RTS AWARDS 2017 – LONDON
RTS, Television Journalist
Awards 2017
WINNERS
Breaking News: Brussels Terror
Attack
BROADCASTER: Sky News
NOMINEES:
Battle for Mosul -
48 Hours
Murder of Jo Cox
“The winning team
had the good fortune to find themselves in the midst of an unfolding drama and
built on that by using every ounce of journalistic enterprise and technical
skill – as well as considerable courage – to deliver a textbook example of how
to cover a breaking story.”
Camera Operator of the Year:
Waad al-Kateab
TITLE: Channel 4 News
PRODUCTION COMPANY: ITN
BROADCASTER: Channel 4
NOMINEES:
Dai Baker - Channel
4 News
Mstyslav Chernov
“With many strong
contenders, our winner’s portfolio was head and shoulders above the rest. Her
powerful images didn’t flinch from showing the full horror of life and death in
Aleppo.”
Current Affairs - Home:
Interview with a Murderer
PRODUCTION COMPANY: ITN / Monster Films
BROADCASTER: Channel 4
NOMINEES:
Exposure - Abused
and Betrayed - A Life Sentence
Panorama - Teenage
Prison Abuse Exposed
“... a brilliant
and gripping film, which was also beautifully made. It was a compelling watch,
right from the first frame and the final interview was a genuine scoop!”
Current Affairs -
International: Exposure
TITLE: Saudi Arabia
Uncovered
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Hardcash Productions
BROADCASTER: ITV
NOMINEES:
Dispatches - Children
on the Frontline - The Escape
This World - Unarmed
Black Male
“...this was an
extremely brave film. Venturing into Saudi Arabia undercover was a remarkable
feat. This is an important country which we hardly ever see, beyond the
official veneer. The film brought to life the extent of the power and the fear
which lies under the surface. The viewer really experienced the journey. An
important piece of journalism and a great watch, beautifully shot and full of
fine production values.”
Daily News Programme of the
Year: Channel 4 News
PRODUCTION COMPANY: ITN
BROADCASTER: Channel 4
NOMINEES:
BBC News at Ten
The Victoria
Derbyshire Programme
“The winning
programme demonstrated a masterful breadth and depth of content throughout the
year, from world-class frontline coverage to their trademark political analysis
and powerful interviews. They backed that up with tenacious and exclusive
investigations and high quality location presentation.”
Interview of the Year: Faisal
Islam
TITLE: Interviews David
Cameron
BROADCASTER: Sky News
NOMINEES:
Christiane
Amanpour - Interviews Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
Gary Gibbon - Interviews
Andrea Leadsom
“The shortlist
featured three interviewers at the top of their game. The hallmark of all three
was that they seemed better prepared than their interviewees. This was
particularly so in the case of the winner who, approaching what was fast
becoming very familiar territory, brought new insights and energy to the
national debate. He highlighted a weak point in his guest’s case that was never
properly answered and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Nations and Regions Current
Affairs: Spotlight
TITLE: The NAMA Tapes -
Corruption and Cover Up
BROADCASTER: BBC Northern Ireland
NOMINEES:
Broken Trust
Week in Week Out - Learning
How To Fake It
“Financial
corruption stories are never easy to do. The Northern Ireland team worked
unbelievably hard and bravely over 18 months to expose corruption over the sale
of a £1.3 billion property portfolio. This was an extraordinary and incredibly
important story as well as a gripping watch. The programme has accelerated
police and parliamentary enquiries on both sides of the Irish border.”
Nations and Regions News: BBC
South East Today
PRODUCTION COMPANY: BBC News English Regions
BROADCASTER: BBC One
NOMINEES:
BBC North West
Tonight - The Hillsborough Inquests
Lookaround - December
8th 2015
A brilliant
selection of the very best of regional journalism, from illegal immigrants
working in Kent and Sussex to tracking down a gunman who’d been on the run for
a decade. The abuse story at a Kent care home was astonishing and led to a
parliamentary investigation. The Calais ambush by people smugglers was riveting
television and went on to be picked up nationally. Amazing journalism from a
small region that exhibited real ambition.”
