Sunday Times 2
Sri Lankan Anchorman Editor wins Toronto press award
View(s):Veteran Sri Lankan journalist Dirk Tissera, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Sri Lankan ANCHORMAN, a cutting edge English monthly tabloid in Toronto, Canada, was recognised for his excellence in editorial content and visual presentation, at a glittering awards ceremony held at the Queen’s Park Legislative Assembly in Ontario on November 4.
Dirk and Michelle Tissera with Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Elizabeth Dowdeswell
Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell was the chief guest and presented the award to Mr. Tissera.Mr. Tissera, started his journalism career at the Daily Mirror-Sunday Times in 1981 and later crossed over to the Sun-Weekend, the Sunday Times and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), before working for the Gulf News in Dubai for more than a decade.
Mr. Tissera migrated to Canada in 1997 with his Indian- born wife Michelle and two children before launching The Sri Lankan Anchorman in 2002 in Toronto. “We are committed to publishing an unbiased and high-end tabloid backed by a professional team of writers. The ANCHORMAN has a large readership and the free monthly is distributed throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and its suburbs,” Tissera said.
He said, “We have a great team of writers headed by our Contributing Editor, Sir Christopher Ondaatje.”Mr. Tissera was also recognised for his services and achievements in media by the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC). His wife Michelle is the Deputy Editor and Design Editor of The ANCHORMAN and is also a prolific feature writer.
The Sri Lankan ANCHORMAN is a respected publication serving the Sri Lankan community in Canada. Published in English, it emphasises the efforts of the publisher to encourage integration of its readers to Canadian mainstream society and culture.
Having honed his pugilistic skills at St. Mary’s College, Dehiwela, Mr. Tissera represented his alma mater, distinguishing himself in a number of Stubbs Shield meets and in the process was privileged to be showered with accolades from some of Sri Lanka’s harshest boxing critics.
These glowing accomplishments held him in good stead, making it possible earlier, to choose sports reporting as his area of expertise. Besides sports reporting, he also covered parliament, cabinet and did the crime beats in Sri Lanka in the early 1980s. Under the watchful eye of affable and unflappable Patrick Cruz, Mr. Tissera lost no time in cottoning on to the finer points of journalism, something he perfected into a fine art form.