Reyivolu Rhakho, recipient of the KPC Impact Journalism Award 2025.
Reyivolu Rhakho conferred KPC Impact Journalism Award 2025
Morung Express News
Kohima | November 16
Seven years into the field of journalism, Reyivolu Rhakho said that, “I’ve never felt this assured and validated telling stories of our people.” She was conferred the KPC Impact Journalism Award 2025 on the occasion of National Press Day organised by Kohima Press Club at Hotel Japfü Kohima on November 16.
“When I joined Eastern Mirror in 2018, a handful of us reporters had to cover every topic. From the opening of a fried chicken outlet, beauty salon to events and press conference, incidents and accidents, sports and entertainment, infrastructure and developments, issues confronting the people, breaking news, byline stories, so on and so forth, all in tight deadlines,” she recalled.
This was precisely why Reyivolu was given the award.
“In the past one year, she exceptionally reported a wide range of beat from sports to courts, from highlighting stories in the socio-economic sector to balancing the use of artificial intelligence, from gender-related features to sustainable agricultural practices, from covering music and entertainment to politics, and slogging the crime beat as well,” President of Kohima Press Club, Alice Yhoshü expressed while presenting the award.
Describing Reyivolu as quiet, friendly, compassionate and humble as a person, Yhoshü however noted that, “professionally, she is known to be a strict stickler for accuracy, persistence and objectivity.”
Stating that her work exemplifies that of Nagaland journalists in general as we don't have a specific beat, she said that in the past year, “Reyivolu's work, covering a multiple range of topics, going out of her way traveling to remote areas to deliver comprehensive, objective and accurate first-hand gathered information reports, has stood out as the best of us.”
Alice Yhoshü also retraced how the Award was initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 mainly to acknowledge the contributions of media professionals, to motivate and encourage them to continue pursuing quality journalism while promoting social justice.
She recalled that “the pandemic affected all spheres of life, including the news industry, and it was during that difficult period, that many journalists, as frontline workers, did outstanding work that resulted in governments taking action towards improving the services and healthcare facilities for the people.” Stating that Nagaland was no different, she said that, “this greatly inspired the Kohima Press Club to introduce an award to give recognition to the members of the Press fraternity in the state for excellence in journalism.”
The KPC Impact Journalism Award has now become a yearly honour, and the only award in Nagaland that is given to journalists in recognition of their professional work, she highlighted while relating that the Award consists of a citation and a cash prize.
She further revealed that the process of selecting recipients runs for the preceding year, wherein, the work of the nominees are scrutinized on the basis of the significance of the news story(ies), the skill, efforts and originality of the journalist, and impact of the news story(ies), among other standards, and is purely carried out by the Executive Council, the decision-making body of the Kohima Press Club.
She further read out the roll of honour since the award's year of inception. Atono Tsukru Kense and Toiying Sarah Naam were the first recipients of the Impact Journalism Award in 2020 for their powerful and probing reportage during the pandemic that resulted in action and redressal from the concerned authorities, particularly in the health sector.
In 2021, the award was conferred on Imkong Walling, in recognition of his outstanding series of work highlighting the problems and potential of the power sector in Nagaland while Vishü Rita Krocha was given the award in 2022 in appreciation of her exceptional contribution towards rural journalism.
Dr Moalemba Jamir was awarded in 2023 in recognition of his in-depth work with regard to the digital competence of government departments in Nagaland which prompted many departments to leverage their IT performances in public domain while ImtiLongchar was conferred the award in 2024 in recognition of his work which underscored the life and struggles of the communities living close to the Indo-Myanmar international border, particularly in the eastern district of Noklak.
'Reporters are truly the legs and hands, ears and eyes of the public'
When Reyivolu Rhakho joined St Aloysius College in Mangalore as a Mass Communication and Media Studies (Master’s course) student in 2014, she was determined to become a journalist not because of any other reasons, but because journalists, according to her, looked cool and respectable.
Eventually, when she joined the field, she said, “I realised it was far from what I had imagined. It requires a lot of courage, passion and determination to stay in this profession.”
Even as she has been covering different beats over the last 7 years, she said, “looking back, I’m really thankful for those years of experience and learning. It has taught me so much and greatly shaped my outlook on things happening around us and the people around us.”
She also acknowledged her editor and colleagues for all the support and guidance, her family for all the sacrifices made when she couldn’t be around at home, all her friends “for being there, and for generously transporting me back and forth from reporting on your vehicles. I will remember them.” “Above all, to the Almighty God for this life and this profession”, she put across.
Further asserting that reporters are truly the legs and hands, ears and eyes of the organisation they represent and essentially the public, she emphasized that, “what we do in this small part of the region may go noticed or even unnoticed by the world. But it's important that we keep telling stories of our people and get it out there because they matter - if not to the world - definitely to ourselves.”
She also dedicated the Award to the audience who gathered to celebrate National Press Day at Kohima while exuding hope that they would not get tired of telling stories of our people.
