Television Journalism Awards Winners 2007
Television Journalism Awards 2007 were presented on Wednesday 20 February 2008 at the London Hilton on Park Lane, London W1. The evening was hosted by Julie Etchingham.
For Press Information Contact:
Robert Pine, Ing Media
Tel: 020 7247 8334
E-mail: robert@ing-media.com
Embargoed until 2230 20 February 2008
News - International
Iraq: Apache Company - Channel 4 News ITN & Guardian Films for Channel 4
“The winner was described as raw, brave, atmospheric and profoundly memorable. An important story very powerfully realised.”
Nominees
Undercover In Zimbabwe - Newsnight BBC for BBC Two
Afghanistan: Taliban Embed - Al Jazeera English News Hour Al Jazeera English
News - Home
The Crevice Trial: Links To 7/7 - Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4
“The winner stood out as an enterprising piece of television journalism that was genuinely shocking. A serious tale told with great care and attention to detail and a real tribute to the correspondent responsible.”
Nominees
Exploited Workers - Ten O'clock News BBC News for BBC One
Translation Costs - Ten O'clock News BBC News for BBC One
Scoop of the Year
Northern Rock - BBC News BBC News for BBC News 24 & BBC One
“The winner was a scoop that was to become one of the major running news stories of the year and is still in the headlines. This exclusive was not the result of some authorised leak but come from one journalist following a hunch that something was up and tracking down the truth through contacts and commitment.”
Nominees
The Hunt For Captain Nairac - Spotlight BBC Northern Ireland
MTAS: Security Breaches - Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4
Nations and Regions News Coverage
The Lesley Molseed Trial - Granada Reports ITV Granada
“With strong exclusives, the winning programme, the story of a child killer finally brought to justice after 30 years set the agenda for national TV and newspapers to follow.”
Nominees
Flooding Special - The West Tonight ITV West
Devolution Day - BBC Newsline BBC Northern Ireland
Nations and Regions Current Affairs
The Pit Bull Sting - Spotlight BBC Northern Ireland
“The reporter and crew showed determination and, persistence in this dramatic, pacey and disturbing uncovering of a vicious and illegal activity.”
Nominees
Gone In 60 Seconds: The Bike Crime Wave - The London Programme
ITV London
Bomb Damage - West Eye View ITV West
Current Affairs - Home
The Great Granny Chart Invasion - Power To The People BBC Current Affairs for BBC Two
“An altogether original way of tackling an important, but often neglected issue. Funny, sensitive and brilliantly handled.”
Nominees
TV's Dirty Secrets - Panorama BBC Current Affairs for BBC One
Undercover Mosque - Dispatches Hardcash Productions for Channel 4
Current Affairs - International
China's Stolen Children – Dispatches Special A True Vision Production for Channel 4
“The winning programme is a magnificent and compelling account of child trafficking by a first-time director. Beautifully told, and beautifully filmed, with extraordinary testimony from the participants, it brought dignity and compassion to stories of Dickensian horror.”
Nominees
Meeting The Taliban - Dispatches October Films for Channel 4
Taking On The Taliban - Panorama BBC Current Affairs or BBC One
Innovation
Sky.com News Sky News
“The winning entry aims to integrate the web and tv audiences and was judged to be innovative because it lets the public rather than the news editor set the Agenda.”
Nominees
Your News - Five News BSkyB for Five
School Report BBC News / BBC News Interactive
Presenter of the Year
Jeremy Paxman - Newsnight BBC for BBC Two
“The Jury were impressed by the winner’s broad range of output and styles over the year from reflective pieces to compelling interviewing. Sometimes disconcerting he creates a fantastic sense of theatre.”
Nominees
Jon Snow - Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4
Stewart White BBC Look East
Young Journalist of the Year
Hamish MacDonald - Al Jazeera English News Hour Al Jazeera English
“The Jury admired the winner’s confidence, style and spirit, particularly the reporting from Malaysia in the thick of the prodemocracy demonstrations broken up by water cannon. Real star quality.”
Nominees
Nima Elbagir - More4 News / Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4/More4
Haru Mutasa - Al Jazeera English News Hour Al Jazeera English
Multimedia
The Floods BBC News / BBC Nations and Regions
“The winner aggressively pushed at every new, available technology, using national regions and local news resources and sorting through masses of User Generated Content. It was BBC News at its most brilliant best.”
Nominees
Burma BBC News
News Channel of the Year
Sky News
“Highly polished and outstanding in their coverage of domestic and human interest stories.”
