Rts Announces Winners Of

P R E S S R E L E A S E 23 February 2012

RTS ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF TELEVISION JOURNALISM AWARDS 2010/2011

The Royal Television Society (RTS), Britain’s leading forum for television and related media, announced the winners of the RTS Television Journalism Awards 2010/2011, at a ceremony held last night in London. The evening was hosted by ITV newsreader Mark Austin.

The RTS Television Journalism Awards celebrate creative and excellent journalism in UK news and current affairs, both by organisations broadcasting in the UK and by companies which supply UK news broadcasters.

Full list of the Winners:

Young Journalist of the Year Joe Casey, BBC Panorama, BBC Current Affairs for BBC One “Our winner played a central and highly sensitive role in a shocking investigation which exposed callous neglect and humiliation of highly vulnerable inmates. This was fantastic work on one of the stories of the year. An outstanding winner from an outstanding programme.”

Nominees Rohit Kachroo, ITV News, ITN for ITV News Tim Lawton, Channel 4 News/True Vision, ITN/True Vision for Channel 4 News

Nations and Regions News Programme Calendar, ITV Yorkshire “ The winning entry was a selection of varied and highly watchable items from an exclusive on the Crossbow Cannibal murderer to a trip down Gaping Gill.”

Nominees ITV London Tonight, ITN for ITV London Granada Reports, ITV Granada

Nations and Regions Current Affairs and News Event Insight: The Resurrection of Brendan Smyth, UTV Insight “This year’s winner drew on 20 years of investigation by one reporter, culminating in a programme that shed important new light on the cover-up of child abuse by Catholic clergy.”

Nominees Inside Out South West: Multiple Sclerosis – CCSVI, BBC South West Week In Week Out: Cash for Qualifications, BBC Wales

2-6 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0AY +44 (0) 20 7490 4050 www.franklinrae.com News Coverage - Home UK Riots, Sky News “ In a year of big home news stories, the winning entry impressed the jury with its range and authority. Visually rich and featuring front line reporting that was brave, illuminating and captured some remarkable moments in a fast moving story with real ingenuity. It was, in the opinion of the jury, the stand-out entry – a top quality example of rolling news coverage.”

Nominees Phone Hacking, Newsnight BBC Two The Summer Riots, ITN for Channel 4 News

Current Affairs - Home Panorama: Undercover Care, BBC Current Affairs for BBC One “A truly outstanding documentary that exemplified public interest journalism and told a shocking and moving story through a measured and compelling narrative. This was a brave undercover investigation into the treatment of the most vulnerable in our society - and it lead to significant changes in the way they are treated.”

Nominees Dispatches: Lessons in Hate and Violence, Hardcash Productions for Channel 4 Dispatches: How to Buy a Football Club, Vera Productions for Channel 4

Current Affairs - International Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, ITN for Channel 4 “ This meticulous investigative documentary was judged as a truly outstanding exemplar. The producers had the difficult task of collating and analysing hours of raw footage often shot on mobile phones or on small domestic cameras. They took a forensic approach to this material, and were able to piece together a unique, disturbing and convincing account of what was supposed to be a war carried out well away from public view.”

Nominees Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark, Al Jazeera English This World: Spain's Stolen Babies, BBC Current Affairs for BBC Two

News Coverage - International Libya, Sky News “At the heart of the winning entry was a series of reports that called for extraordinary bravery, endurance and outstanding judgment, not to mention some brilliant achievements in just getting to the right places at the crucial moment. The judges praised the powerful journalism by a team of correspondents, camera crews and producers, reporting from the front line of a brutal civil war.”

Nominees Disaster in Japan, ITN for Channel 4 News Misrata, ITN for ITV News

2-6 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0AY +44 (0) 20 7490 4050 www.franklinrae.com Page 2 of 7 Scoop of the Year Panorama: Undercover Care, BBC Current Affairs for BBC One “In a year when television again produced investigative journalism which is truly in the public interest, the Scoop of the Year revealed uncomfortable truths and helped to change things for the better.”

Nominees Panorama: FIFA's Dirty Secrets, BBC Current Affairs for BBC One The Fall of Tripoli, Sky News

Innovative News The Stream: Bahrain, Al Jazeera English “ The winning entry was a genuine innovation in the presentation of television journalism. An excellent example of how to conduct an interactive conversation that kept the viewers attention with pace and ambition.”

Nominees Confronting The Looters, Sky News Sky News for iPad, Sky News

The Independent Award Somali Olympic Dreams – Jamal Osman for ITN/Channel 4 News “The winning film showed in a unique way the power of human desire to succeed in any circumstances. It was a remarkable project which was heart-warming, uplifting and heartbreaking by turn. An admirable venture to tell a story about brave and indomitable athletes.”

Nominees People and Power: Seeds of Change – Elizabeth C Jones and Caroline Pare for Al Jazeera English FIFA's Dirty Secrets – Andrew Jennings for BBC One

Camera Operator of the Year Stuart Webb, Channel 4 News, ITN for Channel 4 News “Brilliantly shot, the images were full of detail and very measured. The winner’s work showed real sensitivity – he got close without being intrusive and the camera said everything!”

Nominees Darren ‘DC’ Conway, BBC News Raul Gallego Abellan, AP Television News, APTN Global Video Wire

2-6 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0AY +44 (0) 20 7490 4050 www.franklinrae.com Page 3 of 7 News Programme of the Year Newsnight, BBC Two “The judges felt the winner stood out as the main forum for the live studio encounters of the year. Together with some edgy exposés and analysis from first-rate specialists, it made them the “must-watch” news programme.”

