THE Royal Television Society (RTS) announced the winners for the RTS Television Journalism Awards 2018 at a prestigious awards ceremony, sponsored by GuestBooker, held on Wednesday 28 February 2018 at the London Hilton, Park Lane.
The awards, for both news and current affairs, seek to recognise creative and excellent journalism by organisations whose broadcasts are transmitted on a UK-based platform, or who create online video content from a UK production base. The awards are chaired by Sue Inglish.
The big winner on the night was the BBC, taking home 11 awards in total, including the ‘Daily news programme of the year’ for BBC News at Ten (BBC News for BBC One), and both ‘News coverage’ awards – the ‘Home award’ for The Grenfell Tower Fire (Newsnight, BBC Two) and the ‘International award’ for Yemen (BBC News for BBC One).
Sky News won the ‘News channel of the year’ award in a closely contested category, and was also presented with theBreaking News award for its remarkable coverage of the Manchester Terror Attack. CNN International was rewarded with ‘Scoop of the year’ for its courageous and enterprising storytelling about the Libya Slave Market.
The ‘Network presenter of the year’ award went to Victoria Derbyshire (Victoria Derbyshire Programme, BBC Two), while BBC News’ Orla Guerin was awarded ‘Television journalist of the year’. The ‘Specialist journalist of the year’ award was won by Channel 4 News’ Michael Crick (ITN for Channel 4), and Nawal Al-Maghafi (BBC News for BBC One) took the ‘Young talent of the year’ award.
Victoria Derbyshire Programme (BBC Two) also won ‘Interview of the year’ for its football abuse revelations. Two more BBC programmes were decorated in the ‘Current affairs’ categories; Panorama won the ‘Current affairs – home’ award for Undercover:
Britain’s Immigration Secrets (BBC Panorama for BBC One), while Newsnight was recognised in the ‘Current affairs – international’ category for The Rohingya Crisis: The Tula Toli Massacre (Newsnight for BBC Two).
This year’s winner of the RTS’s ‘Outstanding contribution’ award was Dorothy Byrne. Having started her career in local newspapers, she went on to run ITV’s ‘The Big Story’ where her formidable story-telling skills and fertile ideas were brilliant assets. She has been at the helm of Channel 4’s journalistic output for many years where her programmes have garnered many awards; she has also nurtured the careers of innumerable television journalists, especially women, and ensured that Channel 4 supports an MA in investigative journalism to bring people from different backgrounds into the field.
The ‘Judges’ award’, which recognises an outstanding contribution to the advancement of Television Journalism in the past year, was awarded to the 2017 UK Election Exit Polls led by Sir John Curtice.
One of the stand out TV moments of the year, few will forget where they were at 10pm on election night when they heard the result of the Exit Poll. What made this Exit Poll even more outstanding was that the team of political scientists, psephologists and pollsters had only seven weeks to put it all together.
Other winners on the night included Battle for Mosul – Channel 4 News (Nine Finger Productions for Channel 4) which won ‘The independent award’, Nina Hossain (ITV News London ITN for ITV) who won ‘Nations and regions presenter of the year’, and Antonio Denti (Reuters World News Service, Reuters Video News) who scooped ‘Camera operator of the year’.
For more information, visit: www.rts.org.uk/TVJ18
The full list of winners and nominees:
Breaking news
Manchester Terror Attack Sky News
“The entries for the Breaking News category focused on two terrible tragedies here in the UK – the Grenfell Tower fire and the Manchester Bombing. There were extraordinary demands made on broadcasters in matters of speed of response, sensitivity in dealing with grieving families and friends, and the delivery of context and explanation while events were still unfolding. The winning entry provided all this as well as a remarkable background exclusive within hours of the event happening.”
Nominees:
Grenfell Tower Fire Sky News
Good Morning Britain – Grenfell Tower Fire ITV Studios Daytime for ITV
Camera operator of the year
Antonio Denti – Reuters World News Service Reuters Video News
“This was a really powerful portfolio, the camera operator had an amazing ability to tell a story with images, some of which moved the jury to tears!”
Nominees:
Mstyslav Chernov – The Associated Press
Olivier Sarbil – Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4
Current affairs – home
Undercover: Britain’s Immigration Secrets – Panorama BBC Panorama for BBC One
“The winning entry was a very impressive piece of television, which included shocking and riveting undercover footage. A compelling watch, and a remarkable young undercover protagonist who became the ‘star of the show’! An outstanding and powerful film, which has had significant real world effects.”