Nominees
Al Jazeera English
BBC News 24 BBC News for BBC News 24
Specialist Journalist
Nick Robinson - BBC News BBC News for BBC One & BBC News 24
“This was an excellent year for the winner, one of the best specialists of any kind, who represents the essence of what this category is all about. Clear, balanced and informative with the ability to break news and challenge the mighty.”
Nominees
Martin Brunt Sky News
Martin Geissler - ITV News ITN for ITV1
News Event
Battle of Gaza Reuters Television
“The winner demonstrated outstanding coverage of an important breaking story in an area where few can operate. It is always hard to compare the work of a news agency versus edited news but in this instance, no commentary was needed to help judge the high standard of the journalism. The coverage was comprehensive, wide ranging and brave.”
Nominees
Ipswich Murders - ITV News ITN for ITV1
Terror Attacks Sky News
Camera Operator of the Year
Darren Conway - BBC News BBC News for BBC One
“A cameraman at the height of his skills, his was a creative, cool and considered entry which impressed the judges with its range and skill. His work is always outstanding.”
Nominees
Dai Baker - Channel 4 News ITN for Channel 4
Garwen McLuckie Sky News
Television Journalist of the Year
Alex Crawford Sky News
“The Jury commended the winner’s energy, versatility and authority.”
Nominees
Emma Hurd Sky News
John Ray - ITV News ITN for ITV1
News Programme of the Year
ITV Evening News ITN for ITV News
“A vintage team performance marked by some outstanding personal contributions - that's how the judges described the qualities of the winning entry. It showed the strength of popular journalism at its very best with shrewd judgment on where to put resources.”
Nominees
Five News 1730 BSkyB for Five
Ten O'clock News BBC News for BBC One
Lifetime Achievement Award
John Suchet
“When I tell you that the winner of this year’s RTS Lifetime Achievement Award has been a foreign correspondent, a presenter, a commentator on major ceremonial occasions and is a leading authority on the life and works of Beethoven, some of you will immediately work out who the winner is. But I suspect many of you will not.
That’s because despite more than 35 years of success in our business he’s still a pretty modest guy. Not that his track record is modest.
He started in journalism covering the 1968 riots in Paris as a Reuters correspondent.
He joined ITN in 1972 as a newsroom sub-editor and within a few years he was ITN’s Washington correspondent. Reporting also took him to Afghanistan where he went undercover with the Mujahadeen fighting against the Russians.
That reporting background gave him enormous authority when he turned to presenting news programmes and to live commentaries on ceremonial events. The highlight was undoubtedly the human touch be brought to ITV’s live coverage of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Four years ago he retired from ITN but was tempted back out of retirement by Five News where he has been very popular, especially for the time and trouble he has taken to help younger journalists.
His father was a famous obstetrician and gynaecologist who worked with Sir Alexander Fleming on the use of penicillin and his obituary in the British Medical Journal said ‘he was not a godlike figure instead he put people at their ease’.
Like father, like son. Our lifetime achievement award winner put viewers at their ease and he put his colleagues at ITN and Five News at ease knowing they were working with a superb professional.
The question he says he is asked most often is ‘are you the newscaster or Hercule Poirot’.”
Judges’ Award
Alan Johnston
“This man spent a third of last year without being able to file a single word of copy or a single second of broadcasting.
He had been the Western world’s only truly independent eyes and ears in one of the world’s most godforsaken places, Gaza.
The previous year [Stewart Purvis] was privileged to spend one day with him on his patch. We talked about the possibility that one day some armed group would come for him. He was calm. It was a risk worth taking for what he was doing.
On 12th March they did come for him. Not because he was some random foreigner but because of who he was and what he stood for.
They made him wear an explosives vest in the style of suicide bombers. Somebody put out a claim that he had been killed.
The response to the seizure of one journalist was extraordinary. His close colleagues brilliantly organised a campaign for his release. The world of journalism responded in an unprecedented way.
The journalists of Gaza, an extraordinarily tough breed, helped to lead the campaign. It was their way of showing respect for what he had achieved, and their determination that he should be free to continue his journalism.
The Hamas government felt the local and international heat and acted.
And on 4th of July he had his own independence day, his liberation day.
The way he conducted himself throughout reflected enormous credit on himself and on our trade.
Now he is helping the campaign to improve the safety of journalists around the world.
But that is just the way he is. Totally committed, totally honest.
This is not an award for being kidnapped, it is an award for extraordinary broadcast journalism.”