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Avani Dias
Born (1991-11-15) 15 November 1991 (age 32)
Wattle Grove, New South Wales, Australia
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • radio presenter
Years active2015–present
Known forHosting Hack on Triple J

Avani Dias (born 15 November 1991) is an Australian journalist and radio presenter. She was the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)'s international foreign correspondent for South Asia, based in New Delhi until April 2024.[1] She will join Four Corners as a reporter after returning to Australia. Dias presented the current affairs program Hack on youth radio station Triple J from 2020 to 2021, after succeeding Tom Tilley at the end of 2019.[2][3]

Raised in South Western Sydney,[4] Dias completed her tertiary education at the University of Sydney, where she wrote for the student newspaper Honi Soit.[5] In her early career, she worked at independent radio station FBi Radio and the online newspaper The New Daily whilst also working as a production assistant at the ABC.[4] Dias received a cadetship at ABC News in 2015, becoming a video-journalist and later anchoring the Darwin 7PM News bulletin.[4][6]

Dias has won and been nominated for various journalistic awards, including Public Interest Award at the New South Wales Premier's Multicultural Communications Awards in 2019.

Early life and education

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Avani Dias was born on 15 November 1991,[7][8] in Wattle Grove, New South Wales.[citation needed] Dias grew up in the south west of Sydney, Australia.[4][9] The elder of two siblings,[10] Dias has one brother, Seth.[11] Dias' mother is also a journalist at the ABC.[12]

She completed her secondary schooling at Bankstown Grammar School in 2009,[13] and completed her tertiary education at the University of Sydney. In early 2013, she was elected as one of ten editors for the university's student newspaper Honi Soit.[5]

Career

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Dias began her career with FBi Radio, which she credits as giving her "a start in media".[14] Dias began working at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as a production assistant, before being awarded a cadetship with ABC News in 2015.[6] She went on to work as a multi-platform and video-journalist for the ABC in Sydney and Darwin, later anchoring the Darwin 7PM News bulletin.[4][6] In December 2019, Dias was announced as the new radio presenter for current affairs program Hack on the ABC's youth-focused radio station Triple J, which she hosted until December 2021.[15] In 2021 it was announced that Dias would relocate to New Delhi to serve as the ABC's foreign correspondent for South East Asia.[1]

Dias additionally wrote for The New Daily from 2015 to 2017.[16]

Her 2024 report for Foreign Correspondent, entitled Sikhs, Spies and Murder, investigated the alleged assassination by India of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.[17] India blocked the report on YouTube and said it would refuse to extend Dias' visa to stay in India. After a request from the Australian government, Dias' visa was extended for two months, but she decided to return to Australia because she said the pressure placed on her by Modi's government made it difficult to work in India. She will join Four Corners as a reporter on her return to Australia.[18]

She became embroiled in a controversy in June 2024 following the release of a video documentary titled "The story behind India’s Narendra Modi." In this video, Dias incorrectly claimed that the Indian Constitution included the word "secular" since its inception in 1947. On June 27, 2024, ABC News issued a clarification, admitting that Dias's claim was false. The broadcaster acknowledged that while the Supreme Court of India affirmed secularism as a basic feature of the 1950 Constitution during the 1960s, the word "secular" was only officially added to the Preamble in 1976 through the 42nd Constitutional Amendment during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure.[19]

Awards and nominations

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New South Wales Premier's Multicultural Communications Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 Premier's Multicultural Communications Awards Public Interest Award Won [20]

Walkley Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 Walkley Awards Young Australian Journalist of the Year Nominated [21]
2020 Radio/Audio News and Current Affairs Nominated [22]
2021 Public Service Journalism Award Nominated [23]

NT Press Club Awards

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Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2016 NT Press Club Awards Young Journalist of the Year Won [24]

References

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  1. ^ a b Connery, Tess (16 December 2021). "Why Avani Dias is leaving Hack and packing her bags for New Delhi". Mediaweek. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  2. ^ Lopez, Jonas (26 November 2021). "Dias set for ABC run". Influencing. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  3. ^ Langford, Jackson (28 November 2021). "Triple j's Avani Dias and Nat Tencic to depart the station next month". The Music Network. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e Joey Watson (28 November 2019). "Avani Dias Interview". Out of The Box (Podcast). FBi Radio. Event occurs at 0:50. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Thompson, Owen (5 February 2014). "Student papers test the limits". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "Avani Dias – ABC News". ABC News. 13 October 2020. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  7. ^ Dias, Avani [@AvaniDias] (16 November 2018). "LinkedIn is definitely the worst platform to receive a birthday message" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Dias, Avani [@avanidias] (18 November 2021). "Hello world, this is me entering 30 surrounded by lots of great people and love. Also stepping into the decade by spilling water on the radio panel during Hack, destroying the audio system and having to rant about climate change to fill the time. (Sorry again @lindaradclyffe 😭😭😭)". Retrieved 24 November 2021 – via Instagram.
  9. ^ Vrajlal, Alicia (29 November 2019). "Avani Dias talks Triple J gig, diversity quotas and racism she's faced in the past". HuffPost Australia. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  10. ^ Ange McCormack (2 June 2021). "Another seven days of lockdown". Hack (Podcast). Triple J. Event occurs at 28:15. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  11. ^ Dias, Avani [@AvaniDias] (13 March 2020). "Um my brother has been added to a group consisting of people also named Seth Dias all over the world. It's making me wish I had my own Avani Dias community tbh :(. So many shared experiences y'know" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Avani Dias (17 December 2021). "Looking back at 2021: Silver linings". Hack (Podcast). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Event occurs at 19:45. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  13. ^ "2009 Higher School Certificate". Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  14. ^ Triscari, Caleb (21 April 2020). ""Our revenue looks incredibly uncertain": Sydney's FBi Radio launches fundraising campaign". NME Australia. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  15. ^ Watson, Meg (24 November 2019). "'A generational shift': what the Triple J overhaul means for its audience". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Avani Dias, Author at The New Daily". The New Daily. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Sikhs, Spies and Murder: Investigating India's alleged hit on foreign soil". www.abc.net.au. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  18. ^ "'It felt too difficult to do my job': ABC journalist targeted by Indian government over her reporting". ABC News. 22 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Indian Constitution". ABC News. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  20. ^ "Multicultural Communications Awards: Two local winners get gongs from the Premier". Liverpool Champion. 10 December 2019. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  21. ^ Blackiston, Hannah (30 May 2019). "Walkley Foundation announces 2019 Mid-Year Celebration finalists". Mumbrella. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  22. ^ "Finalists announced for the 2020 Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism". The Walkley Foundation. 14 October 2020. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  23. ^ "Finalists announced for the 66th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism". The Walkley Foundation. 20 October 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  24. ^ "NT Media Awards". Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
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