Thevis Guruge was a distinguished broadcaster with Radio Ceylon

Radio Ceylon

Radio Ceylon is the oldest radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis in Ceylon by the Telegraph Department in 1923, just three years after the inauguration of broadcasting in Europe.- Edward Harper :...

 and subsequently the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation

Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation

The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation came into existence on January 5, 1967 when Radio Ceylon became a public corporation. Dudley Senanayake who was the Prime Minister of Ceylon in 1967 ceremonially opened the newly established Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation along with Minister Ranasinghe...

. He was the first Sinhala Announcer with Radio Ceylon - the oldest radio station in South Asia.

Iconic status

He enjoyed iconic status alongside other announcers of the station, Guruge was one of the early pioneers particularly where the Sinhala service was concerned. Millions tuned into Radio Ceylon.

Chairman of ITN

In the 1980s Thevis Guruge was appointed Competent Authority of ITN in Sri Lanka after it was acquired by the government. Guruge was assassinated in 1989 by the JVP

JVP

JVP may stand for:*Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, People's Liberation Front, a Sri Lankan Socialist Party.*Jerusalem Venture Partners, an Israeli-American media venture capital....

, whose uneducated youth squad had threatened him the week before. As he had not bowed to their threats, this visionary chairman met his demise.