The right man for the job

It was good to read about a professional’s appointment as the head of the Information Department. Ranga Kalansooriya has had a long career in mass communication and the mix of practical experience, academic knowledge and managerial skill should help him turn things around in a place where there has been a quick turnover of heads every now and then. 

As practical men I can only recall the one-time Times of Ceylon media-man Lionel Fernando and D.B. Nihalsingha occupying the seat of what was then Director of Information. (Now it sounds pretty ‘big’ as Director-General – whether the scope of the job had changed I wouldn’t know).

It was once a post reserved for a member of the now defunct Ceylon Civil Service when the cream of the university products were selected after an examination and a viva voce by a panel composed of senior members of the administration. 

At the time I started my career as a reporter in id-1950s, M.J. Perera was the head and I used to meet him regularly during my news rounds. He was the one who started the scheme of Ministry Press Officers who were appointed after a proper selection process based on those who responded to a press advertisement. 

The applicants had to be experienced journalists. I was keen to apply but didn’t meet the age criterion – I was underage! At least three of my Lake House colleagues – G.T. Wickremasinghe, Dalton de Silva and Neil Kulatunga were selected.

A thorough gentleman and efficient civil servant, I continued my acquaintance with MJP and when he was appointed Director of Cultural Affairs, he was a fine news source for me. Even after I moved out of Lake House, we continued our relationship until he passed away many years later. 

Young civil servant Sarath Amunugama turned out to be an ideal Information Chief with his flair for writing and superb PR with media. I recall how he phoned me one day just after I left Lake House and joined Lever Brothers and offered me a trip to Singapore. 

In the tough era in the early 1970s when foreign travel was severely curtailed (one was given just £3 10s – equivalent to Rs. 50 foreign exchange to go abroad) I asked him not to pull my leg. He said it was an invitation from the newly-formed Asian Mass Communication Information & Research Centre (AMIC) for someone to represent Sri Lanka at its inaugural seminar. (Mass Communication was a word unknown at the time in our country – we only spoke of Journalism.) They were sending a return air ticket and accommodation would be provided. 

I told him I was no longer an active journalist but Sarath A felt I was the one who should go and present a paper at the seminar. It turned out to be an interesting experience where I made contact with a number of Asian media personalities and continued as AMIC representative in Sri Lanka to keep AMIC updated of what was going on in the mass com field here. 

Being a visiting lecturer at the newly-formed Department of Journalism at the Kelaniya University (Wimal Dissanaayke was the head) and being involved with the preparation of syllabuses and other pioneering work, I could send material that was of interest to AMIC. 

Amidst my work at Levers, I was able to organise a regional seminar in Colombo which was opened by Minister of Information, R.S. Perera at the Galle Face Hotel. Arthur C. Clarke accepted my invitation to be keynote speaker and for the participating Asian representatives it was a welcome surprise to listen to him. After the seminar I arranged for Anura Gunasekera, Assistant Director of Information, to be the AMIC contact and if I remember right, was with AMIC for a while before or after he migrated to Australia. 

Incidentally, Sarath A once served as Secretary-General of AMIC.

Getting back to Ranga K, I haven’t had much opportunity to meet him since I had quit active journalism much before he entered the scene. I met him when I served on the Journalism Awards for Excellence panel once and more recently when we prepared a Manual of Journalism initiated by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL). There I found him to be a thorough professional in his approach. 

I wish and hope he will have the freedom to develop a meaningful work plan amidst Government red tape of which I am not too sure whether he has had a taste earlier.

Best of luck, Ranga!

41st Regional Convention of Y’s Men International

The 41st Regional Convention of Y’s Men International will be held on 18 June at the Hotel Sapphire, Colombo 6. 

Dignitaries from Asia will attend the Convention and the Regional Director Prasantha De Silva will take his oaths for office at the helm, for the year 2016-17. His deputy will be Ranaraj Serasinghe, and the two senior Y’s Men will spearhead the organisation in Sri Lanka, which is recognised by the United Nations. 

The priority of the organisation is to increase the membership and concentrate on leading and fulfilling the tasks of the Regional Board especially in the Central, Eastern and South Western Districts of the association.

The Convention will see a number of guest speakers and will be followed by a formal fellowship Dinner Dance.

The Y’s Men International is affiliated to the YMCA and is recognised as a prominent worldwide organisation.