Nominees:
Grenfell Tower: The 21st Floor – Newsnight BBC Two
Primados: The Secret Drugs Scandal Sky News
Current affairs – international
The Rohingya Crisis: The Tula Toli Massacre – Newsnight BBC Two
“… an exceptionally strong field…the top three were all serious contenders for the prize. In the end, the award went to a programme that tackled a single event within a major unfolding crisis. Outstanding and exceptional, with great access and interviews. It was well-judged and compellingly told.”
Nominees:
North Korea: Murder in the Family – This World BBC Current Affairs for BBC Two
Syria’s Disappeared: The Case Against Assad – Channel 4 Dispatches Afshar Films for Channel 4
Daily news programme of the year
BBC News at Ten BBC News for BBC One
“The winning programme showed the value of high-quality journalism at home and abroad. It had the courage to devote time to original investigations – as well as incisive analysis by some of the best reporters and correspondents in the business. It had confidence and authority, whether in the studio or on location.”
Nominees:
ITV News at Ten ITN for ITV
Victoria Derbyshire Programme BBC Two
Interview of the year
Victoria Derbyshire Programme – Football Abuse Revelations BBC Two
“The winning interview was a major scoop that was very delicately handled. The humanity and empathy displayed by the interviewer unlocked moving and heart-rending testimony from a group of people for whom talking about the events being disclosed was a challenge. The interview made headline news and had an immediate and widespread impact.”
Nominees:
Newsnight – Grenfell: Emily Maitlis interviews Theresa May BBC Two
A Nolan Show Investigation: The Arlene Foster and Jonathan Bell Interviews BBC One Northern Ireland
Nations and regions current affairs
Inside Out – An Inside Out Special: Operation Sanctuary BBC News English Regions for BBC One NE & Cumbria
“The judges were blown away by the originality and the journalism behind this story, which took two years to make. It was a quality production with the technical elements skillfully directed. The small team had clearly invested heavily in this hard-to-tell story and overcame legal hurdles to ensure it was broadcast… a standout piece of journalism that raises important moral questions about the secret world of paid informers.”
Nominees:
BBC Scotland Investigates – Humans for Sale BBC Scotland for BBC One Scotland
The Hunt for Classroom Extremists BBC News English Regions for BBC One (West Midlands)
Nations and regions news
ITV News London: Grenfell Tower ITN for ITV
“This was a brilliantly executed response to a massive and tragic breaking story. The programme had a remarkable degree of authority, with powerful storytelling and compelling pictures.”
Nominees:
Meridian Tonight – Camber Sands ITV Meridian News for ITV
Granada Reports – Manchester Arena Bomb ITV Granada for ITV
Nations and regions presenter of the year
Nina Hossain – ITV News London ITN for ITV
“The winner was the presenter whose range and personality best demonstrated not only versatility and warmth – but also a remarkable ability to stay calm under pressure. She conveyed authority on the big stories, as well as good humour and a rapport with the audience on the lighter ones. The tone and incisiveness of her interviewing on Day One of the Grenfell Fire was outstanding.”
Nominees:
Mark Carruthers – Political Programmes BBC One Northern Ireland
Roger Johnson – BBC North West Tonight BBC North West for BBC One
Network presenter of the year
Victoria Derbyshire – Victoria Derbyshire Programme BBC Two
“The winner is a relative newcomer to television, but in a short time has established herself as an on-screen presenter with a remarkable ability to connect to viewers of all kinds. Her programmes on football abuse and after the Grenfell fire were standout examples of her empathy combined with authority, and a tenacious determination to hold those in power to account.”
Nominees:
Julie Etchingham – ITV News & Current Affairs ITN for ITV
Andrew Neil – BBC News for BBC One and BBC Two
News channel of the year
Sky News
“All three channels demonstrated a remarkable breadth and depth of coverage, each in their own distinctive style. The winning entry offered gripping and brave coverage of breaking news around the world – but added an additional layer of longer-form analysis, and well-judged and compelling campaigning.”
Nominees:
BBC News Channel
CNN International
News coverage – home
The Grenfell Tower Fire – Newsnight BBC Two
“In a year when home news had some of the biggest stories of the year, the Grenfell fire was one of the most demanding and harrowing to cover. This programme stood out for the range of its journalism – from forensic investigation of the causes, robust interviewing of political leaders, and a commitment to telling the story of the people who lived on the 21st floor. This was an outstanding example of Home News journalism of the highest standard.”
