New Delhi: Siddharth Varadarajan, a founding editor of The Wire, received the Shorenstein Journalism Award for 2017 at a formal ceremony at Stanford University last month for his contribution towards defending the freedom of the press in Asia.

In a statement on its website, the Asia-Pacific Research Centre, which administers the award instituted by the philanthropist Walter H. Shorenstein, said the award “recognises Varadarajan’s exemplary record of excellence in reporting on India’s domestic and foreign affairs in both traditional and new media. As founding editor of The Wire, Varadarajan combines innovative digital strategies with quality reporting that advances positive social, economic, and political change.”

The Shorenstein Journalism Award, instituted in 2002, recognises “accomplished journalists committed to critical reporting on and exploring the complexities of Asia through their writing, and alternates between honouring recipients from the West, who mainly address American audiences, and recipients from Asia, who pave the way for freedom of the press in their countries.”

Previous recipients from Asia include Yoichi Funabashi, former editor-in-chief, Asahi Shimbun, Aung Zaw, founder and editor, The Irrawaddy and Caixin Media, an independent, Beijing-based media company.

Shorenstein Award recipients who have written mainly for American audiences include Ian Buruma, Nayan Chanda, Orville Schell, Ian Johnson, Jacob Schlesinger, Barbara Demick, Seth Mydans and Susan Chira.

As part of the award-related events, Varadarajan gave a public lecture on “India, the United States, and China: The New Triangle in Asia” and delivered an address on the current state of the media in India before an invited audience.

He said the award was a “boost to those of us in India who are fighting the good fight of keeping independent journalism alive-and kicking under difficult circumstances.”

Varadarajan was introduced by Orville Schell, former dean of the School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, who spoke about his work as a journalist at the Times of India, The Hindu – which Varadarajan edited from 2011-2013 – and The Wire, which he co-founded with M.K. Venu and Sidharth Bhatia in 2015.

The Wire, a not-for-profit news and analysis portal, was launched on May 11, 2015.