularly between the news teams. I was attached to the news desk and soon made friends with reporters covering the same beat as myself and with the Daily News parliamentary reporters. 

Cecil Graham was the Daily News Editor, having succeeded the highly-renowned classics scholar Jayantha Padmanabha who was the Editor after H.A.J. Hulugalle. Reggie Siriwardena was heading the Features desk. Charlie Gunawardena had moved from the Dinamina as News Editor. When he left Gerald Delilkhan took over. Willy van der Straaten was Chief Sub-Editor. The big-made M.M. Thowfeek was the Sports Editor. Christie Seneviratne and Carlton Seneviratne were among the top-rung sports reporters.

In the parliamentary reporting team were E.C.T. Candappa, Neil Kulatunga (a fine cricketer at Ananda during my time), A.B. (Benjy) Mendis and A.H.P. Ranasinghe with whom the Dinamina reporters worked closely. Both Mendis and Ranasinghe were senior hands and were always clad in tie and coat, as decreed by Lake House founder D.R. Wijewardene. (The practice had gradually died off by the time we joined.) 

A veteran who had gone through the mill, H.B. (Bertie) W. Abeynayake was Parliamentary Editor at the time and all the Daily News copy of the parliamentary proceedings was vetted by him in Parliament itself before sending them to office. We approached him if and when there was any problem.

It was the practice for the Daily News and Dinamina reporters to travel in one car along with one photographer whenever they had to cover outstation assignments. It was fun going out with the big, burly photographer Wally Perera who occupied the front seat in the Volkswagen and related stories right through the trip. 

I will never forget at least two such trips. One was going to Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa covering Chinese Premier Chou En-lai’s visit (Reggie Siriwardena was my Daily News colleague) and to Trincomalee for the takeover of the British naval base by Prime Minister Bandaranaike, with Dalton de Silva. 

It is rather sad that hardly any of these journalists of yesteryear are still with us.