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Lankadeepa senior journalist no more
View(s):Veteran journalist and former Lankadeepa staffer W.G. Gunaratne passed away on Friday after a battle with COVID-19. He was 84 years at the time of his death.
A senior journalist for more than 50 years, Mr Gunaratne began his journalism career in 1962 as the Kamburupitiya Correspondent of Lake House. Being proficient in both Sinhala and English, he worked at the Dinamina, Silumina and Janatha newspapers as well as the Sunday Observer published by Lake House. He also served a stint with the President’s Media Division during the presidency of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.
After a 35-year-career at Lake House, Mr Gunaratne joined Wijeya Newspapers in 2001 and was attached to the Lankadeepa newspaper, where he served as Provincial Editor till his retirement in 2016. Mr Gunaratne was also the Founding Editor of the paper’s website lankadeepa.lk.
He was also a respected teacher of journalism, helping to introduce many young journalists to the field and dedicated himself towards reporting while maintaining media integrity and ethics.
Born in Thihagoda, Matara, he was a past pupil of Rahula College, Matara. Mr Gunaratne leaves behind a wife and four children. His funeral was held on Friday at the Madiwela General Cemetery in accordance with COVID guidelines.