Imphal: In a heartwarming news, veteran journalist Valleyrose Hungyo, chief editor and proprietor of The Aja Daily, was given the ‘Excellence in Journalism’ award by the ETA Northeast Women’s Network in recognition for the outstanding contribution in the field of journalism recently.
Valleyrose was among the 21 selected women from Manipur who received the “Women of Substance” Award 2023 during their 3rd edition of the annual ETA held at Saingai Hall, Hotel Imphal on March 12 as part of the International Women’s Day celebration.
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Sharing her thoughts on receiving the award to Ukhrul Times, Valleyrose said, “The award came as a dream for me. I am very thankful to ETA Northeast Women’s Network for recognising my sufferings and the labour, as a woman has taken, the only woman editor in the state. This has really pushed me to revive my zeal and look forward to higher limits.”
I also thank all those whom I know or do not know, who congratulated me for receiving the award. You all have made me proud and put me on the top. Thank you all. And above all, all glory and thanks to God, she added.
Valleyrose, who started The Aja Daily, a Tangkhul-English bilingual newspaper, along with her husband late Ngathingkhui Hungyo in December 3, 1992, have come a long way and established her position in the field of journalism in Manipur. She is the first and only female editor in the state and proprietor of a daily newspaper.
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According to her, neither of them were having formal degree on journalism nor finance to support their venture but the couple started the initiative, purely out of their love for the community and necessity.
“We did it not with the want of money but because we saw the need of it by our society. It was a real challenge for us at that time. Because, non of us were media literate nor did we had money to hire people to work for us,” she said.
According to her, through the venture, they felt the need to bridge the communication gaps between different communities through print media.
Back then, it was the only daily newspaper owned and run in tribal dialect and bilingual in the state, she recalled.
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People did not believe that the newspaper would survive, because many people had tried earlier and they all have died, even though they had more money than us, she confided.
Despite all the challenges, The Aja Daily had celebrated its 25 years of service, Silver Jubilee, on December 3, 2017.
“After the Silver Jubilee celebration, we continued publishing. However, my husband who took much interest in the media, passed away in 2015. We continue the work,” said Valleyrose, the first and only female editor and proprietor of a daily newspaper in the state.
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