Network Presenter of the Year:
Tom Bradby
TITLE: ITV News at Ten
PRODUCTION COMPANY: ITN
BROADCASTER: ITV News
NOMINEES:
Emily Maitlis - Newsnight
Victoria
Derbyshire - BBC News
“The winners’
portfolio included presenting news programmes, anchoring special events, on the
road reporting and chairing debates. The presenting was done in a new style,
‘intimate, engaging, authoritative, trustworthy’ just some of the adjectives
they used. The winner got to the heart of the matter sometimes very directly
with the newsmakers themselves.”
News Channel of the Year: BBC
News Channel
NOMINEES:
CNN International
Sky News
“The winning
channel combined outstanding live and continuous coverage of big events with
strong worldwide reporting and a great touch with human interest stories. They
were quick on breaking news and showcased an impressive range of exclusives
too.”
News Coverage - Home: Prisons
TITLE: Six & Ten
O'Clock News
PRODUCTION COMPANY: BBC News
BROADCASTER: BBC One
NOMINEES:
Election Expenses
Exposed - Channel 4 news
Hillsborough - BBC
Network News
“This year’s Home
News award goes to a series of revelatory films which prefigured one of the big
domestic crises of the year. They were the result of remarkable access gained
through dogged negotiation over a long period of time. The coverage across a number
of exclusive reports identified a shocking picture which led to a major public
debate and changes in policy.”
News Coverage - International:
Inside Aleppo
PRODUCTION COMPANY: ITN
BROADCASTER: Channel 4
NOMINEES:
Battle for Mosul
Terror in Europe
“In a year of
extraordinary coverage of appalling wars, this insight into Aleppo was
something very special. Our judges described it as remarkable, compelling and
the yardstick by which other coverage should be judged. Matt Frei’s scripting
was word perfect. With a digital project alongside, the coverage was
imaginative and innovative and ticked the enterprise box too.”
News Technology: Sky Data
BROADCASTER: Sky News
NOMINEES:
360 Special - BBC
Click
Facebook
LiveStudio
“...a brilliant
example of technical innovation. It has transformed the way television measures
public opinion, leaving the old vox pop obsolete. The team should be
congratulated on using existing customer information to make a research panel
of up to 10,000,000 people.”
Regional Presenter of the
Year: Harry Gration
TITLE: BBC Look North
(Yorkshire)
PRODUCTION COMPANY: BBC News English Regions
BROADCASTER: BBC Yorkshire
NOMINEES:
Duncan Wood - Calendar
Stewart White - BBC
Look East
“Outstanding, a
class act...when the winner is on the screen, you simply want to watch. He is
deeply rooted in his region and exhibits a genuine affinity with his audience
and demonstrates both depth and range.”
Scoop of the Year: I.S. Files
BROADCASTER: Sky News
NOMINEES:
Election Expenses
Exposed
Southern Health
“...a team effort
which brilliantly exploited a leak of data, transforming it into compelling
television using the entire toolbox of TV news. This dwarfed in scale, skill
and significance other attempts at the story, leading to the arrest of
suspects.”
Specialist Journalist of the
Year: Lisa Holland
BROADCASTER: Sky News
NOMINEES:
Gary Gibbon
Michael Buchanan
“This year’s
Specialist Journalist of the year has carved out a unique role in a new but
crucial specialist position. It has taken them around the world to report on
one of the year’s most controversial and pressing issues. They showed a great
range of skills pursuing the story, from investigation to analysis to empathy.”
Television Journalist of the
Year: Matt Frei
PRODUCTION COMPANY: ITN
BROADCASTER: Channel 4
NOMINEES:
Jeremy Bowen
Krishnan
Guru-Murthy
“One of the best
writers in the business. His use of language brings great depth to his reports
and regularly shines through. His interviewing has also produced insights which
others have missed. He is one of the most experienced, and skilled TV
journalists working today.”
The Independent Award: The
Last Flower Seller of Aleppo
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Hoodwink Productions
BROADCASTER: Channel 4
NOMINEES:
Desert Fire
Gun Nation
“A fabulously
powerful piece of television...The jurors applauded not only the enterprise and
courage of the freelance camera operator who first suggested the story and then
filmed it, but also the production company back in London who in the edit
crafted a narrative that made this stand out as strong storytelling.”
Young Talent of the Year: Waad
al-Kateab
TITLE: Channel 4 News
PRODUCTION COMPANY: ITN
BROADCASTER: Channel 4
NOMINEES:
Adam Cole - Sky
News Programming
James Longman - Victoria
Derbyshire Programme
“...heart
stopping, calm in horrific conditions, sensitive, empathetic, extraordinary –
the compliments kept on coming.”