Nominees BBC News at Ten, BBC News for BBC One Channel 4 News, ITN for Channel 4 News

News Channel of the Year Al Jazeera English “In a year that was dominated by the Arab Spring, this channel established itself as essential viewing for insight and understanding of the evolving story. In an assessment that acknowledged an impressive range of news coverage from around the world, the jury described this year as the `breakthrough moment’ for Al Jazeera English.”

Nominees BBC News Channel Sky News

Specialist Journalist of the Year Paul Mason, Newsnight, BBC Two “Night after night he has provided compelling coverage of one of the biggest stories of the year: the economic crisis and the meltdown in the Eurozone. On the road and in the studio he has combined brilliant reportage with thoughtful and original analysis. With his knack for getting to the heart of the story and his ability to explain and illustrate a very complex world, Paul Mason is an outstanding winner.”

Nominees Jeremy Bowen, Middle East Editor, BBC News Faisal Islam, Channel 4 News, ITN for Channel 4 News

Television Journalist of the Year Alex Crawford, Sky News “The judges recognised the extraordinary achievement of not only Alex Crawford but also her team in getting unique access to the frontline in Libya – in particular capturing the first proof that Ghaddafi was attacking his own people. It was brave, vivid conflict reporting of the highest order: compelling viewing on a story of major importance.”

Nominees Alex Thomson, Channel 4 News, ITN for Channel 4 News Richard Watson, Newsnight, BBC Two

2-6 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0AY +44 (0) 20 7490 4050 www.franklinrae.com Page 4 of 7 Presenter of the Year Anna Botting, Sky News “Presenting from across the world and in the studio, the winner impressed the judges with powerful journalism, natural authority and a genuine understanding of how the big stories affect people’s lives.”

Nominees Mark Austin, ITV News, ITN for ITV News Jon Snow, Channel 4 News, ITN for Channel 4 News

Judges’ Award NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) “ On Friday 11 March, a huge earthquake hit Japan, measuring a massive 9 on the Richter scale. Within minutes, NHK had begun to stream live pictures as their teams scrambled to provide eyewitness reports on the quake and to alert Japanese citizens and other countries on the Pacific Rim to the expected tsunami. Then, with the help of their 14 helicopters and 70 satellite trucks, NHK provided extraordinary live coverage of the enormous tsunami wave as it came ashore, engulfing everything – fields, farms, ports and whole villages and towns – all along Japan's north east coast.

NHK practices its earthquake contingency measures every day. But even with all this preparation, it must have been very challenging, to provide such comprehensive coverage for so many hours, at so many different locations, during such a massive disaster.

Broadcasters in the UK and around the world took these dramatic pictures from NHK. It was the first time that we had been able to broadcast pictures of the full power of a tsunami from the air and live as it happened.”

Lifetime Achievement Sir David Nicholas CBE “ This year's recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award spent a lifetime in TV journalism – a sub, a producer, and ultimately an editor in chief, chief executive and chairman.

He was a story teller, first and foremost; but, in short-order, became a true leader of men and women.

He got printer's ink under his finger nails many years ago, but it was the world of TV journalism that captured his heart and he, in return, captured its commanding heights.

He changed the face of TV journalism – invented programmes, seized time at the heart of the network schedule, and created a news brand that had a resonance of respect and affection for decades, and is still with us today.

As one of the industry's true innovators, he did so much more than stamp his authority on what was already being done. He found fresh ways of doing things, personalising

2-6 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0AY +44 (0) 20 7490 4050 www.franklinrae.com Page 5 of 7 story-telling and mastering the evolving technologies to help him and his people tell those stories.

Professionally, he was at his happiest in the newsroom – wrestling with stories and lead-ins – or in the control-room for special programmes, calling the shots, mastering the narrative of budgets, elections... even moon-shots.

Other giants of our industry, deferred to him – as their leader, their mentor and their friend. His pioneering influence has probably touched every person in this room. He is Welsh and that lilt in his voice spoke to a passion for language, for understanding and for truth – in short, for good journalism.”

** ENDS **

Notes to editors:

About The Royal Television Society:

The Royal Television Society is Britain’s leading forum for television and related media. Membership is open to everyone with an interest in the medium.

The RTS was granted its Royal title in 1966 and HRH The Prince of Wales became Patron of the Society in 1997. The RTS brings together people to exchange ideas, debate and explore key issues. The RTS Awards are an internationally recognised hallmark for quality and originality.

For over 80 years, the RTS has provided the UK’s main platform for debate about the future of television. Its lectures, events and publications make a substantial contribution to raising standards and developing practice. The RTS organises dinners with influential speakers, lectures, monthly sessions on current issues, and the world famous biennial Cambridge Convention sets the agenda for the future.

Television, the leading UK monthly on television issues and broadcasting policy, is distributed free to members. Separate RTS Awards events cover Programme Making, Television Journalism, Craft and Design, Education, Students and Innovation.

Many of the Society’s dinners and conventions are oversubscribed. Patron and individual membership entitles members to priority applications and advanced booking.

There are 13 regional centres in the UK, and a Republic of Ireland Centre located in Dublin. Each Centre provides a mix of programme, technical, and craft events.

The Society is an educational charity, embracing all aspects of television, including the creative community, broadcasting, equipment manufacture, professional consultancy, journalism, design, research and development, cable, satellite, video and interactivity. The Society relies for its future on the contributions of individual members and corporate Patrons. Individual membership is available from £65.00 per year.

For press enquiries, please contact:

Franklin Rae Communications +44 (0) 20 7490 4050

Robyn Vanoli-Salmon / [email protected] Jessica Bromley / [email protected]

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