A fun night with Mel at the Cricket Club in Colombo.

In 2008, I was hired by the government of the Republic of Maldives to help prepare their state radio and TV broadcasters for the country’s first multiparty democratic presidential election. But I wasn’t the only journalist involved in the ambitious journalism training program. Mel Gunasekera was there first.

To appreciate what Mel did, you have to know that in many developing countries “business reporting” amounts to little more than taking bribes to publish press releases. Mel was different. An established journalist from Sri Lanka, Mel was able to teach the Maldivians about business journalism. She asked tough questions and recognized that compelling stories must be built around compelling characters. Her integrity could not be bought and she set the same high standards for her students. We clicked right away.

A few years later in 2010, I received a Fulbright grant to teach journalism workshops in Colombo and Male. Mel welcomed me to Colombo and helped me understand the challenges journalists were facing in a post-conflict environment with a government that did not welcome media scrutiny. We also enjoyed food and conversation at the Cricket Club, because you can’t understand Sri Lanka without a passion for its national sport. Some of the journalists in my workshop were writing for LBO, the business news website that Mel helped to launch.

Mel was a world-class journalist who was modest about her talent. She could have made it at the Wall Street Journal or any major financial publication. She chose to use her skills in Sri Lanka. I always enjoyed it when she posted one of her stories on social media: Here is a link to one of my favorites.

It has been heartwarming to read all the tributes to Mel from those whose lives she touched. I hope there will be more. Her stories should be collected and printed out to inspire future journalists covering Sri Lanka and the world. She always went beyond the press release to get to the heart of the truth.  Perhaps there should be an annual prize for business reporting in her memory. I am deeply saddened that a senseless act of violence robbed all of us who will never read the powerful stories she had yet to tell. RIP dear friend. I already miss you.