Judges' Award: Steve Hewlett
NOMINEES:
(citation by
Awards Chair Stewart Purvis)
“On 26 January a
panel of representatives of broadcasters, video news agencies and jury chairs
met to decide on the Judges’ Award. The rules say it can recognise an
outstanding contribution on or off screen, in the past year or over the course
of their career. The panel chose a winner who achieved so much on screen and
off screen, over the course of his career and very particularly in the past
year.
I phoned the
winner and that’s how I got to tell Steve Hewlett that he had won the Judges’
Award. Steve told me he was honoured and touched to have won. He looked forward
to receiving it on 1 March.
I don’t think
there has ever been anybody in broadcasting quite like Steve Hewlett. And
probably never will be again.
Over four decades
he variously, and often simultaneously, produced programmes; edited them;
commissioned them; wrote and broadcast about them; presented them and exec
produced them as an independent. He worked for the BBC, Channel Four, ITV and
his own indie Genie Pictures. He started on TV and learned to love radio. He
was the star turn for many years at RTS Cambridge, Edinburgh and Sheffield
festivals and many other media events.
He truly was a man
for all seasons, one of them being the rugby season. I remember turning up with
my son at a youth rugby tournament in Hertfordshire to find Steve all togged up
ready to referee one of the matches.
He was fiercely
competitive in everything he did but also generous with praise for his
competitors. He always threw himself into his journalism. He spent eight weeks
filming inside the Maze Prison with Peter Taylor, and made a remarkable film
there. He enjoyed his triumphs – the 23,000,000 audience for the Panorama:
Diana interview will take some beating as a record for factual television – and
he carried on regardless after disappointments.
One of the
hallmarks of Steve’s journalism was his natural curiosity – which contact or
interviewee could resist an opening line like ‘help me with this if you can’.
Another was his attention to detail, as a pundit he read the documents others
didn’t, which is how he knew so much and questioned so much, especially his own
employers at the BBC.
And there was his
humanity and there was his humour. All these same qualities, this same
journalism, came to the fore last year on the Radio 4 PM Programme. The
presenter Eddie Mair told listeners that this time Steve was on the air not to
talk about the media but about his health. Eddie asked Steve ‘What’s
happening?’ to which Steve replied ‘Well I’ve got cancer. I’ve got cancer of
the oesophagus’. This matter of fact conversation set the style for many that
were to follow on Radio Four and be replicated in different forms in print and
on TV. There had been cancer diaries before but this was much more, it was
public interest journalism of the kind Steve practiced on Panorama. He knew all
the details as if he was talking on the Media Show about the latest draft of
the BBC Charter. The public response was enormous. Many of the people who wrote
to Steve said he had inspired them to find out more about their own condition,
their own treatment.
Steve and I talked
about the archive clips from his career that he hoped we would show tonight. A
Panorama team tracked those down and added some of Steve’s recent interviews
about cancer. Together these clips form a compilation that tells the story of
Steve Hewlett’s journalism from the early 1980’s right up to last month. The
first is a clip Steve often mentioned, when he dressed up in a bear’s costume
for a title sequence for a new Channel Four current affairs programme. So
lookout for Steve the bear.
On 6 February
Steve told Eddie Mair on BBC Radio Four that he’d been given only ‘weeks,
possibly months’ to live. He and his partner Rachel Crellin decided to get
married in a ceremony organised within the hour at the Royal Marsden Hospital.
A few days later Rachel, Steve and I met there to talk about tonight. He told
me again how proud he was about the award. I told him how much love there would
be for him within the room, he looked rather surprised.
The plan was for
him to be sitting at a table with Rachel, his former partner Karole Lang and
his and Karole’s three sons Fred, Billy and Bertie. Steve knew he wouldn’t be
well enough to come up to the podium but wanted his sons to speak for him. Of
course Steve, always the realist, knew he may not make it here tonight.
He asked me to
remind him when the event was. I said ‘two weeks’ time’, he gestured ‘two
weeks’. And he was right. But Rachel is here tonight, so is Karole and please
welcome to receive the Judges Award on their father's behalf, the brothers
Hewlett.”