Nominees:
Victoria Derbyshire Programme – Football Abuse Revelations BBC Two
Knife and Gun Crime Uncovered – BBC News BBC News for BBC One
News coverage – international
Yemen – BBC News BBC News for BBC One
“The winning entry showed incredible storytelling, consistently high standards and exceptional scripting to give a comprehensive sense of what the situation was all about. This was a story only the BBC could do!”
Nominees:
Rohingya Crisis – Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4
The Demise of ISIS – ITV News ITN for ITV
News technology
NHS Tracker BBC News for BBC
“The winning entry involved gathering a huge amount of data and writing an original software programme to process it. The judges were particularly impressed that it represented genuine public-interest journalism, holding government to account while being useful to the audience – allowing them to find out how their local hospital services are performing.”
Nominees:
CNN VR CNN International
Innovative Use of 360 Video During Ground Combat in Mosul The Associated Press
Scoop of the year
Libya Slave Market CNN International
“This was an extremely hard-fought category with several entries worthy of nomination. The category rewards ‘exclusive, entrepreneurial journalism’ and the winning team displayed courage and enterprise on a very dangerous story. It resonated widely with a younger audience via social media. Other journalists had tried to get proof of human slave trafficking in Libya, but this was the first independent verification.”
Nominees:
Rohingya Refugee Crisis Sky News
Priti Patel Resignation BBC News for BBC One
Specialist journalist of the year
Michael Crick – Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4
“From his forensic investigation of election expenses, his dogged pursuit of Paul Nuttall in Stoke and one of the longest doorsteps all the way down Whitehall, this was vintage stuff from a specialist at the top of his form. Tremendous, excellent, outstanding work.”
Nominees:
Chris Cook – Newsnight BBC Two
Jason Farrell Sky News
Television journalist of the year
Orla Guerin – BBC News BBC News for BBC One
“The winner has a record of reporting calmly and courageously from some of the world’s most dangerous places, while never sensationalising war. Describing the appalling conditions endured by migrants in Libya, the liberation of Mosul and the suffering of Yemen, the winner showed a range and depth which marks them out from a very strong field as a worthy winner.”
Nominees:
Jonathan Miller – Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4
Stuart Ramsay Sky News
The independent award
Battle for Mosul – Channel 4 News Nine Finger Productions for Channel 4
“This was an extraordinary film, beautifully shot and portraying the reality of war, but with great humanity. It was refreshing to hear so many local views in a film like this.”
Nominees:
Dispatches – Undercover: Britain’s Cheap Clothes Blakeway Productions for Channel 4
Unreported World: Africa’s Perfect Storm Quicksilver Media for Channel 4
Young talent of the year
Nawal Al-Maghafi BBC News for BBC One
“The winner showed exceptional bravery and is wise beyond her years. Along with great access, she also had good scripting and a very understated delivery.”
Nominees:
Ashley John-Baptiste – Victoria Derbyshire Programme BBC Two and BBC News
Helen-Ann Smith Sky News
Outstanding contribution award – Dorothy Byrne
“Dorothy Byrne started in local newspapers, where according to one of her early bosses: ‘She’d happily walk into any pub in any grotty area you can imagine, announce what she was up to and the sort of people she wanted to find, and hey presto!’ At the other end of the scale, she also considered that close attention to ‘Hello’ magazine was a vital part of the investigative journalist’s armoury.”
“She went on to run ITV’s ‘The Big Story’ where her formidable story-telling skills and fertile ideas were brilliant assets.She has been at the helm of Channel 4’s journalistic output for many years. In that time, all her great qualities have come to the fore: her intellectual curiosity, her openness to new ideas, her constant challenging of herself. Her programmes have garnered all the awards this industry can give, many times over, and she has nurtured the careers of innumerable television journalists, especially women, and ensured that Channel 4 supports an MA in investigative journalism to bring people from different backgrounds into this area.
“She is fearless, her ferocious loyal and totally committed to public service broadcasting.”
Judges’ award Exit Polls led by Sir John Curtice
“The Judges award recognises an outstanding contribution to the advancement of Television Journalism in the past year. This was one of the stand-out TV moments of the year. Ten o’clock on election night and who can forget where they were when they heard the result of the Exit Poll. The poll stunned the country and caused at least one person we know to shed a little tear. For the last three general elections, the joint ITV, Sky and BBC exit polls have been uncannily accurate. But what makes this year’s Exit Poll even more outstanding is that the team of political scientists, psephologists and pollsters behind it had only seven weeks to put it all together.”
ENDS
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